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by LINDSEY HUNTSINGER
Sports Reporter
A record setting performance from quarterback Armanti Edwards, and a close overtime win against Southern Conference opponent The Citadel last weekend was enough to loosen up a Mountaineer team that showed signs of game-time anxiety early this season.
Appalachian defeated The Citadel 30-27 Saturday with a field goal by Jason Vitaris in overtime.
“You have to keep in mind that we went to a Southern Conference road game and won one in overtime,” defensive coordinator John Wiley said. “Overall you’re certainly not satisfied, but you’re pleased with the way they competed and fought and won on the road.”
After fighting back
in overtime to overcome the Bulldogs fourth quarter surge, the
Mountaineers have proven themselves as truly resilient competitors, but
have not yet reached the point they have been at in previous seasons.
“We’re
just not executing like we have in the past and it’s hurting us as you
can see,” Edwards said. “We just have one or two missed assignments
every play.”
During
the course of Saturday’s game, Edwards took the top spot on
Appalachian’s list of all-time passing yardage with 7,857 career yards,
surpassing former quarterback Richie Williams.
Amid the
preparation for Appalachian’s Homecoming week, players and coaches are
readying themselves to face nonconference opponent North Carolina
Central.
“I feel
like every Saturday is a meaningful game to us,” Edwards said. “We go
out there and play hard no matter who we’re playing.”
Saturday
will be the first meeting between Appalachian and the Eagles, which
means much of N.C. Central’s game plan is a mystery to team members.
The Eagles bring with them a talented and versatile offense that
Appalachian is still unsure about.
NCCU has
a slew of players the Mountaineers are anticipating to be playmakers
for the Eagles Saturday, including quarterback Michael Johnson, and
wide receivers Geovonie Irvine and Will Scott.
“The
quarterback is a talented player, but he can be erratic at times, so
that’s some of the uncertainty of it,” Wiley said. “Any time you play
an opponent for the first time there’s the uncertainty of what their
thought process is, and what they’re going to do if they line down like
this, or line down like that.”
Wiley
hopes this weekend the defense will continue to improve their play as
they have tried to do since their loss to McNeese State in the second
week of play.
“We’ve
kind of been on this mission since McNeese,” Wiley said. “If we can
make incremental improvements every week, which we’ve been doing, it
won’t be long until we look around and say ‘Hey, we’re where we need to
be.’”
On the
other side of the ball, the Appalachian offense is going to encounter a
scenario they have not faced much this season as they battle with the
man coverage N.C. Central brings with them.
“The big
thing that they’ve shown, that we’ve seen on film is they’re going to
play a lot more man coverage,” quarterbacks coach Brad Glenn said.
“They’ll try and challenge us and press us, and force us to throw some
over the top. You think we’d be able to exploit some things there in
the man coverage, but it’s just a matter of getting out there and
executing and making the plays.”
After
converting on third downs only 42 percent of the time against The
Citadel, the Mountaineers will need to work on improving that stat
against the Eagles.
“This
weekend the main thing is keep taking care of the ball like we have
been up until this point. We’ve really got to see a better third down
conversion percentage,” Glenn said. “Overall, we need a complete game.
We’ve played well in spurts then we kind of bog ourselves down for one
reason or another. We need to play well for 60 minutes.”
Many
people think with NCCU’s 0-5 record this weekend should be a breeze for
Appalachian. Coaches and players have a much different attitude about
the seriousness of every game they play.
“No
game’s a cakewalk. Anything can happen. Those guys, they work hard,
they practice hard all week. They want to come in here and win,” Glenn
said. “They want to come in here and make a statement for their
program. To come in here and knock us off would be phenomenal for their
program. We’ve got to be ready to play.”
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