College Sports
Email
Print
Mountaineers prevail in 'dogfight'
ADVERTISEMENT
Published: October 4, 2009
CHARLESTON, S.C.
Appalachian State had to work overtime to escape with a 30-27 victory over The Citadel yesterday.
The Mountaineers, who improved to 2-2 overall and 2-0 in the Southern Conference by the barest of margins, answering big plays by The Citadel with a 74-yard touchdown pass from Armanti Edwards to Brian Quick to force overtime.
Then it came down to kickers. Sam Keeler of The Citadel, who made 50- and 45-yarders in the first half, missed a 37-yard attempt on the opening possession of overtime. Jason Vitaris then nailed the game winner, making a 29-yarder.
"We were in a dogfight," said Edwards, who passed for 327 yards and ran for two touchdowns against the Bulldogs (2-2, 0-1). He also became the Mountaineers' all-time leader in passing yardage, passing Richie Williams' career mark of 7,759. "We were lucky to have made one more play than them."
The Bulldogs took a 20-17 lead early in the fourth quarter when Van Dyke Jones broke an attempted tackle and eluded another defender on the way to a 69-yard touchdown run.
Vitaris tied the score moments later with a 30-yard field goal, but the Bulldogs struck again when Luke Caldwell caught a pass from Bart Blanchard, got a key block and escaped the grasp of a defender on a 29-yard touchdown play. The Bulldogs led 27-20 with 5:18 left.
The Mountaineers caught up 50 seconds later, when Edwards hit a wide-open Quick for a 74-yard touchdown strike.
Quick said that he changed the route.
"The safety had come down and cheated, so I made it into a go," he said. "Me and Armanti were on the same page."
Coach Kevin Higgins of the Bulldogs said: "We just broke coverage. We are in a two-deep scheme there, and for whatever reason our safety came down. It was a miscommunication."
The Bulldogs had a chance to make amends, getting a final shot in the closing seconds of regulation, but Keeler's 53-yard attempt was sabotaged by a mishandled snap and was partially blocked by Quick.
Vitaris was among the Mountaineers who breathed a sigh of relief after his 29-yarder was good in overtime, after a timeout by The Citadel to ice him.
"It's always good to end on a make," Vitaris said.
Coach Jerry Moore of the Mountaineers said that his team played well enough to overcome some mistakes and a solid effort by the Bulldogs.
"It's a tough place to come play," said Moore, pleased to escape with a victory but not enamored with his team's overall defensive performance. "We're not tackling very well. I was disappointed that we kept losing contain. We let them get on the corners and that's been a thorn in our side. We've got to get that corrected and the way to correct it is to go work at it."
He acknowledged that being 2-0 in the SoCon will make it easier to work than having playoff hopes in early-season jeopardy.
"We've got a good football team, I believe that," Moore said. "Now we haven't reached that level we want to be at, but we've got the right stuff."
Receiver Matt Cline, who helped the Mountaineers total 327 yards passing, said: "We got a few things we need to clean up, but a win's a win. We'll take it."
The Bulldogs lost to the Mountaineers for the 15th time in the past 16 games.
"This one really does hurt, because we were so close," quarterback Bart Blanchard said. "In years past, they've beaten us by 20 or 30 points, and if we were ever going to do anything, this was the year to do it."
The Citadel cashed in on red-zone opportunities in the first half. The Mountaineers didn't, and trailed 13-7 at halftime.
The Bulldogs got 50- and 45-yard field goals by Keeler, and drove 70 yards on their opening series for a 4-yard touchdown pass from Blanchard to Alex Sellars. The Bulldogs had the ball 11:28 in the first quarter.
The Mountaineers missed chances. Two trips inside the 10-yard line produced zero points.
"It was very frustrating," Edwards said. "We were moving the ball a lot but coming out with nothing."
A 26-yard field-goal attempt misfired after a bobble on the hold, and Vitaris later missed a 25-yard attempt.
The Mountaineers did complete one first-half drive. Edwards scored on a 15-yard run with three minutes left in the half.
The Mountaineers came out rolling in the second half, driving 80 yards for a go-ahead touchdown on a 1-yard run by Edwards. A sack by Jabari Fletcher put the Bulldogs in a hole on their first series of the second half and forced their first three-and-out. A 44-yard field goal by Vitaris then stretched the lead to 17-13.
<span>tbowman@wsjournal.com.
727-7320
ASU 0 7 10 10 3 -- 30
The Citadel 7 6 0 14 0 -- 27
First Quarter
Citadel--Sellars 4 pass from Blanchard (Keeler kick), 8:28.
Second Quarter
Citadel--FG Keeler 50, 14:54.
ASU--Edwards 15 run (Vitaris kick), 3:00.
Citadel--FG Keeler 45, :05.
Third Quarter
ASU--Edwards 1 run (Vitaris kick), 12:09.
ASU--FG Vitaris 44, 7:43.
Fourth Quarter
Citadel--V.Jones 69 run (Keeler kick), 12:49.
ASU--FG Vitaris 30, 8:30.
Citadel--Caldwell 29 pass from Blanchard (Keeler kick), 5:18.
ASU--Quick 74 pass from Edwards (Vitaris kick), 4:28.
Overtime
ASU--FG Vitaris 29.
A--14,238.
TEAM STATISTICS
ASU Citadel
First downs 25 18
Rushes-yards 41-151 41-214
Passing 327 159
Comp-Att-Int 22-29-0 15-25-0
Return Yards 9 0
Punts-Avg. 2-40.5 4-41.5
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 3-0
Penalties-Yards 4-25 3-19
Time of Possession 31:06 28:54
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Appalachian State, Edwards 10-80, D.Moore 26-66, C.Baker 4-24, Magazu 1-(minus 19). The Citadel, V.Jones 4-81, Starks 14-48, Dallas 11-44, Roberts 2-25, Blanchard 8-14, Adams 1-3, Keiper 1-(minus 1).
PASSING--Appalachian State, Edwards 22-29-0-327. The Citadel, Blanchard 11-20-0-117, Starks 3-3-0-30, Caldwell 1-1-0-12, Team 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING--Appalachian State, Cline 5-35, Quick 4-117, Hillary 4-55, D.Moore 3-53, Elder 3-39, Jorden 1-21, C.Baker 1-7, B.Frazier 1-0. The Citadel, Roberts 6-47, Dallas 3-30, Caldwell 1-29, V.Jones 1-21, Blanchard 1-12, Harward 1-10, Robertson 1-6, Sellars 1-4.
Email
Print
