Linebacker Jacque Roman flies over an Elon player in last year’s game. File Photo

by LINDSEY HUNTSINGER
Sports Reporter

For every team, each season eventually boils down to one pivotal, must-win game that will measure the success of an entire year.

For the Mountaineers that game will take place Saturday against the Phoenix of Elon (8-1, 6-0 Southern Conference).

“This has kind of been boiling up the last two or three weeks to Elon, Appalachian, and here it is,” defensive coordinator John Wiley said. “They’re waiting for us to come in there and they’re going to try and knock us off.”

The Phoenix have the top scoring defense in the SoCon, having allowed only 13 touchdowns on the season, and giving up an average of only 12 points per outing. Elon is No. 1 in the SoCon for total defense, while Appalachian sits in the middle of the pack at fourth place.

The Phoenix are also at the top of the boards in pass defense, rush defense, total defense and sacks.

“They come up and they challenge you physically, and they bring guys from all over,” wide receivers coach Lance Taylor said. “They blitz from different areas, they mix things up, they disguise well. All those things when you do them defensively, they mess with your rhythm offensively.”

The Phoenix’s offense is led by 2008 first team All-SoCon wide receiver Terrell Hudgins.

Hudgins is the Division I receptions leader (362), and holds the FCS record for 100-yard games (25).

Freshman DeAndre Pressley leads the team after Armanti Edwards leaves the game due to an injury. Photo by Tommy Penick, File Photo

“They have a tendency, in certain situations, where they kind of let the scheme open [Hudgins] up,” Wiley said. “You’ve got to let the corners go cover him and you’ve got to give them a certain amount of help over the top.”

Hudgins, the top receiver in the SoCon, out-ranks the Mountaineers’ leading wide receiver, Matt Cline, who is currently in fifth place. Cline has caught 54 passes for a total of 611 yards, and sophomore Brian Quick is close behind him with 610 receiving yards.

“Offense is extremely important,” offensive lineman Mario Acitelli said. “We’ve got to put points on them because their offense is good, and their offense is going to have the potential to put up some points. Our defense has been coming together nicely, but without points you can’t win.”

Elon’s quarterback Scott Riddle is the main contributor to the success of the Phoenix offensive front. He has passed for 2,546 yards and 20 touchdowns in 2009, and is averaging 283 passing yards a game.

“[Riddle] goes through a progression of reads like, ‘OK, this will work with this coverage,’” Wiley said. “Then if it’s not there he’s looking to get out of there and scramble, and he’s athletic enough to do that.”

ASU Quarterback Armanti Edwards is leading the SoCon in pass efficiency, and recently joined Missouri’s Brad Smith as the only two players in Division I history to pass for 8,000 and rush for 4,000 yards.

Both Elon and Appalachian dominate the SoCon leaderboards statistically, but Saturday’s game will decide which players are able to lead their team to a No. 1 finish in the SoCon.

“Elon is everything they’re hyped up to be,” Taylor said. “Defensively they’re number one in the nation. We’re expecting one of the biggest challenges of the season, if not the biggest challenge for us. They’re as good as advertised.”

Photo by Tommy Penick  |  File Photo

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