Mountaineers Get Defensive In 20-7 Victory Over Samford

If defense was a struggle in Appalachian State’s first two games of the season, Saturday’s 20-7 win over Samford showed that an off week can shore up some defensive issues and help the Mountaineers re-focus on their aspirations of a fifth-straight league crown.

They managed to hold the Bulldogs to a meager 192 yards of total offense in the impressive win. The win marked the Black and Gold’s 13th-straight win in league play.

The Mountaineers offered a stark contrast to the way they had played in the first half of their first two games of the ‘09 season, getting outscored by a combined tally of 41-17 in those four quarters against East Carolina and McNeese State.

However, in its league opener on a cool, rainy afternoon in Boone, Appalachian State managed to reverse that trend, doing all the scoring it would need in the contest, forging a commanding 20-0 halftime lead in their most-complete half of the ‘09 season.

Appalachian State got on the board on its third possession of the day, as the Black and Gold put together an impressive seven-play, 73-yard drive that was capped off by Armanti Edwards’ 50th-career rushing TD, a 13-yard scoring scamper, to give the Mountaineers a 7-0 lead late in the opening quarter of play. His 50-career scoring runs are the second-most in school history and he is only the eighth player in SoCon history to reach that impressive plateau.

After Jason Vitaris added a 21-yard field goal early in the second frame, the Mountaineers were backed against the wall as Samford threatened to break the Mountaineers’ defensive barrier for the first time on the afternoon, midway through the second quarter.

However, sophomore cornerback provided a game-changing moment, when he stepped in front of a Dustin Taliaferro pass Appalachian State two-yard line, picking off the errant throw and racing 54 yards into Bulldog territory.

That turnover set the stage for the Mountaineers second trip to the painted area in the half, as this time Edwards used his arm to help the Mountaineers go ahead 17-0 by virtue of a 13-yard pass connection with sophomore tight end Jordan Gary.

After the defense blanked the Samford offense once again late in the opening half, the Appalachian State offense would put an exclamation point on a masterful half by driving 42 yards in eight plays to set up Vitaris’ second trifecta of the afternoon, this time a 44-yard effort, extending the Black and Gold’s halftime advantage to 20-0.

Samford thwarted the Mountaineers’ hopes first shutout since blanking VMI (52-0) nine years ago, as the Bulldogs were able to put their only points on the Kidd Brewer Stadium scoreboard, thanks to a one-yard scoring plunge by All-American running back Chris Evans with 6:16 left to play in the game. That capped an impressive 18-play, 80-yard drive by Samford.

Appalachian State’s defense wrote the script for the opening win of the ‘09 campaign, holding star running back Evans to 86 yards and a TD on 22 carries on the day. The Apps also limited the effectiveness of signal-caller Dustin Taliaferro, the 2008 SoCon Freshman of the Year, sacking him twice and holding him to just 12-of-33 passing for 86 yards, which included that second quarter pick.

Linebacker D.J. Smith led the defensive charge with 16 tackles, two pass break-ups and two quarterback hurries. Cornerback Cortez Gilbert added nine tackles, including one for a loss and a pair of pass break-ups, and linebacker Justin Lloyd tacked on eight stops and a sack.

Meanwhile, the offensive efforts were led by the Walter Payton Award candidate Edwards, who amassed 211 yards of total offense on the dreary, cool afternoon, doing most of his damage as a passer, connecting on 19-of-28 passes for 194 yards and TD.

Other offensive stars included junior running back Devon Moore, who turned in his second-straight 100-yard rushing performance with 106 yards on 17 carries, and CoCo Hillary, who led all receivers with six catches for 63 yards.

The Mountaineers take to the road for the first time on the conference slate next Saturday, when ASU travels to the Low Country of South Carolina to face The Citadel. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. at Johnson-Hagood Stadium.