 An NCCU player falls before junior running back Devon Moore Saturday at Kidd Brewer Stadium. After aclose first quarter, Appalachian rallied to a 55-21 victory. Photo by Holt Menzies
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by RANDI KITTS
Intern Sports Reporter
Bursts of color illuminated a murky sky Saturday in commemoration of Appalachian State’s Homecoming football game, and as the firework display’s smoke slowly diminished, so too did the hopes of first-time opponent N.C. Central.
The Mountaineers won their third consecutive game, improving their record to 3-2 and extending their home winning streak over in-state opponents to 26 games.
The Eagles fell to 0-6 for the first time since 1929 when the team went 0-7.
“We ran the ball
well, and were pretty efficient throwing it,” head coach Jerry Moore
said. “There were a few other things that we probably could have done
that we didn’t do [that] are kind of still in the bag. We’ll have to
empty [that] bag, though, to do what we want to do for the rest of the
season.”
Appalachian
totaled 500-plus yards of total offense for the first time this season,
out-gaining NCCU 644-194, with a 407-5 advantage in rushing yardage.
Starting
running back Devon Moore made his third 100-yard rushing game
performance of the season and the fourth of his career, totaling 124
yards on 11 carries.
“We just
executed the game plan really well. They were allowing us to run the
ball, and so we did,” Devon said. “After they started picking up on the
run, we went up top and started throwing the ball a lot better.”
Devon also had the first two-touchdown effort of his career.
He was
able to find an outlet in Central’s defense and capitalize when he
scored a 73-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, the longest rush
of his career.
“It’s
been a while since I’ve had a hole like that,” Devon said. “They didn’t
have any safeties or anything behind, so as soon as I went in line, it
was just green grass.”
The
touchdown run was Appalachian’s second-longest play of the year,
falling just short of the 74-yard touchdown pass from Armanti Edwards
to Brian Quick Oct. 3 at The Citadel.
Edwards totaled 334 yards of total offense Saturday, accruing 237 in passing and 97 rushing.
“We
executed a lot of plays, but at the same time we still have a lot of
mistakes that we need to correct,” Edwards said. “Simple ones, [like]
the penalty calls.”
Coach Moore said the large number of penalties were not the only problem the team faced Saturday.
“You’re
not going to win a conference football game with 18 penalties, and then
I didn’t think we tackled that well in open field,” he said. “Those are
things that cost you ball games.”
Defensive
lineman Malcolm Bennett argues the team ought not to worry so much
about receiving penalties and committing turnovers, but more about the
ways the team can recover from them.
“We need
to become more effective when we get turnovers on defense,” Bennett
said. “Other than that I think we had a pretty solid game.”
Despite
the areas that need improvement, the team ran like they had a purpose
Saturday, surpassing the 400-yard rushing mark for the first time since
their 428-yard performance last November at Chattanooga.
With the proper tenacity and purpose at hand, the Mountaineers continue to press onward and reestablish their name.
Photo by Holt Menzies | Chief Photographer
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