Moore
reflects on past results, focuses on present challenges
Chris Boyce
-Varsity Sports
With a 42-16
drubbing of Southern Conference (SoCon) rival Wofford College Saturday,
Appalachian State University football hopes to ride the momentum
of the victory into Chattanooga, Tenn., on Saturday.
The University
of Tennessee at Chattanooga (3-4, 1-3) would love to ruin the sixth-ranked
Mountaineers chances at a SoCon championship, but conference leader
Georgia Southern University would need to lose both of its next
two Southern Conference matches for Appalachian to have any chance,
and this is an unlikely scenario.
"We had
our chance at Georgia Southern," said Appalachian State Head
Football Coach Jerry Moore. ÒSure it'd be great if East Tennessee
University or Furman University, either one of them, could knock
them off."
"I'd love
for them to get beat, but my focus is on this football team and
getting it better. If we do what we are capable of doing then things
will take care of itself as far as down the line." But first
things first, Appalachian (5-2,4-1) will have to stop the SoCon's
best passing team.
ÒChattanoogaÕs
always been a very talented football team. Since 1989 there haven't
been many teams in our league year in and year out having any better
players than Chattanooga," said Moore.
Leading the
Moccasins' offense is senior quarterback Chris Sanders and a talented
tandem of wide receivers in Cos Matteo and R. Flowers.
Sanders has
completed a league-best 182 completions of 295 attempts and is the
conference leader in touchdowns with 16.
The Mocs also
boast the league's two most productive receivers in Cos Matteo,
the conference leader in receiving touchdowns with nine, and R.
Flowers, the conference leader in receptions with 55.
Moore feels
the Mountaineers are prepared for Chattanooga's aerial attack.
"Going
into the spring, after the fiasco against Florida A&M University,
we felt that we needed to revamp some things and I think that we've
done it," said Moore. "There are some teams that we've
played that are good throwing teams. They're not quite like Chattanooga,
but we've held them pretty good."
One of the
key adjustments made to the Mountaineer pass defense this year has
been moving Corey Hall to cornerback. Hall and Du'Shon Martin lead
Appalachian with three interceptions each and their play will be
key to defending UTC on Saturday.
In a matchup
between the SoCon's best passing defense and the conference's best
passing offense, Moore knows that stopping the Mocs' offense will
be difficult nevertheless.
"They're
gonna complete balls and they're gonna make some yards," said
Moore. "You're not gonna totally shut some of those kind of
people down. What we want to do is when it's all over with we win
the ball game.Ó
One of the most
pressing situations this season for Appalachian football is the
ongoing quarterback saga.
All three signal
callers have had various injuries, but Moore is confident that starter
Joe Burchette will be ready to play.
"All in
all, I would think Joe would have to be better off. I think him
going out and doing what he did Saturday and not injuring it, (his
ankle) just exercising it. I would think that kind of exercise on
it would be good for him," said Moore.
Last weekÕs
starter, Daniel Jeremiah, went down in the first half with an ankle
sprain but should be able to play.
Burchette
is back but the quarterback question lingers for Mountaineers
Ty Brueilly
- Sports Minor
Even though
the Appalachian State University football team came out victorious
over Wofford College on Saturday, there was a bit of chaos on the
sidelines before and during the game. Much of the chaos came from
the quarterback situation.
As the game
was close to getting underway, Appalachian cheerleaders formed a
line on either side of the Mountaineer tunnel, cheering the players
to run onto the field and get ready for a hard-fought game.
After the players
ran out onto the Kidd Brewer field, a few players who wore their
jerseys tucked into blue jeans stood out from the rest.
Among these
players was the standout quarterback of this season, Joe Burchette.
Burchette suffered an ankle injury in the previous game against
Georgia Southern University.
As usual, the
other two regular quarterbacks, David Reaves and Daniel Jeremiah,
were dressed and ready to go. Another possibility arose in the sense
that coach Jerry Moore had tailback Karim Razaak on reserve for
quarterback if the Mountaineers needed him.
Burchette's
injury allowed Jeremiah a starting position and Jeremiah came out
strong with two large touchdown drives. However, after the second
touchdown, Jeremiah limped off the field with an ankle sprain.
The Mountaineers
played strong defense in Wofford's next offensive series, but the
coaches on the sidelines as well as the Mountaineer fans wondered
which quarterback Moore was going to go with to lead the offense
after Wofford's drive had ended.
Wofford's drive
ended and it was time for a quarterback to be chosen to lead the
Mountaineer offense for the rest of the game.
As the offensive
team rushed the field, Reaves went along with them. Appalachian
immediately called a timeout.
Standing on
the sidelines in his uniform and pads was Burchette, ready to go.
As soon as the crowd noticed that Burchette was ready, they started
cheering.
Burchette ran
out onto the field, replacing Reaves, and helped Appalachian cruise
to a much-needed victory. "We didn't have anybody else,"
said Moore. "When Daniel [Jeremiah] went down we were out of
gas. We could have used David [Reaves] and if he went down we would
have lost him and that would be it. We were just out of gas."
Moore also said
about Burchette, "You can see the guts that he has in him,
the fight he has in him. Everything that you want in a person and
a quarterback; that gives you a boost when a person like that is
on our team. HeÕs a competitive athlete.Ó
The fact remains
that a few weeks ago Appalachian had three good quarterbacks and
at least two were healthy. Now, Burchette and Jeremiah have ankle
injuries and Reaves has a bruised shoulder. "I've said all
along, we've got three good quarterbacks," said Moore. "A
lot of the focus early was on Jeremiah and Reaves.
I kept saying
we got three good quarterbacks. We wouldn't have won today if we
hadn't had three good quarterbacks." So Moore has a big load
on his shoulders to figure out who will be the main quarterback
in Appalachian's away game versus the University of Tennessee at
Chattanooga this Saturday, as each of his quarterbacks is nursing
some sort of injury.
Following the
battle with the Mocs, the Mounatineers return to Kidd Brewer Stadium
Nov. 4 to battle Virginia Military Institute.
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