Mountaineers Open Season At The Rock Against McNeese State

Appalachian State will look to rebound from its heartbreaking 29-24, season-opening loss to East Carolina when it takes to the Kidd Brewer Stadium turf to battle perennial Southland Conference and FCS power McNeese State on Saturday afternoon.

Reigning Walter Payton Award-winning QB Armanti Edwards remains questionable for Saturday’s home opener against the Cowboys. The game will mark the seventh all-time game with a current member of the Southland Football Conference and will mark the first-ever meeting against McNeese State.

The Mountaineers are 1-6 all-time in those seven games against the Southland, with the lone win coming back in the ‘04 campaign, as the Mountaineers were 41-34 winners over the Texas State Bobcats at The Rock.

Picked to win the Southland Conference for a 13th time by some publications, the Cowboys seemed to be a far cry from a team picked to win the crown on Saturday evening, having to struggle to come from behind to defeat Division II Henderson State, 27-24.

In the victory over the Reddies, the Cowboys trailed 24-12 at the end of three quarters, but were able to score twice in the final 15 minutes of the contest to secure the victory and save the embarrassment of losing to a Division II foe.

The Cowboys enter Saturday’s contest against the Mountaineers led by the return of six starters on the offensive side of the football, including a couple of Walter Payton Award candidates in quarterback Derrick Fourroux and running back Todd Penland.

Fourroux, a senior signal-caller from Erath, La., is coming off a strong ‘08 season in which he completed 169-of-277 passes for 2,205 yards, 18 TDs and threw just five INTs.

As a running threat for the Cowboys, Fourroux completed the campaign with 447 yards rushing and 11 TDs, ranking as the team’s second-leading rusher. In last Saturday’s win over Henderson State, Fourroux finished the contest 15-of-24 passes for 184 yards.

Todd Penland is a senior tailback and has become one of the top all-purpose running backs in the nation.

Penland came into his own last season, as he set a single-season rushing record at the historic program, finishing the ‘08 campaign with 1,431 yards and 12 TDs on 219 attempts, averaging an eye-popping 6.5 yards-per-carry and 130.1 yards rushing per outing.

Penland was also second on the team in receiving last fall, hauling in 35 passes for 337 yards and had three TD receptions.

In last Saturday’s win over Henderson State, Penland seemingly picked right up where he left off last season, as he completed the contest rushing for 152 yards and a couple of TDs on just 19 carries.

One of the runs was a 70-yard jaunt in the first quarter to tie the contest. Penland’s speed and ability to catch the ball out of the backfield could well cause problems for the ASU defense on Saturday afternoon.

The Cowboys have a couple of talented receivers returning to the fold in Immanuel Friddle and Chad Davis.

Friddle was McNeese’s second-leading receiver coming into the ‘09 season. He completed the ‘08 season by hauling in 19 passes for 320 yards and two TD's, averaging an impressive 16.8 yards per reception.

However, in Saturday’s victory over Henderson State, he had just one reception for two yards. Friddle has tremendous speed and is the main deep threat for the Cowboys.

Davis, a senior wideout from Plaquemine, La., is more of the possession option at receiver for the Cowboys, and he is coming off an impressive opening week performance against Henderson State.

Davis led the Cowboys in receiving in week one, as he hauled in five passes for 100 yards, averaging an impressive 20.0 yards per reception.

Rounding out the starting wide receivers for the Cowboys is another senior, Richard Conner. The Lafayette, La., native has good speed, but his biggest asset might be his exceptional pair of hands.

Conner was the Cowboys’ fourth-leading receiver a year ago, catching 17 passes for 308 yards and hauling in three scoring passes. His 18.1 YPR average last season was tops among the receivers. In last Saturday’s win over Henderson State, Conner caught just one pass for 12 yards.

The offensive line was the biggest concern entering the ‘09 season, as four starters were lost from an offense that helped the Cowboys post the best offensive numbers in school history.

The Cowboys averaged 464 yards of total offense per game and averaged 37.5 PPG. The offensive line allowed just 14 sacks in ‘08 and three of those starters which departed garnered All-SLC honors.

The lone returning starter for the Cowboys along the offensive line for the ‘09 season is right tackle Casey Richter, who entered the season as the senior leader of the offensive front. Richter, a 6'6", 305-pound product of Prairieville, La., is an All-America candidate and moves extremely well for his size.

He was the team leader with 41 pancake blocks last season and enters the season as maybe the best NFL prospect for the Cowboys.

Only three starters return on the defensive side of the ball for the Cowboys, which might not be such a bad thing, considering the Cowboys yielded 351 yards and 29.3 PPG last season. The defense turned out to be one of the major reasons the Cowboys missed the ‘08 FCS postseason after such a strong start.

The Cowboys were without some of their key defensive pieces in the opener against Henderson State, due to injuries in fall camp.

The Cowboys were without star linebacker Deron Minor, who missed the contest with an injury. Minor is the leading returning player for the Cowboys on the defensive side of the football and is the leading returning tackler from last year’s squad, posting 89 tackles and 4.5 tackles-for-loss last season.

Minor will look to make his return to the lineup this Saturday against the Mountaineers.

The McNeese State defense obviously had their share of defensive problems in the season-opener against Henderson State, yielding 391 yards to the Reddies Saturday night.

McNeese State’s defensive line is anchored by the return of defensive end Terrance Freeman. The 6'4", 235-pound native of Newton, TX., is now in his second season as a starter along the defensive line for the Cowboys.

The talented bookend started all 11 contests for the Cowboys last season, completing the ‘08 season with 28 tackles and leading the team with five-and-a-half sacks last season. In last weekend’s victory over Henderson State, Freeman finished the contest with two tackles.

Joining Freeman at defensive end on Saturday for the Cowboys will be junior Josh Ellison. Ellison, a 6'3", 230-pound native of Houston, TX., is one of the premier athletes on the defensive side of the football for the Cowboys, possessing 4.5 speed in the 40-yard dash.

Ellison could be a real breakout player this fall for the Cowboys, and could be a player that causes problems for the ASU offensive front on Saturday afternoon. Ellison completed the ‘08 season by totaling 14 tackles and three sacks in action as a reserve. He finished Saturday’s win over Henderson State with a couple of tackles.

Much improvement will be expected out of the bookend positions for the Cowboys on Saturday afternoon, as McNeese failed to produce much of an effective pass rush in the season opener against Henderson State.

Set to man the two defensive interior positions for McNeese heading into Saturday’s affair will be sophomore Desmund Lighten and Damion Aultman.

Lighten, a 6'5", 250-pound native of Monroe, La., is another player that is extremely athletic, but is a bit undersized for a defensive tackle. Lighten finished the ‘08 season by contributing two tackles and a sack in very limited action as a reserve.

Lighten suffered from a nagging injury that plagued him much of the ‘08 season, and he missed all but two games last fall. Lighten was one of the top performers on the defensive side of the football in the opener, registering six tackles.

Aultman is the most imposing presence along the defensive line for the Cowboys, at 6'2", 295 pounds. The Geismar, La., native logged starts in four games for the Cowboys during the ‘08 season and is extremely athletic for his tremendous size.

Last season, Aultman completed the campaign with 12 tackles, three TFLs and a couple of sacks. Aultman recorded two tackles in the season-opening win over Henderson State.

Joining Minor at linebacker for the Cowboys will be Geremy Pilate, who like his teammate, missed the season opener against Henderson State with an injury suffered in fall camp.

Pilate is another good athletic presence on the defensive side of the football for the Cowboys, having also recorded a 4.5 time in the 40-yard dash. Last season, Pilate saw plenty of action as a reserve linebacker for the Cowboys, recording 20 tackles, two TFLs and a sack.

Pilate is also one of the stronger players on the defensive side of the football for the Cowboys.

The secondary returns just one of five starters from a year ago, in "whip" safety Darrell Jenkins. Jenkins, a 5'10", 205-pound native of Bon Wier, TX., has tremendous speed, recording a 4.43 time in the 40-yard dash in spring testing.

He started all 11 games as a freshman last season and completed the campaign with 40 tackles, six TFLs and had a 70-yard interception return for a TD. He also had four pass break-ups and a forced fumble as a frosh last fall. Jenkins had four tackles and a forced fumble in the opener.

Joining Jenkins at safety will be boundary safety Ford Smesny and free safety Malcolm Bronson. Smesny, a 5'9", 191-pound freshman from Dayton, TX., was impressive in his first collegiate game, recording four tackles and a TFL.

Bronson, a 5'11", 185-pound redshirt freshman from Jasper, TX., also turned in quite an impressive performance in his opener as a starter for the Cowboys. He finished Saturday night’s 27-24 win over Henderson State by registering seven tackles and two tackles-for-loss.

Bronson is another player with excellent speed and is a two-sport athlete, also excelling on the baseball diamond for the Cowboys.

Rounding out the starters on the defensive side of the football for the Cowboys are cornerbacks George Russell and London Durham.

Extra Notes

• Appalachian State and McNeese State are two of the most historic teams in FCS football, having combined for 29 FCS postseason appearances and five appearances in the national championship game, including four this decade alone.

• Appalachian State is 58-18-2 all-time in home openers, including a 17-2 mark under the direction of Jerry Moore.

The last time the Mountaineers opened a campaign with a loss at The Rock was in 2000, when the they were 34-28 losers in ironic fashion to former Southland Conference power Troy State. The Mountaineers would avenge that loss to the Trojans later in the season, as the Apps went on the road and defeated Troy 33-30 in the opening round of the FCS playoffs.

• The Black and Gold are 0-4 versus the state of Louisiana, having dropped all four games in the state of Louisiana to the LSU Tigers and the Northwestern State Demons, losing a couple of games to each of those teams.