An Eventful Homecoming Sends the Crowd Home Happy

In front of a lively Homecoming crowd of 28,912 at Kidd Brewer Stadium, Appalachian State rolled to it's second consecutive win on Saturday as they topped the Samford Bulldogs 35-17, setting the stage for an even larger Black Saturday match-up with Georgia Southern this weekend. The win moved the Mountaineers to 5-2 overall, with a 3-1 mark in Southern Conference play. The offense topped 500 total yards for the second consecutive week, as Jamal Jackson set the tone with 290 yards passing, 40 yards rushing, 2 passing touchdowns and 1 score on the ground. Jackson finished the day completing 19 of 30 pass attempts, giving him a lofty 70% completion rate (40 of 57) after two career starts.


Jamal was hardly the only star on Saturday, as running back Travaris Cadet finished the day with 139 rushing yards on 22 attempts (6.3 yards/carry) to go with 11 receiving yards. Cadet also added 108 yards on kick and punt returns, earning him SoCon Special Teams Player of the Week honors and bringing his total to 258 all-purpose yards on the day. His stellar performance came on the back of his 133-yard rushing mark last week against The Citadel, as he became the first ASU back to surpass 100 yards in consecutive games since Devon Moore in his brilliant 1,374 yard 2009 campaign.

Not to be lost among the great offensive performers Saturday was Brian Quick, who turned in another big game with 4 catches for 100 yards and a touchdown. His score was a back-breaker for the Samford defense, as it came with 1:14 remaining in the first half and just 84 seconds after Samford had crept to within 14-10 on a Riley Hawkins TD reception. Facing 2nd and 10 from the ASU 31, Jamal Jackson hit Quick in stride over the middle and let Brian do the rest, sprinting away from several Bulldog defenders for a 69-yard score that pushed the ASU lead to 21-10, from which they would never look back. Aside from the in-game significance, the score was the 26th of his brilliant career. Brian is now alone in first on the all-time ASU list ahead of Bob Agle, whose record 25 touchdown receptions had stood since 1968. Quick now sits at 615 receiving yards with 6 scores through seven games, pacing him for over 1,000 yards in what could be a career year. Enjoy him in Boone while you can, this young man will soon be playing on Sundays in a stadium near you.


While the continued resurgence of the offense is a pleasant site for all Mountaineer fans, the defense was up to the challenge on Saturday as well. Samford came into Boone averaging 33 points per game and were fortunate to get halfway there against the Appalachian defense. Troy Sanders and Jeremy Kimbrough continued their excellent seasons, leading the team with 9 tackles a piece. Jeremy also notched a sack, 1.5 tackles for loss and a fumble recovery. Sophomore Rodger Walked snatched two key interceptions deep in ASU territory, bringing his season total to three and keeping the Bulldogs out of the end zone.


In spite of all the great efforts put forth on Saturday, none impressed me as much as the gutsy performance by DeAndre Presley. After being injured in the Wofford game and then giving way to Jamal Jackson to run the offense, Presley returned to action this week as a starter at right cornerback. He began practicing his new position on Wednesday and after three days, the coaches were comfortable enough with his progress to give him the nod. DeAndre proved right away that their faith was not unfounded, as he stripped Samford star receiver Kelsey Pope on just the 7th play of the game and finished the day with 6 solo tackles.


I have never seen any player have as unique a college career as DeAndre Presley. He came to Boone as a quarterback where he backed up Armanti Edwards as a freshman, was moved to wide receiver as a sophmore and then returned to quarterback his junior year. In a full season as ASU's starting signal caller, he finished 3rd in the Walter Payton Award voting and became only the 4th player in FCS history to pass for 2,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in a season.


The majority of athletes who achieve that type of success would never accept the coaches decision to replace him after struggling early this season. DeAndre, however, has been Jamal Jackson's biggest supporter and told the staff he wanted to help this team any way he can. Given his speed and the Mountaineers' injury problems in the secondary, it was decided that he could be of the most use in the defensive backfield where his performance speaks for itself. The unfortunate truth is that the selflessness shown by DeAndre over the past few week is rare. It is important that the sacrifices he has made for this team are fully appreciated by the Appalachian family. What could have easily been a distraction has become a learning tool for the younger players that look up to him. As great as his physical abilities may be, his leadership and character are what truly make me proud to be a Mountaineer.


Offensive game ball: Travaris Cadet
Defensive game ball: DeAndre Presley


*Pictures from MountaineerIllustrated.com

Homecoming Preview: Scouting the Bulldogs

After going nearly a month in between home games, Appalachian prepares to host Samford for Homecoming 2011. The ASU line-up will look significantly different from the last time they took the field at Kidd Brewer Stadium, as Jamal Jackson has been named starting quarterback and outside linebacker Demery Brewer has been lost for the season. While Samford is not a team that has given the Mountaineers trouble historically, this is easily the most formidable team the Bulldogs have fielded since the Chris Evans led 2008 squad that ASU defeated 35-24 in Birmingham.

Samford comes into Boone riding a 3-game winning streak and boasting the reigning Southern Conference defensive and offensive players of the week in safety Corey White and running back Fabian Truss. Truss has rushed for 589 yards and 6 touchdowns on the season, while White leads the conference with 3 interceptions and is also the Bulldogs leading tackler with 31. Samford is led offensively by an experienced quarterback in senior Dustin Tallaferro, who has passed for 1,273 yards and 10 touchdowns, as well as holding the SoCon's second highest passer efficiency rating. As a team, the Bulldogs enter this contest 3rd in the conference in scoring offense at 33 points per game and 4th in points allowed with 23.5 points per game.

For the black and gold, the key will be building on the offensive momentum created with the 49-point outburst last weekend in Charleston, as well as making the mental adjustment necessary to defend a more prototypical offense after having the triple option pounded into their heads over the last three weeks. Jamal Jackson will face a tougher test this week, as the Bulldogs will almost certainly be able to apply more pressure than he faced last weekend against The Citadel. However, Jamal is a confident young man that plays very poised and I expect our offense to move the chains.

Last week, Steven Miller and Travaris Cadet each rushed for over 100 yards and found the end zone. The Mountaineers' multiple spread offense is very ineffective without balance, so the ability of our running backs to carry over their success from a week ago will factor largely in the outcome. If Samford is forced to respect the ground game, the passing lanes will open up and allow Jackson to pick apart the Samford secondary. Thus far in his very young career, Jamal has been impressive in his ability to make accurate passes deep over the middle, which is where Brian Quick is a very dangerous weapon.

I have no doubts that the ASU defense is happier than anybody to see an offense that is not a triple option. Based on their last performance against a very talented Chattanooga attack, Appalachian should again be able to spend a fair amount of time in the backfield and pressure Tallaferro into mistakes or incompletions. The availability of Ed Gainey and Lanston Tanyi due to off-field issues is still up in the air, but it is important to recall that ASU posted a dominating defensive performance in their last home game without the benefit of Tanyi or Gainey. James Robinson and Ronald Blair have been very impressive as pass-rushers off the edge as true freshmen, which could lead to another long day for a visiting quarterback making the trip up the mountain.

In my opinion, although improved, this Samford team is not quite on the level necessary to beat the Mountaineers in Boone. I expect a much closer game than the contest last season but between the spark given to the offense after handing the reigns to Jamal Jackson and the gradual improvement of the offensive line, ASU will be able to score enough points to find their way to a victory. The ASU defense is still very young and working on a learning curve but the 30,000 fans at Kidd Brewer Stadium will help them along the way. Appalachian State is 58-4 in their last 62 home games, making it arguably the toughest road win to get in the FCS. The Bulldogs will make a game of this and I expect nothing to come easy, but the speed and home-field advantage of the Mountaineers will prove too big an obstacle for this upstart Samford team to overcome.

My prediction:

Appalachian State 38

Samford 27

Appalachian Loses Demery Brewer for the 2011 Campaign

Despite coming off an encouraging win over The Citadel in Charleston, the Mountaineers' week began with some disturbing news. As expected, Cedric Baker Boney and Demery Brewer are not going to play on Saturday due to injuries suffered last weekend. Cedric is due for further evaluation on his shoulder and will hopefully be back on the field soon. However, the severity of Brewer's injury was not announced until today, when it was confirmed that he will miss the remainder of the season.


This is terrible news for a team already thin at the linebacker position and more importantly, for the young man himself. Demery is a 6-2, 225 lb. Senior from Lincolnton, NC and a captain of this team. He came into the program in 2008 and made an immediate impact on special teams, where he has continued to excel throughout his career. He has moved back and forth from a down lineman to linebacker during his tenure and in 2011, finally found a home as the starting outside linebacker in ASU's 3-4 defense. He is currently 5th on the ASU roster with 28 tackles, include 2.5 for a loss.


The success of the Appalachian football program is built on kids like Demery Brewer who came to Boone without a true position, surrounded by very talented players that had locked down the majority of the available playing time. In spite of that, he worked hard for four years as a reserve defender and key special teams player so that when his number was called, he was ready to contribute. After losing Justin Wray for the 2011 campaign in the offseason and the move of Lanston Tanyi back to defensive end, Demery stepped in at outside linebacker and the defense did not miss a beat. Although it is not likely, we can only hope that the NCAA will grant a hardship and allow him to return in 2012. My seats this season happen to be right next to Demery's family and they are as proud of him as you would expect. They love Appalachian State and provide very vocal support for our team, now all we can hope to do is give some of that support back. This young man has given all he has to our university, my thoughts are with him and his family.


*Photo from PlayAtTheRock.com

Mountaineers Hang On, Escape Charleston Victorious

In what was easily their most impressive offensive display of the season, Appalachian State piled up 552 yards of total offense and 49 points, led by the strong play of Jamal Jackson in his first start at quarterback for the Mountaineers. Although the game seemed out of hand early in the 3rd quarter, ASU ended up needing every bit of their offensive production as they held off a late rally by The Citadel to secure a 49-42 victory.


Yosef was dancing in the stands early, as Jamal Jackson completed his first 15 pass attempts with 3 touchdowns en route to a 35-14 halftime advantage. Jamal spread the ball around in the passing game as Brian Quick, Tony Washington and Ben Jorden all caught touchdown passes. In all, 7 different ASU players registered receptions on the day. The offensive balance was equally important in keeping The Citadel on their heels defensively. Steven Miller (18 rushes, 102 yards) and Travaris Cadet (18 rushes, 133 yards) each eclipsed the 100-yard plateau and found the end zone. Cedric Baker Boney also contributed 24 rushing yards and a score.


Jamal Jackson finished the afternoon completing 21 of 27 passes for 234 yards, 3 touchdowns and no turnovers. He was poised in the pocket and despite fighting cramps in the 2nd half, came into the game to seal the victory by eating up the last 6 minutes of the 4th quarter. The final drive included two clutch 3rd down completions and a first down scamper by Jackson. The Bulldogs ran out of timeouts as ASU drove inside The Citadel 5 yard line and instead of running the score up to 56, the Mountaineers closed out the game in victory formation with just over a minute remaining.

In spite of the final score, the ASU defense did fairly well against The Citadel triple option offense. Several of the Bulldogs' big gains came on unorthodox plays including a fake punt and a double wide receiver reverse pass. A blocked punt returned for a touchdown and a late fumble by Steven Miller left the ASU defense on the field entirely too long in the second half as The Citadel made their late charge. These were big mistakes by the Mountaineers that easily could have cost them this game and put their playoff hopes in serious jeopardy. However, these problems are fixable and not an issue with their defensive scheme, which would be much more concerning.

Defensively, ASU was led by Jeremy Kimbrough who had 11 tackles in his return from a one-game suspension earned by 2 unsportsmanlike penalties in the Chattanooga game. Dominique McDuffie had his best game as a Mountaineer as he tallied 8 tackles (1 for a loss), a pass break-up and a fumble recovery. He was disruptive in the secondary all afternoon and looked as healthy and fast as I've ever seen him.


In spite of the second half lapse that nearly cost them, this game was a huge step forward for ASU. The offense looked like the Mountaineer juggernaut that we have been spoiled by for the last 6 years and the defense made enough plays to hang on for a victory.

The announced attendance at the game was 14,154 and the ASU faithful had a relatively strong showing. The picture above was taken from the home side of the stadium right after halftime. Both the cadets and ASU crowd were still in the process of returning from the concession stands, but the healthy amount of black and gold was refreshing.


Now, ASU turns their attention to a Homecoming match-up with the Samford Bulldogs, who enter the contest at 4-2 and riding a 3-game winning streak.


Offensive game ball: Jamal Jackson
Defensive game ball: Dominque McDuffie

Game Preview: The Citadel

We are at the midway point of the season and it is time to get to work. It has been an up and down season for the Mountaineers and in some ways, I'm not sure how much more I know about this team than I did before the season began. The team was overwhelmed and mistake prone in a blowout loss in Blacksburg to kick off the season, did some tune-up work against inferior competition in easy wins over A&T and Savannah State, relied on defense and special teams to pull out a heart-stopping win over Chattanooga in the SoCon opener, then followed that up with another flat offensive performance in Spartanburg. The black and gold now sit at 3-2 overall with a 1-1 conference record and plenty of opportunities to get the 2011 campaign back on track.


That starts this weekend when the boys (and myself) travel down to Charleston for a match-up with The Citadel. The Bulldogs are a tough team to figure out as well. They opened the season with an impressive 31-9 win over Jacksonville, then lost tight games against Furman and Elon to start their conference slate. This team seemed dead in the water and destined for another season in the cellar when they stood at 0-2 in conference play and trailed 27-0 on the road against Chattanooga, until they staged a furious comeback to score 28 unanswered points and rally to a 28-27 victory. A road win against a quality team like UTC initially altered my opinion of this team drastically, but that triumph was followed up with a 43-14 home loss to Wofford. As we know, there is no shame in losing to the Terriers but the game was even less competitive than the score would indicate. Only a couple of late TD's in garbage time prevented an embarrassing shutout at home. This Saturday, will we see the team that fought back to beat Chattanooga or the team that laid down against Wofford?


In my opinion, it does not matter. If ASU plays their game, they should escape Johnson Hagood Stadium victorious this weekend. Appalachian will enjoy the full-time return of 3 defensive starters as Jeremy Kimbrough, Ed Gainey and Lanston Tanyi all return from suspension. Their experience against the triple option should allow the defense to get The Citadel offense off the field, as they are one of the worst 3rd down teams in the country. As important as it is to get a win in this game and not fall any further behind Wofford and Georgia Southern in the standings, it is equally important for a strong defensive showing against an option attack before the Eagles come to town in two weeks. Struggling to stop The Citadel offense could foreshadow serious struggles on Black Saturday, as Jeff Monken and the Georgia Southern triple option have far superior athletes at their disposal.


The offensive output this weekend will go a long way to showing what type of team we will have in the second half of the season. DeAndre Presley injured his shoulder in the Wofford game and has not practiced since. There has been no official statement from the staff, but it sure looks like Jamal Jackson will be making his first career start for the Apps. Coming off a bye week and having two weeks to work out with the first team is the best possible way to put Jamal in a position to succeed. We have seen Jamal in very limited game action but from what I have observed in the small sample, he throws a very tight ball, is deceptively quick and seems very confident on the field. Also, having a taller quarterback in the pocket should reduce the amount of balls batted at the line. My hope is that some time to observe from the sidelines will help DeAndre get a fresh perspective and regain his confidence, because he has not looked like the same player to me since the second half of last season. An impressive enough performance by Jamal could force a difficult decision for the coaching staff next week.


Of course, there will be much more to the offensive success than quarterback play. The young offensive line needs to come together and hold a pocket in order for anybody to have success in the passing game, which has been a problem to this point. The bread and butter of the ASU offense has always been the ground game, and a strong performance from the offensive line and running back corps will be essential. The Citadel is not as strong defensively as Wofford or Chattanooga, but is good enough to shut us down if we become one-dimensional. I hope to see the coaching staff incorporate some swing passes to the tailbacks and quick slants to Ben Jorden, Brian Quick and the other ASU receivers to keep the Bulldogs' defense honest and take some pressure off of the young offensive line. The speed advantage should be decidedly in ASU's favor, so pitches to the outside to allow Travaris Cadet, Cedric Baker Boney and Steven Miller to hit the edges could result in big plays or at the very least, spread out the defense and create openings for big plays over the middle as the game progresses.


This is a young, inexperienced team learning as they go but this bye week could not have come at a better time. The defense is as healthy as they've been all season and has had two weeks to watch tape of the Wofford game in preparation for more assignment football against a disciplined option team. The offense has also had time to correct mistakes, make adjustments and get acclimated to the idea of a new signal caller. It is crunch time and the margin for error is now very small. In my time watching ASU football, this staff and team always seems to come ready in conference play when it has it's back against the wall (remember the 0-2 start in '09?) and I expect more of the same this weekend. I think the Apps come out focused, hungry and ready to take care of business. The Bulldogs keep it close early until ASU pulls away in the 2nd half.


My prediction:
Appalachian State 31
The Citadel 17


*image courtesy of the Winston-Salem Journal