Freshmen football players celebrate their first SoCon title Saturday after the victory over Elon. Photo by Tommy Penick

by LINDSEY HUNTSINGER
Sports Reporter

The Southern Conference title game boiled down to one thing: defense.

Going into Saturday’s game, the Elon defense was ranked in the top spot in the majority of defensive categories in the SoCon. But, it was the defense on the other side of the field that clinched the SoCon crown, and the NCAA Division I FCS playoff berth.

“In a way I sort of thought we were the underdog,” head coach Jerry Moore said. “Elon was the No. 1 team; they led the nation in defense. But, if you’ve got anything to you at all that challenge is going to make you rear your ugly head.”

Appalachian State’s defense has been under fire all season for their sometimes-shaky performances. They shed all doubt early in the game as junior safety Mark LeGree intercepted a pass from Elon quarterback Scott Riddle just 5 minutes into the game. Sophomore defensive back Ed Gainey brought in one of Riddle’s passes at the 4:17 mark of the first quarter, and LeGree intercepted another pass seconds before the quarter ended.

“I just know sometimes when I get interceptions the offense thrives off me and they’ll go down and score,” LeGree said. “So, maybe if I didn’t get them it would be a lot closer game.”

The interceptions served as catalysts for the consistent Mountaineer offense, as all three led to Appalachian touchdowns.

“All four of those defensive coaches, I sat in those meetings, they were well prepared, and they had our team well prepared,” Moore said. “They had a good scheme for them.”

Riddle had only thrown four interceptions before Saturday’s game. The Mountaineer secondary was able to take advantage of Riddle’s unusual inaccuracy, and capitalized on his off-target passes.

Interceptions were not the only aspect of the Appalachian defense that proved tough to handle. Appalachian’s defensive line put a great deal of pressure on the Elon offense. The line came away with five sacks for a total loss of 42 yards.

Junior linebacker D.J. Smith totaled 15 tackles on the game, and senior defensive lineman Anthony Williams had two of the five sacks in the game.

“The guys in the back of me covered me three, four, maybe five seconds and I really appreciate it,” Williams said. “Sometimes it doesn’t happen too quickly, but it allows me to keep going to get there.”

Appalachian brought down an offense that had averaged 35 points per game, and overtook a defense that held previous opponents to an average of 12 points per game.

“They’ve got a nice, balanced offense and we were challenged to stop that, and I thought we played as complete a game defensively as we could have played,” Moore said.

Although the on-field performance was impressive during the game, the real excitement came after the clock stopped running.

With Saturday’s win, the Mountaineers secured their fifth consecutive SoCon title, and guaranteed themselves a place in the FCS playoffs for as many years in a row.

While many of the team’s goals have already been accomplished, their season is far from over.

Appalachian takes on Western Carolina at home Saturday in their final conference game, the annual Battle for the Old Mountain Jug.

Photo by Tommy Penick  |  The Appalachian

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