Big second half lifts Mountaineers to win

BOONE

It took a while, but Appalachian State finally got on track against pesky Presbyterian last night.

The Mountaineers, the nation's No. 3-ranked NCAA championship-subdivision team, broke open a tight game in the second half and went on to a 48-14 victory at Kidd Brewer Stadium.

But it wasn't very easy.

The Blue Hose fell to 0-4 in games against Southern Conference teams this season, but gave the Mountaineers all they could handle for nearly three quarters.

Led by quarterback Tim Webb, a 6-2, 193-pound junior, the pass-first Blue Hose had success against a young Appalachian State secondary and trailed just 17-14 at halftime.

Webb, who set a Big South Conference record with 37 completions in a loss to Southern Conference opponent Wofford earlier this season, set another record for a Big South quarterback last night with 57 pass attempts.

He completed 35 and finished with 372 yards passing.

But the Mountaineers (2-2) answered with plenty of offense of their own.

Devin Radford, a sophomore in his first season after transferring from Virginia Tech, rushed for 179 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries and also caught a 72-yard touchdown pass.

Armanti Edwards passed for 220 yards -- all in the first half -- but left the game late in the third quarter after injuring his left ankle on a 27-yard run. Edwards' injury will be evaluated today. DeAndre Presley, a freshman backup to Edwards, tacked on two rushing touchdowns.

The Mountaineers finished with four interceptions, including two by cornerback Cortez Gilbert.

A 46-yard field goal by Jason Vitaris extended the Mountaineers' lead to 20-14 early in the second half, but the Blue Hose threatened with a 60-yard drive that got as far as the Mountaineers' 18-yard line.

But back-to-back incomplete passes, including one on a fake field-goal attempt, ended the threat.

The Mountaineers went on to score on their next three possessions -- first getting runs of 21 and 51 yards by Radford that led to a touchdown that boosted the lead to 27-14.

Radford soon added his second 2-yard touchdown run, and Presley, who hit tight end Ben Jorden on a 58-yard completion, capped the onslaught with two short touchdown runs.

The Blue Hose started off with a bang -- getting a 56-yard kickoff return by Tyler Robbins that left them with a short touchdown drive.

Robert Welton led the Mountaineers on their first possession, getting four carries on a six-play touchdown drive that tied the score, but the Mountaineers opened up an aerial assault after that.

Edwards, despite being hurried often and not being helped by three dropped passes and a fumble after a catch, completed 12 of 21 passes for 220 yards in the first half.

The longest completion came after Edwards scrambled away from a near sack and found Radford, who outraced defenders on a 72-yard touchdown play that put the Mountaineers up 14-7 early in the second quarter.

Webb, who completed 18 of 29 passes for 254 yards in the first half and was sacked just once, did throw one interception. Gilbert picked Webb off at the Blue Hose 26-yard line and the Mountaineers extended their lead to 17-7 on a 37-yard field goal by Vitaris.

The Blue Hose closed the gap to 17-14 with a touchdown 49 seconds before halftime. Webb led an 80-yard drive that took just 1:26, capping it with a 31-yard scoring strike to Terrance Butler.

Three players made their first career start for ASU last night: Freshman Lanston Tanyi started in place of Quavian Lewis (bruised knee) at left defensive end, sophomore Jared Reine started in place of Dominique McDuffie (out for season with torn ACL) at right cornerback and sophomore Welton started in place of Devon Moore (ankle surgery) at running back.

Sophomore Jabari Fletcher made his first start this season, replacing Tony Robertson (foot surgery) at right defensive end.

The Mountaineers and Blue Hose were playing for the first time since 1969. The Blue Hose lead the series 9-8.

■ Tommy Bowman can be reached at 727-7320 or at



tbowman@wsjournal.com
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Presbyterian 7 7 0 0 -- 14


Appalachian State 7 10 17 14 -- 48

First Quarter

Pres--Reeder 1 run (Miller kick), 13:07.

ASU--Welton 3 run (Vitaris kick), 11:19.

Second Quarter

ASU--Radford 72 pass from Edwards (Vitaris kick), 14:04.

ASU--FG Vitaris 37, 12:30.

Pres--T.Butler 31 pass from Webb (Miller kick), :49.

Third Quarter

ASU--FG Vitaris 46, 11:33.

ASU--Radford 2 run (Vitaris kick), 5:43.

ASU--Radford 1 run (Vitaris kick), 2:56.

Fourth Quarter

ASU--Presley 5 run (Vitaris kick), 14:04.

ASU--Presley 3 run (Vitaris kick), 7:59.

A--28,405.

TEAM STATISTICS

Pres ASU

First downs 23 28

Rushes-yards 20-57 56-419

Passing 372 278

Comp-Att-Int 35-61-4 13-24-0

Return Yards 4 10

Punts-Avg. 6-37.8 4-45.8

Fumbles-Lost 1-0 2-2

Penalties-Yards 7-65 10-95

Time of Possession 29:20 30:40

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING--Presbyterian, Worrell 11-46, Mathis 3-14, Reeder 3-6, Caldwell 1-0, Webb 2-(minus 9). ASU, Radford 17-179, Jackson 12-75, Welton 11-69, Presley 5-37, Edwards 8-36, Stewart 2-17, Baker 1-6.

PASSING--Presbyterian, Webb 35-57-4-372, Miley 0-2-0-0, Miller 0-1-0-0, Worrell 0-1-0-0. ASU, Edwards 12-23-0-220, Presley 1-1-0-58.

RECEIVING--Presbyterian, T.Butler 12-164, Clark 6-60, Reeder 5-53, Worrell 4-7, McKoy 3-46, Bumgarner 2-34, Quinn 1-11, Mathis 1-(minus 1), Caldwell 1-(minus 2).ASU, Jorden 3-97, Jo.Johnson 2-37, Elder 2-36, Hillary 2-21, Courman 2-13, Radford 1-72, Welton 1-2.