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Tuesday, 14 November 2006 14:54 |
CULLOWHEE ÇƒÓ No. 1 Appalachian State University wrapped up its first perfect Southern Conference season in 11 years and retained possession of the Old Mountain Jug with a 31-9 football win over archrival Western Carolina on Saturday at WCUës E.J. Whitmire Stadium.
With its 20th win over Western in the last 22 meetings, Appalachian (10-1, 7-0) likely sewed up the top seed and home-field advantage throughout the upcoming NCAA Division I playoffs. The undefeated, untied conference campaign is the sixth in ASUës 78-year football history and its first since it went 8-0 in SoCon play in 1995.
The
sellout crowd of 13,742, which included about 2,500 Black and Gold
faithful, marked the 10th time that ASU played in front of a capacity
crowd in 11 games this season.
The loss, the
eighth in a row for WCU (2-8, 0-7),was the 20th in the past 22 seasons
against ASU.
Whatës more the Catamounts lost starting quarterback Todd
Spitzer to a shoulder injury in the second quarter. WCU finished with
just 232 yards of offense, while suffering three turnovers.
In a pregame
ceremony, 17 WCU seniors were honored for playing their last home game.
After that, it was all downhill for the Cats.
In a driving
rain that fell throughout the first half, the Mountaineers dominated on
both sides of the line of scrimmage to take a 17-0 lead into the locker
room. True freshman quarterback Armanti Edwards ran for 98 of his
game-high 119 yards and accounted for both touchdowns while ASUës
defense held WCU to just 90 yards in jumping out the commanding
halftime advantage.
The Apps drew
first blood by converting a pair of fourth downs on its second
possession of the afternoon and capping the nine-yard, 81-play drive
with a 33-yard field goal by Julian Rauch to take a 3-0 first-quarter
lead.
On ASUës first
possession of the second period, Edwards accounted for 61 of the
driveës 81 yards, including a 14-yard touchdown run that stretched the
advantage to 10-0.
On Westernës
ensuing drive, Buck Buchanan Award candidate Marques Murrell drilled
WCU quarterback Todd Spitzer, forcing a fumble that fellow Buchanan
candidate Jeremy Wiggins picked up at the WCU 41 yard line. The forced
fumble was Murrellës third in two games and stretched his ASU record
total to 16 for his career, while Wigginsë third fumble recovery of the
season gives him a Southern Conference-leading eight takeaways on the
campaign.
It took Edwards
and his teammates 10 plays to make it 17-0 on a 12-yard pass from
Edwards to Dexter Jackson. The touchdown pass was the 11th of the
season for Edwards, breaking Appalachianës freshman record of 10 set by
D.J. Campbell in 1989.
After the break,
the Mountaineers saved five points when it made an impressive goal-line
stand, only to snap the ball out of the back of the end zone on first
down from the one-inch line and put the Catamounts on the scoreboard at
17-2.
However, the
miscue didnët cause ASU to miss a step, as Edwards ran in his second
touchdown of the afternoon and Walter Payton Award candidate Kevin
Richardson also scored from a yard out to give Appalachian an
insurmountable 31-2 lead.
Western
Carolinaës only offensive score came long after the outcome was decided
on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Bennett Swygert to Eddie Cohen with
6:06 left to play.
Appalachian held
a 242-68 advantage in rushing yards, led by Edwardsë 119 and
Richardsonës 96. In the final regular-season game of the season,
Richardson secured the 13th 1,000-yard rushing campaign in school
history. With his second-straight 1,000-yard season, the junior is just
the third Mountaineer to record multiple 1,000-yard campaigns, joining
John Settle (1985-86) and Damon Scott (1995-96).
The Mountaineers threw for just 85 yards in the wet conditions, but still held a 298-232 edge in total yards.
Edwardsë 685
rushing yards for the season the second-most ever by an ASU
signal-caller. Edwards surpassed current ASU quarterback coach Scott
Satterfield, who rushed for 649 yards in 1995 and trails only Richie
Williamsë 936 yards from a season ago.
Next, the Apps
will enjoy a bye this week and will find out their opponent for the
opening round of the 2007 postseason next Sunday. ASU, a unanimous No.
1 selection in both major 1-AA polls, is expected to get the top seed
in the playoffs and have the opportunity to play as many as three
consecutive games at home, where its winning streak is 24 straight.
ASU will host a
Selection Show viewing party next Sunday at Legends on the ASU campus.
Doors open at noon and with the show airing live on ESPNEWS at about 1
p.m. Details on both the viewing party and postseason ticket
availability are posted at GoASU.com.
Meanwhile, WCU will wrap up its season at No. 6 Florida at noon Saturday.
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