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Conference opens on good note for Mountaineers |
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Tuesday, 03 October 2006 |
 Active Image | by DAVID MULVANEY
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by ERIK RHYNE
Sports Editor
The Appalachian State University football team opened conference play in style with a 45-21 defeat over Elon University Saturday.
However, it was not until late in the second quarter when ASU was able to pull away.
“We looked like we belonged for a little bit,” Elon head coach Pete
Lembo said. “We allowed them to move the ball early and then seemed to
settle down. Then, the game broke open right there before the half,
which is disappointing.”
With just over nine minutes remaining in the first half, Appalachian scored three touchdowns to expand a 10-7 lead to 31-7.
Before ASU went on its 21-point run, freshman quarterback Armanti F.
Edwards threw an interception to Phoenix defensive back Chris Bland,
who returned it 33 yards for a touchdown.
“After the interception, I had it in my mind we had to score,” Edwards
said. “If we didn’t score, they would get their hopes up and think they
could win.”
The Mountaineers responded with a 10-play, 80-yard drive that ended with Edwards running for a 5-yard touchdown.
On the very next series for Elon, Defensive back Jerome L. Touchstone
intercepted a pass by Phoenix quarterback Wes Pope and returned it 28
yards for a touchdown.
It was Touchstone’s first career touchdown and the first Appalachian
interception returned for a touchdown since Titus Howard did it against
Elon last year.
 Active Image |  Active Image |  Active Image |
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| by DAVID MULVANEY
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“There was about three minutes on the clock [before halftime] and I
told our defense that I want to play like we’re two points down,” ASU
head coach Jerry Moore said.
After the Mountaineers got the ball back, it took only 1:29 minutes to drive 85 yards to score.
Lembo said even as the game was slipping away, Elon did not change its coaching style.
“Whether you feel like it is slipping away, you don’t coach any different,” he said. “We kept going hard.
I called a timeout right before the half thinking we may get the ball
back. That hurt us because they went down and scored on that drive. “
Appalachian out-gained Elon 569-267 in total offensive yards for the game.
Despite the lopsided statistics, Phoenix linebacker Chad Nkang said ASU did not overwhelm the Phoenix.
“They definitely didn’t overpower us,” he said. “I don’t feel like they
outmanned us. I think the biggest thing was too many missed tackles. We
had the right call in the right situation and when we had the
opportunity to step up, we didn’t do it.”
Edwards finished going 15-20 for 193 yards and one touchdown.
Trey Elder replaced Edwards late in the third quarter and finished 10-14 for 110 yards and one touchdown.
The main target for both was receiver William T. Mayfield, who had a
career day with nine catches for 182 yards and a touchdown. He was the
first ASU receiver since Zach Johnson in the national championship game
last year to have over 100 yards receiving.
Running back Kevin L. Richardson had his first 100-yard game of the season, rushing 18 times for 100 yards and two touchdowns.
Marques A. Murrell led the Appalachian defense with seven tackles and
1.5 sacks. Jeremy W. Wiggins added six tackles to help in the effort.
When Elon scored a touchdown with 9:02 left in the third quarter, it
ended a 164-minute and 41-second streak by the Appalachian defense of
not allowing a touchdown.
Moore was pleased with the outcome and the team’s effort.
“It was a good way to start off the conference play,” he said. “It was
a good solid win. I was particularly pleased with how we played in the
first half. We were solid in about every phase of the game:
offensively, defensively and the kicking game.”
ASU is now 4-1 overall and 1-0 in the Southern Conference. The
Mountaineers return to action Saturday when they travel to face the
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga at 6 p.m.
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