Chris Boyce

When Appalachian State University football travels to Cullowhee this Saturday, there is more at stake than simply standings or playoff implications. There is the small importance of securing the sacred Old Mountain Jug.

The winner of this wonderful piece of pottery leaves with all the pride and bragging rights that come with securing the Old Mountain Jug for another twelve months.

Beyond that there is the looming question of playoffs, a question that head coach Jerry Moore can not help but ponder.

ÒWeÕve mentioned it but havenÕt dwelled on it," said Moore. "YouÕd be naive to think that we wouldnÕt be concerned and not looking at it a little bit. ThatÕs what we're playing for.

The bottom line is we started the season with a couple of things we wanted to do. We wanted to win a conference championship and we wanted to win a national championship.

We canÕt win a conference championship, but thereÕs still just as good of a possibility of winning a national championship now as there was back in August.Ó

The Catamounts enter Saturday's showdown with a 4-5 record overall and a 3-4 record in the conference. And although Appalachian handed Western Carolina University a 34-10 loss last season, the 14th-ranked Mountaineers (6-3, 5-2) still have the humiliating 23-6 loss in 1998.

ÒThereÕs so much rivalry between these two schools you can almost throw the record book right out,Ó said Moore. ÒOne of the most devastating defeats that weÕve had since IÕve been here was over there in 1998.

They beat us every way that you can beat us.Ó Leading Western Carolina is quarterback David Rivers, who has thrown for 2,252 yards (2nd best in SoCon) with 13 touchdowns and has completed 60.4 percent of his passes.

The team is second in the conference in total offense but is second to last in the conference in total defense. ÒStarting with the Citadel game, I thought every week from that point on theyÕd [WCU] gotten a little bit better," said Moore.

"I think their quarterback has got more comfortable with what theyÕre doing. HeÕs [Rivers] an excellent quarterback. He played at Virginia his first three years and heÕs done an excellent job for them. HeÕs kind of been a mainstay for them.

Their offense is one of the more prolific offenses in our league.Ó Playing against an offense like Western Carolina may arouse bitter and frustrating memories from two weeks ago when Appalachian State was upended by another high-powered offense in Chattanooga.

Moore feels that cutting down on mistakes should alleviate the main problems ASU encountered against the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. ÒWe made a horrendous amount of mistakes in that ballgame and it's cost us dearly when you look at conference shakeups like last week when Furman beat Georgia Southern.

On the other hand, we're looking at this as a wakeup call,Ó said Moore. The Virginia Military Institute game was beneficial to Appalachian State because it gave the Mountaineers a chance to retool after a tough loss, and according to Moore, gave a chance for plenty of Mountaineers who normally do not get playing time a chance to play.

ÒWe were able to play a lot of players. A lot of those guys thatÕve been on the scout team most of the year got to play in that ball game,Ó said Moore.

Appalachian State football has endured several tough situations this season, one being the fiery crash on Rt. 321 and the other the long list of injuries that have accumulated throughout the season.

The devastation of injuries this season will be illustrated when Appalachian State celebrates senior day Nov. 18 at Kidd-Brewer Stadium against Liberty College.

Of the 12 seniors, four will be on crutches, including offensive lineman Bryan Metts, defensive lineman Jamie Lovern and wide reciever Joey Gibson. ÒInjuries have really been big this year,Ó said Moore. ÒTheyÕve really hurt us.Ó

Other ailing Mountaineers include Karim Razaak, Joe Best, DuÕShon Martin, and quarterbacks Daniel Jeremiah and David Reaves. Both Martin and Razaak will be questionable for SaturdayÕs game.

The Mountaineers quest to retain the beloved Mountain Jug begins with a 2:00 p.m. kickoff at E.J. Whitmire Stadium this Saturday in Cullowhee.

Wrestling club goes to tournament, now prepares for spring

James Nix - Intramural Sports

Appalachian State University club sports wrestling team took seven members to compete against members from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University wrestling clubs at Setzer Gym in Chapel Hill. Sunday's meet was the first meet the club has participated in this year, and for some members, the first meet ever.

Due to the lack of experience and the overwhelming strength of UNC and N.C. State, the club came home with only Robert Ehert's win. As of press time, the specific scores of the match are not available.

The bright side of the match is that only three of the matches were lost due to pins. The rest were lost from accumulated scores. According to David Cranford, club wrestling president, the team's results are very good against the Tarheels and Wolfpack, whose wrestling clubs have very high reputations within the state. Club wrestling had to move a few members up a weight class to compete.

This may have led to the high number of losses. If the wrestlers had wrestled opponents their own weight, the scores might have come out differently. "Over all, I'm very impressed with all of our guys.

I think everyone did very well and I'm glad we had the chance to put this together," said Cranford. Ehert feels that this meet was a learning experience for the club.

The team needs to train harder to get in better condition so they can compete against strong teams like UNC and N.C. State. "Conditioning is my main weak point," said Ehert. Cranford speculates that the next meet will not be until next semester, probably around March.

ASU fencing club reorganized, revived

James Nix - Intramural Sports Beat

The Appalachian State University fencing club enjoys a rich history and is one of the university's oldest clubs but is constantly overlooked and ignored. According to Coach Karl Marx, the fencing club was started in 1902 and quickly became Appalachian State's most prominent club.

It received excellent funding and was extremely strong. This lasted into the 1950s, when the club moved up in the fencing world.

A new coach, Dr. Reginald Weber, was hired and with his military background, led the team to the top. During this 20-year period, the team enjoyed many years of success and was one of the country's top fencing teams.

What goes up must eventually come down, though. In 1979, Weber retired. The team tried to carry on without him for a few years but eventually failed in the early 1980s.

The university cut funding for the team and did not hire a new coach. The fencers fell from their competitive status and struggled to remain together. In the early 1990s, after several years of idleness, the club went in search of a new coach.

They found Marx, owner of the Dragon's Den, a local comic shop. When Marx joined the team, not a single member had ever competed in a tournament. With the help of Marx, the team returned to competing in tournaments.

They now compete in tournaments about every other weekend and enjoy more and more success. Over Homecoming weekend, the fencing club sent four members to Wilmington to compete in a tournament.

Vice President Brian Gorman brought home first place. Greg Mistler won second place and Andrew Dyer, club president, came in third place, along with Marx. In a recent competition held in Gastonia, the club won first in the sabre event and second in the epee event.

On Nov. 19, the club will host a tournament here, including fencing clubs from Hickory, Blowing Rock, Greensboro and several other clubs from around the Southeast.

A smaller tournament for children 14-years-old and under will also be held that day. The club invites anyone who is interested in fencing to come out and join.

No experience is needed and the only requirement is that all participants must join the United States Fencing Association (USFA).

The USFA gives liability insurance, which the university does not provide, and it allows the members to participate in tournaments.

"The fencing club is a very social club but also is very competitive. We do things together, and it's a good environment to meet new friends.

We strongly encourage anyone who is interested in fencing to come out and see what we are about," said Marx. The team practices every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday on the second floor of Varsity Gymnasium from 6-8 p.m.

Andrea Barrows - Sports Beat

Aiden Heaney has just completed his second year as the head coach of the Mountaineers men's soccer team in which he has elevated the performance level and laid the foundation to build a program that will be a Southern Conference powerhouse.

Heaney propelled the team all the way to the So Con Championship game, something that the team has not achieved since 1994, and for all of his dedication to the team was awarded the SoCon Coach-of-the-Year award. Heaney is a veteran to the game fo soccer and has experience that his players are able to learn from.

Player-of-the-Year, Jordy Broder said, "Coach shares his knowledge of the game with the team and works hard to get the best out of his players." Senior, Eric Daughtry also said, "Coach Heaney has done a lot to turn the soccer program around."

Before coming to Appalachian, Heaney went to school at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte where he played collegiate soccer. After graduating in 1992 Heaney played professionally for SV Wiesbaden, a German Third Division team, adn from 1993-96 he played goalkeeper for the Greensboro Dynamo.

As starting keeper, Heandy led the team to two national titles and was voted the team and conference's most valuable player in 1994. While he played soccer in Greensboro Heaney also helped with goalie training for Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill, and UNC-Greensboro.

After that he took the position of assistant coach for the Tarheels fo UNC-Chapel Hill for the 1995-96 season, and also looked to play in the professional Major League Soccer circuit. He played goalie for the first season for the New England Revolution and was ranked fifth in the league in goals against average.

After this he chose to get back into coaching and took a position as assistant coach for Penn State. He helped the Nittany Lions improve from a 10-10-1 record in 1997 to a 14-6-2 record in 1998. Even with all his success at Penn State, Heaney wanted to move back South so when he heard about the head soccer coach position opening up at Appalachian State he came down with the hopes of getting the position.

He remembered how much he had liked the Boone area from traveling for games when he played at UNC-Charlotte. The rest is history and coach Heaney has certainly proved to be an asset to the program.

Although Appalachian is not known for its' soccer program, Heaney has managed to bring in several excellent players, one is all the way from Heaney's old high school in Newcastle, England.

He said that "players come to play for Appalachian because of positive attitudes. They see what we are trying to build and they want to become a part of that." This season was a big step in building a strong soccer program and Heaney is very pleased with the team's performance.

"If you look at where we started the season and then what we achieved it is a great accomplishment. We weren't considered to make the final game in the tournament and the achievements of the season are a result of players working hard."

Heaney was surprised after being named coach of the year but he gives a lot of the credit to the hard work of his players and the fact that they have put their trust in him and the program.

Since joining the program the teams record has continued to improve. His first season as coach the team had a 8-10 record, 5-3 in the So Con. This season the team improved to a 13-7 record with a 8-3 So Con record. The team was alos ranked ninth in the South East region at the end of their season.

Field Hockey Ends First Season in New Conference with Goals, respect intact

Ty Bruielly - Sports Beat

At the beginning of the 2000 Appalachian State University field hockey season, the Mountaineers set some goals for themselves as individuals and as a team -- ones that they were determined to reach.

The biggest goal was to gain respect among fans, students and Appalachian as a whole. The Mountaineers feel that they did this -- they gained more respect from a majority of fans, students and staff members, despite their 6-12 record.

Head Coach Patience Harrison said, ÒDefinitely the ASU field hockey team has gained more respect, attention and support from administrators, faculty and students than in the years past.Ó Another goal the team set was to step up on their scoring and to improve their passing game. "We scored 19 goals this season compared to last yearÕs 10," said Harrison.

"This shows a definite improvement. Also our small passing game has become our strength.Ó

Out of their 6-12 record, six of the teams they lost to were in the top-20 National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) poll.

Those teams were Michigan State University, Georgetown University, Duke University, the College of William and Mary, University of Louisville and Wake Forest University.

ÒThey succeeded in beating several opponents (such as Miami University of Ohio and Virginia Commonwealth University) for the first time in school history," said Harrison.

"Their skills have drastically improved. Stick work, passing and tackles look much better.Ó The field hockey team's regular season ended on Oct. 28 with a shutout loss to Wake Forest, 6-0. The team then had a few days to prepare for its first conference tournament appearance. The tournament was held in St. Louis, Mo.

The team played hard against St. Louis University in the consolation round of the Northern Pacific Conference tournament.

Despite assists from Kim Rohrs and Katie Schulzitski and goals from Carrie White and Christina Settle, they ultimately fell short and ended their season with a 3-2 loss. As the field hockey team ended its first-ever season in a conference, there is nothing for them to be ashamed of.

They produced two All-Northern Pacific Conference players -- Meredith White, first team, and Schulzitski, second team -- and the team achieved a majority of their goals. A major factor in why they reached their goals was because of the teamÕs closeness.

ÒWe are a really cohesive team," said senior Jennifer Ridenoure. "We stick together and really get along. We are a family.Ó After a hard strenuous season of playing and traveling, Harrison has already made some goals for next season.

ÒObvious goals I have for the team is to continue to improve record-wise to at least a .500 season and to be successful in our conference," said Harrison.

"IÕd also like to improve on our offensive communication.Ó The team will begin practicing again during the spring semester to prepare for next season.