■ Appalachian State's defense, coming on strong in the past month, is about a touchdown better than last year's unit.
The Mountaineers, despite having just one senior in the most recent starting lineup, have trimmed their points-allowed average to 20.8 a game. That compares favorably to last year's 25.6 average through the regular season.
"They're getting better, they sure are," Coach Jerry Moore of the Mountaineers said.
Linebacker Jacque Roman, who leads the team in tackles, was named the SoCon's defensive player of the year by the league's coaches yesterday. He was joined on the all-SoCon first team by fellow linebacker Pierre Banks; freshman end Jabari Fletcher; and defensive backs Cortez Gilbert and Mark LeGree, who leads the nation with nine interceptions.
"I think this is the best defense that we've been playing since 2006," said Banks, the only senior starter on defense for the Mountaineers over the last three games. "We had a pretty dominate defense then, but now I think we're playing to another level."
■ Freshman DeAndre Presley's first start at quarterback was a productive one. Presley, filling in for Armanti Edwards, had 314 yards on offense and led the Mountaineers to a 35-10 come-from-behind victory over Western Carolina last Saturday.
"It really helped me gain confidence," said Presley, who rushed for 156 yards and three touchdowns and completed 16 of 25 passes for 158 yards and a touchdown. "I always have confidence in the team, but getting this experience, my first start, really helped me out."
Edwards, kept on the sideline to avoid aggravating a bruised hip, could have played in an emergency situation. Moore was asked what would have constituted an emergency.
"Two bad series in the second half," said Moore, whose team trailed 10-7 at halftime. "We had already talked about it, but we never mentioned it, obviously, to DeAndre and we didn't even mention it to Armanti."
It never got to that point. Presley led the Mountaineers to touchdowns on three of the first for possessions of the second half.
"DeAndre needed that," Moore said. "I'm not sure you could have written a better script… He hung in there. It was good for him to be behind and not get down on himself. He needed a ballgame like this."
■ Edwards is expected to start in Saturday's playoff game against S.C. State.
Running back Robert Welton (shoulder) is probable. Running back Devin Radford (knee) could return Saturday but remains questionable, and safety Leonard Love (ankle) is still questionable.
■ Wofford, the only other SoCon team besides Appalachian to make the playoffs, will play at top-ranked and No. 1 seed James Madison in the first round.
"It's a tough task," Coach Mike Ayers of the Terriers said. "We have to play them up there and that makes it even more difficult."
For the record, the Terriers knocked off Montana 23-22 in last year's first round.
■ SoCon coaches named an all-freshman team yesterday for the first time.
Georgia Southern led the way with seven players named to the team. Appalachian had four -- cornerback Ed Gainey, tight end Ben Jorden, receiver Brian Quick and defensive end Lanston Tanyi.
Also named to the team were punter Blake Cain, quarterback Zack Jaynes, defensive lineman Jon Julian and running back Quan Worley of Western Carolina; linebacker Joshua Jones of Elon; and running back Eric Breitenstein of Wofford, a former high-school star at Watauga.
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