ASUís Dexter Jackson makes it look easy as he catches a touchdown pass against Richmond last Friday night.

BOONE ó On the strength of perhaps the best individual performance in NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision postseason history by quarterback Armanti Edwards, Appalachian State University earned its third-straight trip to the FCS national championship game with a 55-35 triumph over Richmond last Friday night.

With the victory, ASU (12-2) became just the fifth program in FCS history to advance to three-consecutive national title games.

The story of the Mountaineersí semifinal triumph was Edwards, who set an NCAA Division I record (FBS or FCS) for rushing yards by a quarterback with 313. His performance also shattered Appalachian and Southern Conference rushing records for any position and was just 20 yards shy of the FCS postseason record of 333, set by Georgia Southernís Adrian Peterson versus UMass in the quarterfinals of the 1999 playoffs.

Edwardsí 313 rushing yards came on 31 carries and included four touchdown runs. He also completed 14-of-16 passes for 182 yards and three scores. In all, the sophomore set ASU postseason records for rushing yards, total offense (495 yards) and touchdowns responsible for (seven) and tied the schoolís postseason marks for rushing and passing touchdowns. He also led the Mountaineers to school records for points, total yards (617), rushing yards (435), first downs (29) and touchdowns (8) in a postseason game.

The onslaught from Edwards and Co. started early, as after a punt on their first series, the Apps scored touchdowns on five-straight possessions to grab a 35-14 lead. The first score came on an aerial connection from Edwards to Dexter Jackson, who did most of the work in taking a short pass 52 yards to paydirt. However, the next four touchdowns all came courtesy of Edwards rushes of seven, nine and 36 yards.

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In a festive spirit, fans cheer what they perceive as the super-human efforts of ASU QB Armanti Edwards.

ASU took a 35-21 lead into halftime, but saw the advantage evaporate in the first six minutes of the second half, as Richmond (11-3) scored on the opening series after the break and took advantage of a fumble on the ensuing kickoff to march just 29 yards for the tying score with 9:02 to play in the third period.

However, ASU responded with an impressive nine-play, 69-yard drive on its next offensive series, capped by a three-yard touchdown dive by Kevin Richardson that gave Appalachian the lead for good at 42-35.

From there, it was all Mountaineers, as they limited the Spiders to just 29 yards on their final five possessions. The Apps sealed their trip to Rock City with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown passes from Edwards to tight end Nic Cardwell.

Not to be overshadowed by Edwardsí performance was the play of the Appalachian defense, especially against UR running back Tim Hightower, which it limited to just 95 rushing yards, nearly 50 below his season average.

Freshman linebacker D.J. Smith led the effort with a team-high eight tackles and two pass break-ups. Defensive back Corey Lynch recorded his 24th career interception in the decisive fourth quarter to move within one of ASUís 43-year-old career record held by Larry Harbin (1961-64).

In addition to Edwards, Richardson rushed for 76 yards on 15 carries and Hans Batichon caught seven passes for a team-high 60 yards.

The triumph came in front of a loud, rowdy Friday-night crowd of 24,140, the largest in FCS postseason history for a non-championship game. Kidd Brewer Stadiumís seating capacity is listed at 16,650.