Appalachian State to play improving Elon, with league title on line

ELON

Appalachian State has a big game today, but it's not against Georgia Southern, Furman or Wofford.

The Southern Conference hierarchy has changed. The opponent is Elon, which has become the biggest threat to ASU's four-year reign as Southern Conference champion.

Both teams will roll into Rhodes Stadium (3 p.m., SportsSouth Ch. 71) with 6-0 SoCon records, and the winner will secure the league's automatic berth in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoffs and clinch at least a share of the league title.

Not much is new for Appalachian, which is winding down another season eyeing another title and playoff run.

Elon is in fairly new territory, chasing its first SoCon title since joining the league in 2003 and its first FCS playoff berth. The progress has been impressive.

"Somewhere around here I have an article from back in the spring of 2006 when I got hired and something was said to the effect of, ‘If they can get the program to a point to where they're winning five or six games a year in this league, it will be a real success.' I've never really forgotten that," said Pete Lembo, the driving force behind Elon's rise from five to seven to eight wins in his first three seasons as coach.

"I think the fact we've become a contender in this league is exciting. And I don't feel like we're the finished product yet. This is still a school that's only been Division I for 10 years."

And now the Phoenix has a chance to affirm the rise with a victory over the Mountaineers. Lembo knows that to be the best, his team must beat the best.

"Until you get there, it's sort of a good but not great analogy," Lembo said. "I don't think anybody has ever taken anything away from us for the progress that we've made, but now it becomes a question of ‘Can we get to that elite status?'"

Lembo has looked no further than Appalachian as the model for success. He has a screen saver on his desktop computer of ASU's towering new complex at Kidd Brewer Stadium, representative of heights that can be achieved.

"To me, that program is the bar in the FCS," Lembo said. "I come in every morning and turn on my computer, and it's just a little reminder of where we want to go."

The Mountaineers won't readily relinquish their title. They have won three national titles in the past four years, and the goal every season remains the same -- win the SoCon title.

"That's always been our emphasis," Coach Jerry Moore of ASU said. "There's a lot of pride in that…. It's really neat to have a national championship, but the Southern Conference has always been our goal. That has never changed. As a matter of fact, we seldom ever talk with our team about national championships."

To get another SoCon title, the Mountaineers will have to deal with the Phoenix's potent passing game, an improved and complementary running game and a defense that has held opponents to an average of 12 points.

The Mountaineers, winners of 18 straight SoCon games, have the top-ranked offense in the FCS (492 ypg). They also have Armanti Edwards, a senior quarterback who has passed for a league-record 9,324 yards and rushed for 4,814.

"They are really hitting their stride," Lembo said of ASU's offense. "I know they've scored over 50 points three of their last five games and the other two were 35 and 40-something. So the statistics speak for themselves. Armanti just continues to do amazing things with the football in his hands … and as always he's got a great supporting cast."

The Phoenix have the top-ranked defense in the FCS (213 ypg allowed) and a potent combo in quarterback Scott Riddle and receiver Terrell Hudgins. Riddle, a junior, is second on the SoCon's all-time list for passing yards with 9,234. Hudgins, a senior, has 362 receptions, a Division I record, and 4,812 receiving yards, an FCS record.

"It's exciting for the league to have such a high-profile game, and it's exciting for us to be part of that," Lembo said. "Obviously Appalachian has earned a tremendous reputation throughout the FCS ranks … and to have them coming to town with a lot of meaning behind this game, it's exciting for everyone in this community."

tbowman@wsjournal.com.
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