Chris Boyce - Varsity Sports

In one season, the Appalachian State University football team has gone from the ranks of the hunted to the role of the hunters in Division I-AA National Playoff football.

AppalachianÕs 17-14 victory Saturday over fifth-seeded Western Kentucky University (WKU) earned Appalachian State head football coach Jerry Moore his first victory in the second round of the I-AA playoffs and the Mountaineers a trip to Montana for a shot at a national championship.

Appalachian State has relished its role this playoff season as underdog as opposed to previous years, knocking out fourth-seeded Troy State University last week and now the Ohio Valley Conference champion WKU Hilltoppers.

The Mountaineers pounded the Hilltoppers for 231 rushing-yards and won the battle of the clock, holding the ball for over 34 minutes, compared to the Hilltoppers' 25. The Mountaineers faced two challenges on Saturday.

Not only did Western Kentucky enter the game number one in the nation in scoring defense, but temperatures in Bowling Green, Ky., dipped into the mid-30s.

Snow flurried throughout much of the game, but ASU tailback Jerry Beard ran for 109 yards on 21 carries and the recently phenomenal Joey Hoover added 69 yards on eight carries, including two touchdowns. Senior quarterback Daniel Jeremiah played a critical role in the victory, filling in for starter Joe Burchette who injured his throwing hand on a defender's helmet.

It was the Mountaineer defense that booked the ticket to Montana, however, forcing a critical Hilltopper fumble deep in Mountaineer territory with under 10 minutes to play and then stopping WKU's Brock Baker on fourth-and-1 at the Appalachian 25-yard line with only three minutes left in the contest.

The Mountaineers seemed to dodge a bullet early in the fourth quarter after a kickoff touchdown return by the Hilltoppers' Joseph Jefferson was called back out of bounds at the Western Kentucky 40-yard line.

The Hilltoppers, trailing 17-14, hooked up on a 53-yard bomb to the ASU 10-yard line from quarterback Jason Johnson to wideout Jerome Reaves on a critical third-and-13 from the WKU 37-yard line.

But after a holding call against the Hilltoppers put Western Kentucky back to the ASU 17-yard line, quarterback Jason Johnson lost control of the ball on second-and-goal and the loose ball was picked up by Appalachian's Josh Jeffries.

The Mountaineers' ensuing drive took another significant 3:52 off the clock and Nathan McKinneyÕs booming 50-yard punt pinned the Hilltoppers deep into their own territory at the WKU 5-yard line with only 5:35 to play.

Later in the drive, on second-and-7 from the WKU 19-yard line, Jeffries stepped up once again, sacking Johnson for 5 yards.

Then on fourth-and-1 from the ASU 25-yard line after an 11-yard scamper by Johnson, the Mountaineers found themselves 1 yard away from nailing the coffin closed on the Hilltoppers' championship hopes.

Wing back Brock BakerÕs rush up the middle was met immediately by linemen Jimmy Freeman and Jason Sowell for no gain, and Appalachian State was able to run out the clock after the turnover on downs.

The two huge defensive plays seemed to fit into place perfectly with the team's recent defensive dominance. After the game, Jason Sowell described the gut check the ASU defense received right before the fourth down stop.

"The clock was running down and everybody on defense was talking about this is our season right here, the last play. ... I think everybody on the defensive side of the ball that very play was in sync and we were a unit.

I don't think anybody would've gotten a first down on us that play," said Sowell.

Defensive lineman Jimmy Freeman finished the game with five tackles and commented on the struggle between the two team's defensive units.

Said Freeman, "All week we were hearing about how tough their defense was. É We wanted to go out and make a statement during the game to see who was the best defense.

We knew we had to shut down their run and we feel that's one our strong points. It's hard for a team to come out and beat us if they're gonna run it at us."

Appalachian held the Hilltoppers to only 136 rushing yards, 54 yards less than their average of 190. "It didn't surprise me that our defense would play well against the run," said Appalachian State Head Coach Jerry Moore.

"We see so many good running teams in our league Ñ Georgia Southern (University), Furman (University) and Wofford (College). "We pride ourselves in being able to run the football ourselves.

I think when you get into playoff situations or big-time ball games that you've gotta win championships with, I just don't think that you're gonna win unless you can make two or three first downs back to back."

The first half seemed to go well for both teams. After a seven-play, 62-yard drive on the Mountaineers' first possession highlighted by a 43-yard touchdown run by Hoover, the Hilltoppers responded with 12:22 left in the second quarter on a 28-yard touchdown pass from Johnson to Reaves making the score 7-7.

Mark WrightÕs 24-yard field goal put the Mountaineers up 10-7 with 6:50 left in the half but Western Kentucky once again answered with a five-play, 44-yard drive culminated by a 10-yard touchdown run by Johnson thus putting the Hilltoppers up 14-10 going into halftime.

Johnson finished the game with 117 rushing-yards and 121 passing-yards in the losing effort. The next score didn't come until the fourth quarter, when Appalachian State grounded out the go ahead touchdown drive.

With Joe Burchette nursing a sore throwing hand, Appalachian placed its championship hopes on Jeremiah, and the 6-foot-2-inch, 200 lb. senior did not disappoint.

The Mountaineers led by Jeremiah marched down the field in 10 plays covering 61 yards, and Joey Hoover's 3-yard touchdown run gave Appalachian the decisive 17-14 lead.

Jeremiah said, "I would've been just as happy sitting on the sidelines as long as we win and move on.

That's what makes this team so special is that everybody seems to put their own personal agenda aside and it's all about winning.

We care about getting into the national championship and winning the national championship and we can't do that with personal agendas."

Moore felt lucky to have such depth at the quarterback position Saturday, especially with the injury to Burchette.

"We've said from the very outset, we've got three good quarterbacks. We wouldnÕt be here today if all three of them didn't contribute in their own way," said Moore.

After the game, Freeman was happy with the team's cohesiveness, both on defensive and offensive units and as a team as a whole. "I feel like as a team we get more confidence in each other and we back each other up.

If the defense isn't going so well the offense picks us up. If the offense isn't going so well the defense picks us up ... we can be unstoppable if we just play together," said Freeman.

The Mountaineers find themselves in the semifinals for the first time since 1987. This is Moore's first trip in three tries.

The 13th-seeded Mountaineers have now twice spoiled higher-seeded opponents but will need even more determination with their next opponent.

Top-seeded University of Montana defeated University of Richmond, 34-20, in Big Sky, Mont., playoff action and awaits the Mountaineers this Saturday.

Jeremiah is enjoying the role of spoiler and looks to do it again against Montana.

"We've always been the hunted. In the previous two years going to the playoffs we've been hunted and now it's flipped around a little bit," said Jeremiah.

James Nix Intramural Sports

The Appalachian State University men's club volleyball team traveled to Knoxville, Tenn., this weekend and brought home a second-place trophy while placing two members on the all-tournament team.

Club president Anthony Simmons and Josh Wexler are the two Mountaineers named to the all-tourament team. Both members have played vital roles in the success of the team this year.

The all-tournament team is made up of only six players, chosen from 10 teams. "This is tremendous for our team, because two members of our team were picked to be in the top six players," said Simmons.

In the tournament, the team went undefeated until it faced the University of Tennessee at Knoxville (UT) Volunteers in the championship.

ASU lost the first game of the championship, 18-25, but then came out strong in the second game to win 25-12.

The Vols fought even harder the third game to win 15-10. "I thought for sure after the beating we gave UT in game two, we would win,Ó said Simmons. "But they came back stronger than ever in the finale game."

This loss brings the teams overall record to 15-5, and the conference record to 9-1. "This marks the best season we've had since our club began in 1997," said Simmons.

"Since several of the starters will leave next semester, this will mark our apex as well."

Tyler Brueilly - Sports Beat

On a cold wintry day in Bowling Green, Ky., the scene could be described as Christmas-like.

A bit of snow fell, fireworks were set off and the combination of white Appalachian State University football jerseys mixed with the red football jerseys of the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers made it seem like Christmas was near. "What about gifts?" you might say.

Well, Appalachian State received what they have been begging Santa for all year, and that was to be the first ASU team since 1987 to advance to the semifinals in the division I-AA playoffs, as they defeated Western Kentucky 17-14.

Even Western Kentucky's head coach Jack Harbaugh felt that the day was Christmas-like. He said, "When the snow came down, it was a beautiful day, you kind of want to sing 'Jingle Bells,' but the credit goes to Appalachian State."

Neither the offense or the defense was the sole key in the victory for the Mountaineers; it was the outstanding endeavor by both sides and their eagerness to win that propelled the Mountaineers into the semifinal round of the Division I-AA National Playoffs.

Harbaugh said, "The hardest team to defend is a team with that kind of balance, and that's what they have, defense and offense, they can run and pass equally as well."

The offense picked up midway through the first quarter with a long 43-yard run by Joey Hoover, which landed him into the end zone for a 6-0 lead.

An extra point upped the score to 7-0. A few mistakes were made by the Mountaineers in the first half but the Hilltoppers did not take advantage of them.

The Hilltoppers had three chances to pick off passes that fell directly into their hands but could not quite grasp them.

Hilltopper Jon Drummond said, "We just couldn't capitalize; we had chances, we just couldn't take them for some reason." Later in the first half the Hilltoppers took the lead 14-10, with 47 seconds remaining when Jason Johnson ran 10 yards for a touchdown.

Appalachian State University Head Coach Jerry Moore said, "We didn't play poorly in the first half, but we made mistakes and took ourselves out of opportunities to score and we gave Western (Kentucky) opportunities to score ... it wasn't bad, it was just disoriented."

The third quarter served as a defensive battle for both teams as the quarter remained scoreless. Appalachian's offense decided to step up in the fourth quarter by using their intelligence and running down the clock.

Led by quarterback Daniel Jeremiah, the Mountaineers produced a scoring drive that in 10 plays gave Appalachian 61 yards and took 5:02 off the clock.

The drive ended with Hoover slicing 3 yards for a touchdown.

Moore said, "I was pleased in our ability in that we could run that much time off the clock." As the Hilltoppers began their offensive series, the ASU defense began to pick up, led by Josh Jeffries and Justin Seaverns, when Seaverns forced Western Kentucky to fumble and Jeffries quickly pounced on the ball for an ASU recovery.

The Mountaineer offense once again used their smarts by running off close to four minutes of the clock again, followed by a stunning Nathan McKinney punt that halted right on the Hilltoppers' 5-yard line giving them a little over five minutes to play. Moore said of McKinney's punt, "I'm sure that was the biggest play of the ball game."

The defense tremendously picked up with another key play when Western Kentucky was in a fourth down with 1 yard to go field position.

As soon as the ball was given into a Hilltopper's hands a swarm of Mountaineers stopped him dead in his tracks, which resulted in a turnover on downs.

Moore said, "We took advantage of that opportunity, both teams' seasons were riding on that one play and we took advantage."

Jason Sowell also said of the play, "The (defense) said this is our season right here, the last play, it was all about want-to.

We were meshed and we were a unit, I don't think anybody could have gotten a first down on us that play. My heart was beating out of my chest; we knew they were going to run and we stopped them."

Christmas is still a couple weeks down the road, and the Mountaineers' wish list is two checks shy of being fulfilled, so they have to be nice and not naughty if they want Santa to stuff some NCAA Division I-AA National Championship rings in their stockings.

The Mountaineers will prove how nice they are next week when they travel out West to take on top-seeded Montana.

James Nix - Intramural Sports

Winter has finally arrived, and with it comes cold weather, snow and sports. Sports? Yes, sports.

While most Appalachian State University students will stay indoors next to the heater, a few brave athletes venture out into the cold to compete and have a good time.

From the slopes of Sugar Mountain and the ice rinks of Winston-Salem come two rising club sports who look to make names for themselves at Appalachian: the ski club and the ice hockey club.

Although the ski club was formed about 30 years ago, it has just recently developed into the prominent club it is today. Last year, the club finished fourth overall in its conference. Club member Jereme Daniels finished eighth in the conference for individual competitors.

This year the club hopes to finish in the top of the conference, with key members Will Hendricks, Todd Sink and Andrew Jochel leading the way.

"We are hoping to finish within the top-four teams this year, with our second consecutive trip to regionals," said Rob Byrd, ski club president. Starting Thursday, the club begins practicing at Sugar Mountain.

After the holiday break, the club will begin its regular practices every Monday and Wednesday at the same location.

The second Saturday of January will mark the beginning of the clubÕs competitive season with a race against clubs from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), North Carolina State University, University of Virginia, and James Madison University.

The club will continue racing every weekend until the end of February, when the top four teams compete in regionals. The top skier from each club will also compete for a chance to compete nationally.

Byrd believes that there are members on the club this year that have potential to make it to the national competition. The competitions and practices do not come easy financially, however. According to Byrd, the average ski club spends approximately $25,000 a season.

This covers race fees, practice time and ski equipment. The university does provide limited funds. "No matter how much the school gives us, we always end up paying to race out of our own pockets," said Byrd.

To ease the financial burden, the club has many fund-raising events throughout the season. The club has already shown an extreme-skiing video and held a swap shop that sold ski and snowboarding equipment to students and town residents.

In addition, the club will sell T-shirts and advertise for its sponsors. In its third year of existence at Appalachian, the ice hockey club is looking to earn recognition and respect from the other hockey clubs in the region.

In its first year of competition, the club only played against teams in the Asheville MenÕs League.

Last year, it moved on to face a few college teams such as Wake Forest University and UNC.

This year, the club has scheduled matches with even more regional universities like Clemson University, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) and the University of Tennessee.

"We are a growing club and facing tougher and tougher competition," said Brian Benton, club president. "I feel that given a little more time, we could be a force to be reckoned with."

Since the closest ice rink is in Winston-Salem, the club is limited to practicing every other weekend.

The rest of the time is filled by doing drills in the Varsity Gymnasium. Right after winter break, the club plans to play Wake Forest and UNCG.

The club's main focus, however, is the game against UNC on Feb. 2 in Winston-Salem. The game, according to Benton, will be a true test for the club since UNC is in the Atlantic Coast Conference Hockey League (ACCHL).

The club hopes to join the ACCHL next year if it can raise enough money for the dues. "Joining the ACCHL will allow us to compete at a league level," said Benton.

"That way, we will play teams such as UNC, Clemson, N.C. State and the University of Florida on a regular basis."

Like the ski club, the hockey club is also plagued by finances. The club must hold fundraisers to pay for equipment, referees and ice time.

This year the club will sell T-shirts and has even planned a joint date auction with the volleyball club around Valentine's Day.