ASU stomps Lenoir-Rhyne
48-7 before a record crowd

BOONE ñ Top-ranked Appalachian State University scored touchdowns on each of its first five possessions and cruised to a 48-7 win over Lenoir-Rhyne in football in front of a record crowd of 28,802 at Kidd Brewer Stadium last Saturday afternoon.

ASU (2-0) added a field goal on its sixth possession to take a commanding 38-0 lead just over midway through the second quarter. From there, ASU pulled a number of its starters and threw just six more passes the rest of the way in cruising to the easy win.

Making his first start in nearly a year, senior quarterback Trey Elder turned in a career performance, totaling 300 yards of offense and accounting for five touchdowns in just three quarters of play.

Filling in for starter Armanti Edwards, who was dressed and available to play but sat out with a shoulder injury, Elder completed 9-of-13 passes for 210 yards and four touchdowns while running for 90 more yards and another score. His 300 yards of total offense were a career high.

Elder wasted no time in leading the Mountaineers to a comfortable advantage, as none of the six first-half scoring drives lasted more than 2:49. He connected with Sports Illustrated cover-boy Dexter Jackson for touchdown connections of 18 and 59 yards and added scoring strikes of 42 yards to Tavaris Washington and 33 yards to tight end Nic Cardwell, mixed in with a three-yard touchdown run of his own.

Julian Rauch booted a pair of 40-yard field goals and Devon Moore added a 12-yard touchdown run to close out the ASU scoring.

The Mountaineers were on the verge of registering just their second shutout in eight seasons when L-Rís Andrew Courman, the brother of ASU wide receiver T.J. Courman, scored from five yards out with 44 seconds remaining in the ballgame.

Freshman linebacker D.J. Smith led the Appsí defensive effort with a game-high 12 tackles. Defensive end Gary Tharrington chipped in with eight tackles, including a sack and one-and-a-half stops for loss.

James Pone ran 23 times for 91 yards to lead Lenoir-Rhyne (0-2). In all, Appalachian out-gained L-R, 403-195, despite the Bears holding a more than 13-minute advantage in time of possession.

ASU will return to action at 3:30 p.m.next Saturday, when it hosts perennial Big Sky contender Northern Arizona.

Lions tame Tornados 35-7
with 2nd-half scoring surge

MARS HILL ó Mars Hill Collegeís offense erupted for 21 points in the third quarter to pull away from Brevard College 35-7 during the Lionsí football home opener in front of 4,248 fans at Meares Stadium.

BC (0-3) scored first with an 18-play, 70-yard drive, culminated by John Taylorís 1-yard touchdown run with 1:24 left in the first quarter.

MHC (2-0), which scorched BC 55-0 last year, immediately retaliated to tie the score at 7-7 just before the halftime break.

In the third quarter, Lions running back Chappell Rose scored two touchdowns and added a third in the final quarter. Rose† amassed 144 yards on 26 carries.

While MHC limited BC to 64 total yards in the second half, the Tornados nonetheless had an opportunity to tied the game at 14-14 midway through the third quarter, when Stanley Jones intercepted a Ricky Spradling pass and returned it to the Lionsí 26-yard-line.

Indeed, BC, which drove to the MCH 9-yard-line, failed on two tries to score. On the first shot, Colby McCoy threw short to Seth Corliss in the end zone. On the final pass, McCoy was intercepted by Rashawn Champion. The Lions responded with a nine-play, 76-yard scoring drive to build their margin to 21-7. MHC recovered a fumble in the end zone on the next kickoff to set up a final score that secured the victory.

For MHC, Spradling finished 14-of-20 passes for 186 yards. He also gained 30 yards on eight runs and scored a touchdown.

Meanwhile, BC was led by quarterback Trey Wilborn, who netted 32 yards on 13 carries.
Next, MHC will visit the University of the Cumberlands at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.

In contrast, BC will have an open date before returning to action at 2 p.m. Sept. 22, when the Tornados will host Chowan College at Brevard Highís football stadium.

E. Kentucky tramples WCU
45-21, grabs 5 interceptions

RICHMOND, Ky. ó Eastern Kentucky ran over Western Carolina 45-21 in football last Saturday.

EKU (1-1) amassed 326 rushing yards and five touchdowns, as well as snaring four interceptions.

The Colonels raced to a 17-0 halftime lead, sparked by running backs Bobby Washington and Mark Dunn, each of whom scored a touchdown. Washington registered 130 rushing yards, while Dunn had 122 yards.

For WCU (0-2), a highlight was a 69-yard touchdown reception by Mike Malone.

The Catamounts will visit powerhouse Georgia on Saturday at a time to be announced.

Grizzlies feast on Stallions
48-0 for a runaway victory

The Asheville Grizzlies stomped the Tennessee Stallions 48-0 at Memorial Stadium in Asheville last Saturday night.

The victory enabled the Grizzlies to retain first place in the North American Football League.

After building a 34-point first-half lead, Asheville (6-1) cruised to the win. Tennessee fell to 0-6.

Next, the Grizzlies will visit the Georgia Crusaders at 7 p.m. Saturday. They will return home to play Beaufort (S.C.) at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 22 at Memorial Stadium.

UNCAís AD to be honored for her administrative skills

UNC Asheville athletic director Janet Cone has been chosen as the 2007 Administrator of the Year for Division I-AA (Divsion I schools without football teams) by the National Association of Collegiate Women Atheltic Administrator.

Cone will be recognized at an awards dinner on Oct. 8 in St. Petersburg, Fla. Awards are given to NACWAA members who demonstrate administrative excellence and make significant contributions to intercollegiate athletics.

Maybin assigned to play
for Peoria during fall ball

Former Roberson High star Cameron Maybin, a 20-year-old rookie for the Detroit Tigers, has been assigned to play for the Peoria Saguaros in the Arizona Fall League.

WCU health center given
N.C. backing; work to start

CULLOWHEE ó Western Carolina recently announced plans to break ground on a new health building following approval in early August, when Gov. Mike Easley signed the stateís $20.7 billion budget.

The spending plan includes $46.2 million for WCUís new health and gerontological sciences building, which is scheduled for construction in September 2008.

The facility, encompassing 145,000 square feet, will be the first project to be completed on WCUís new 344-acre Millennial Campus across N.C. 107.

The building will consolidate faculty and students who now are scattered among four different buildings, including WCUís School of Nursing, programs in social work, physical therapy, athletic training, clinical environmental health, health information administration, nutrition, emergency medical care and communication science.