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Mountaineers look to chop Lumberjacks |
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Thursday, 13 September 2007 |
 Quarterback Lance Kriesien gets set to take on Appalachian this Saturday. Photo by Rebecca Fairchild
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by RYAN WIXTED
Sports Editor
What exactly is a Lumberjack?
The
Appalachian State University football team will attempt to answer that
question Saturday when they host the Northern Arizona University
Lumberjacks.
Northern
Arizona hails from the Big Sky Conference, and had an overall record of
6-5 and a conference record of 4-3 last season, finishing fourth in
their respective conference.
The
Lumberjacks enter this weekend’s game with a 1-1 record, and a bad
taste in their mouth after Saturday’s 45-24 loss to the University of
Arizona.
The
Lumberjacks enter this weekend’s game with a 1-1 record, and a bad
taste in their mouth after Saturday’s 45-24 loss to the University of
Arizona.
However, Appalachian understands Northern Arizona could pose a big threat for them.
“They come from a great conference: the Big Sky Conference, and they
have a rich tradition of putting people in the playoffs,” ASU head
coach Jerry Moore said.
ASU enters this weekend looking to extend the nation’s longest winning
streak to 17, as well as their winning home streak, which currently
sits at 28 games.
The Mountaineers will face a tough test in order to keep both winning streaks alive.
NAU boasts talent on both sides of the ball and the Mountaineer defense
will get a little taste of their own medicine. NAU brings offense to
Kidd Brewer Stadium that is identical to the Appalachian’s spread
offense.
“They have a great quarterback and a great receiver,” junior safety
Leonard Love said. “[Wide receiver Alex Watson is] very good in the
open field and the [quarterback Lance Kriesien] is very athletic.”
Watson and Kriesien are the two big contributors for the Lumberjack offense.
 All-American receiver Alex Watson. Photo by Dean Hendrickson
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Watson entered the 2007 season as a pre-season All-American and leader on the offensive unit.
Watson recorded a school record 82 receptions for 1,017-yards and 15 touchdowns in the 2006 season.
This is Kriesien’s first year as the starting quarterback, but does have some experience at the position.
So far this season, Kriesien has passed for 375 yards and two touchdowns.
The Mountaineers offense will look to pick up where they left off last weekend.
Sophomore quarterback Armanti Edwards is still recovering from the
University of Michigan game, but has not been eliminated from this
week’s game plans.
“[Edwards is] still sore. He took some pretty good licks up at
Michigan, but he could go play. He could have played last week,” Moore
said. “We’re just trying to let him heal up. We have 9 games left and
we just want to make sure he’s well.”
If Edwards doesn’t play, senior Trey Elder will lead the offense for the second straight week.
Northern Arizona’s defense enters Saturday’s game ranked 57 in rush defense and 19 in pass defense.
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