Josh Brown | Chief PhotographerBlack Saturday fans escort the
south-side goal post to a short dip in Duck Pond on its was
to Sanford Mall Saturday after Appalachian’s last second
victory over Furman. Fans rushed the feild after defensive back
Derrick Black returned the interception that gave ASU the win.
Josh Brown | Chief PhotographerMountaineer offensive lineman
Jim Vasquez brings down Paladin Bear Rinehart Saturday afternoon.
The Mountianeers head to Statesboro, Ga. to take on the
Georgia Southern Eagles Saturday.
Josh Brown | Chief PhotographerMountaineer linebacker Sam
Smalls tackles a Paladin during Saturday’s exciting
16-15 win over Furman in Kidd Brewer Stadium.
Josh Brown | Chief PhotographerSecond string quarterback
Richie Williams (7) celebrates with wide receiver Sterling
Hayward (6) Saturday in Kidd Brewer Stadium.
Josh Brown | Chief PhotographerDefensive lineman
K.T. Stovall (93) takes down Furman’s Hindley
Brigham (26) on Saturday.
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With 7.4 seconds left on the clock,
Furman University quarterback Billy Napier found receiver Bear Rinehart
on a 12-yard touchdown pass to give the Paladins (4-2, 2-1 SoCon)
a 15-14 lead and what looked to be a huge victory in Boone.
As the crowd at Kidd Brewer Stadium went from
hysterical to dead silent within seconds, “Black Saturday”
looked like it was not to be favorable for Appalachian State University.
Then it happened.
With no ability to foresee the following events,
Furman set up to try for a two-point conversion. Napier connected
with Mountaineer junior defensive end Josh Jeffries on a 2-yard
interception, and Jeffries took off to run the length of the field.
Twenty yards into his sprint Jeffries turned and pitched the ball
to junior defensive back Derrick Black, who knew exactly what to
do with the ball once it was in his hands.
With 7.4 seconds left on the clock, Appalachian
State (5-1, 3-0 SoCon) took back the game with a two-point return,
giving the Mountaineers the lead 16-15, where it remained until
those final seconds ran off the clock.
What once was silent was no more.
“As soon as I caught it I was looking for
someone to pitch it to because I knew that I was going to get tackled,”
Jeffries said. “Derrick and I talk about it in practice all
the time, that if I get an interception I would pitch it to him;
I turned around and he was right there.”
“Josh said he already knew that I was going
to be there,” Black said. “He turned around, I was there
and I caught in stride.”
“I was calling his name, but he said he
couldn’t hear me; he just turned and pitched it to me.”
Derrick Black tallied the final points on a day
that was destined for him: “Black Saturday.”
The Mountaineers saw their first lead late in
the third quarter when freshman defensive back Jonathon Lyles intercepted
a Napier pass for a 43-yard touchdown return. Posting the score
at 7-6, Appalachian finally looked alive in front of the home crowd
of 14,311.
“I was thinking on the sidelines defense
has got to win this game, somebody has to make a play,” Lyles
said. “I happened to be that guy today.”
Offensively, the Mountaineers struggled a bit
as only 204 total yards were accumulated by the black and gold assault.
Senior quarterback Joe Burchette threw for 116
yards and one touchdown in the victory, providing just enough for
the Mountaineer defense to pull it out.
In the middle of the fourth quarter Burchette
connected with junior running back Joey Hoover for a 24-yard pass
and the lead at 14-9. Hoover’s touchdown was the first time
the fullback saw the ball all game.
“That was Joe’s play; he wanted us
to run that because he saw it on TV,” said Mountaineer head
coach Jerry Moore. “I am going to give him the ball with that
play diagrammed on it.”
After the final whistle blew, the roaring fans
stormed the field and seized the south-side goal post. As the post
made its trip across campus and several students “belly-flopped”
into Duck Pond, everyone present knew that they had just experienced
something special.
“It surprised me; I knew we had a chance
something could happen,” Jeffries said. “The most bizarre
thing I have been a part of happened; I still can’ t believe
that happened.”
“We have to follow this up with ball games
against Georgia Southern [University], Wofford [College], [University
of Tennessee at] Chattanooga, [Virginia Military Institute] VMI
and Western [Carolina University],” Moore said. “We are
right in the beginning of this thing, the threshold.”
“You know as well as I do what this league
is like; we better go play.”
With the victory, the Mountaineers secure their
place at the top of the Southern Conference and in the top five
nationally.
The Mountaineers travel to Statesboro, Ga., this
weekend to face conference rival Georgia Southern. Game time is
set for 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 19 and will be broadcast on Fox
Sports South.
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