ASU-Richmond: Winners of Last Four Titles to Square Off in Quarterfinals

History will be made when Appalachian State travels to the capital city of the Commonwealth of Virginia for a Saturday evening clash with Richmond, as the defending national champion Spiders will battle their national title predecessor at UR Stadium. This should be a good one, as kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

The Mountaineers, who claimed the school’s third-straight national title in 2007, will be looking to avenge a 33-13 loss to Richmond in the FCS quarterfinals a year ago in Boone. The loss ended ASU’s bid to claim a fourth-consecutive Division I football national title.

From there, Richmond went on to take down both Northern Iowa (21-20) and Montana (24-7) to claim the school’s first national title under then first-year head coach Mike London. Richmond will be playing in just its second home quarterfinal game in the history of the program, with the only other home outing coming in 2005 against another SoCon member, Furman, who defeated the Spiders 24-20.

With the Mountaineers trip to Richmond, it will mark the program’s first road playoff game since December 8, 2001, when the Apps were knocked out of the playoffs by another defending national champ, Georgia Southern (38-24).

It will mark the third-straight season that the Mountaineers and Spiders have met in the postseason. The Black and Gold are riding the strength of a record-setting, 313-yard rushing performance by quarterback Armanti Edwards to claim a 55-35 decision in 2007, however, the Spiders were able to force Edwards into a career-high five interceptions in a 33-13 win in Boone last season.

The Mountaineers will be squaring off with the Spiders for the eighth time on Saturday evening, with three of those meetings taking place in the post-season (1987, 2007, and 2008) and a fourth looming on Saturday. The Mountaineers hold a 4-3 lead in the overall series, including 2-1 in the postseason. The Mountaineers haven’t faced the Spiders in Richmond since the 1977 season, when the Spiders recorded a 21-13 win over the Apps.

With a win on Saturday, Richmond would do something few have done in the FCS postseason, and that’s knock two Southern Conference teams from the field in the same FCS playoff. Only three schools have ever managed to accomplish that rare feat, with the rare occurrence happening in three-straight seasons (1993-95). Youngstown State was the first school to accomplish the feat, when it knocked off Georgia Southern (34-14) in the FCS quarterfinals, before following that up by defeating Marshall (17-5) in the national title game.

A year later, Boise State of the Big Sky conference, defeated Appalachian State (17-14) in the FCS quarterfinals and followed that up by knocking off Marshall (28-21 in overtime) the very next week to advance to the national championship game.

The last team to accomplish the task was Montana in 1995, taking out Georgia Southern (45-0) in the quarters and Marshall (22-20) in the national championship. For Richmond and the CAA, it could make a huge statement for the school and the league by being the fourth to capture such history on Saturday.

In ASU’s 20-13 win over South Carolina State on Saturday afternoon, the Mountaineers had trouble generating anything offensively and they made many mistakes. The Black and Gold offense was only able to generate 302 yards of total offense in the first-round victory over the Bulldogs, but for the fourth-straight week, the Mountaineers defense came to play and held the Bulldogs’ normally high-powered rushing attack in check.

Appalachian State was able to hold MEAC all-time leading rusher William Ford to just 22 yards, while picking off quarterback Malcolm Long on three occasions and holding the SCSU offense to a meager total of 229 yards for the entire afternoon. The only SCSU touchdown of the day came as a result of one of Armanti Edwards’ season-high three interceptions on the afternoon, which Rafael Bush returned 46 yards for a score just before the half.

It was an uncanny afternoon for Edwards, who missed last week’s game with an MCL sprain, as he connected on 19-of-30 passes for 218 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions. Edwards, who’s previous career rushing low came in last year’s playoff loss to Richmond (three yards), surpassed that career-low effort against a stingy SCSU defense, which limited the normally elusive Edwards to negative one yard.

Leading the efforts of the ASU defense was cornerback Ed Gainey, who had nine tackles and one of the defense’s three interceptions. Sophomore defensive end Langston Tanyi continued his strong play, recording six tackles, two tackles-for-loss, one sack, a forced fumble, and a pass break-up.

Richmond comes into Saturday’s contest having survived the first leg of its SoCon gauntlet, with a 16-13 win over league runner-up Elon. The Spiders were able to have the most successful rushing afternoon of any team that has faced the Elon defense this season, rolling up a season-high 260 yards on the ground against the Phoenix.

It was senior quarterback Eric Ward who did most of the damage, as he became the only player to rush for 100 yards against the Elon defense this season. Ward finished the day with 136 yards rushing, including a 74 yard touchdown run to open the second quarter. The 136 yards were a career-high for Ward.

As a passer, Ward finished the afternoon connecting on 14-of-26 passes for 140 yards, but was intercepted four times.

Not to be lost in the rushing success was senior running back Joe Forte, who nearly topped the 100-yard plateau, finishing the day with 96 yards on 25 attempts. Forte was also effective as a receiver out of the backfield, as he finished the day with three receptions for 45 yards.

Richmond’s defense was the storyline, however, holding a powerful Elon offense to just 336 yards, including a season-low 27 rushing yards. Making the win more impressive was the fact that an opportunistic Richmond defense was able to record such a performance without a single turnover by the Phoenix on Saturday.

The defensive efforts for the Spiders were led by nose tackle Parker Miles, who recorded seven tackles, two tackles-for-loss, one sack, and a crucial partially blocked potential game-tying field goal attempt by Elon’s Adam Shreiner. Also impressive was the play of the Richmond offensive line, which held the Elon defense without a sack.

Previewing the Richmond Offense

The Richmond offense enters Saturday’s quarterfinal showdown with the Apps much like it did last season—a disciplined unit that closely resembles many of the Furman teams under the direction of coaches like Dick Sheridan and Bobby Johnson.

The orchestrator of the success of this Richmond offense the past two-plus seasons has been Eric Ward. The senior signal-caller is a cool, collective character at the quarterback position and looks poised to lead the Spiders to another national title in his final season. Coming into the 2009 season, Ward had the advantage of returning seven starters on offense, which included most of his targets in the passing game.

Ward joined rare company last Saturday, becoming just the 34th player in FCS history to record over 10,000 yards of total offense in his career. Ward holds every major passing record at UR and enters Saturday’s showdown with the Apps with a 17-6 mark all-time against teams in the FCS top 25.

Ward also owns a 7-1 career record as a starter in the playoffs, with his only loss being that 55-35 setback to the Mountaineers a couple of years ago. That makes his 7-1 record all-time even more impressive when you consider that Richmond has a 10-6 record all-time in the FCS postseason. In last season’s 33-13 Richmond win over Appalachian State, Ward completed 10-of-24 passes for 121 yards, while rushing the football 16 times for 91 yards and a score.

This season, Ward has been an effective leader once again, leading the Spiders to wins over Duke (24-16), James Madison (21-17), William & Mary (13-10), and now Elon (16-13). The Spiders’ only setback came against another team in the 16-team playoff field, dropping a 21-20 regular-season game to No. 2 seeded Villanova.

In 12 starts, Ward has completed 189-of-300 passes for 2,194 yards, 15 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. Ward is also the Spiders’ second-leading rusher, with 309 yards and four touchdowns on 92 rushing attempts (3.4 YPC) this season. Interestingly enough, both Ward and his counterpart, Edwards, own 41 wins as starting quarterbacks.

For his career, Ward has completed 767-of-1233 passes for 8,767 yards, with 60 touchdowns, and 34 interceptions, ranking him 10th on the CAA’s all-time passing ledger. As a rushing threat, Ward has called his own number 409 times for 1,355 yards and 22 scores (3.4 YPC).

For the third-straight season, a different running back is now on the verge of rushing past the 1,000-yard plateau for the Spiders. In 2007, it was current Arizona Cardinal Tim Hightower, last year it was Josh Vaughan, and this season it is another senior, Joseph Forte, who needs just one yard against Appalachian State to become the third to do so.

Forte, a 5'9", 187-pound senior, isn’t as big as Hightower or Vaughan, but is blessed with tremendous speed and receiving ability coming out of the backfield. In 12 games this season, Forte has rushed for 999 yards and six touchdowns on 210 attempts (4.8 YPC) this season. Forte also 10 catches for 105 yards.

Redshirt junior Ben Keating will get the nod as the starter at fullback on Saturday. Keating isn’t a household name for many, but his importance to the Spiders offense can’t be underscored.

Keating enters Saturday’s contest as an important physical presence in the Richmond offensive backfield, serving as an important blocking presence in max-protect situations for the Spiders. The 6'0", 223-pound native of Charlotte, N.C., comes into Saturday’s quarterfinal contest, having rushed for 26 yards and four touchdowns on 13 attempts (2.0 YPC). As a receiving option, Keating has caught 10 passes for 68 yards and a couple of scores.

Another reliable option in the Richmond backfield entering Saturday’s quarterfinal contest is sophomore Garrett Wilkins. Wilkins is one of the best young offensive weapons for Richmond, playing understudy to Forte at the tailback position. In 12 games this fall, Wilkins has rushed for 260 yards and a couple of touchdowns on 58 rushing attempts (4.5 YPC). As an option in the passing game, Wilkins has hauled in 15 passes for 99 yards this fall.

One of the players that has been a real thorn in the side for the Mountaineers the past two seasons is junior wide receiver Kevin Grayson. Grayson, the 2007 CAA Rookie of the Year, caught seven passes for 122 yards and a couple of touchdowns in the 55-35 loss in Boone a couple of years ago. In last year’s 33-13 win over the Mountaineers at Kidd Brewer Stadium, Grayson turned in another solid afternoon, hauling in five passes for 48 yards to lead the receiving efforts for the Spiders.

This season, Grayson again comes in as a primary receiving option for the Spiders and with his size, presents a problem for a Mountaineer secondary that loves to play man-coverage. The 6'3" wide receiver is Richmond’s second-leading receiver coming into Saturday’s matchup, having hauled in 44 passes for 494 yards and a couple of scores (11.2 YPC). For his efforts this season, Grayson was a Second-Team All-CAA selection.

The top option in the passing attack for Richmond this season has been Tre Gray. The diminutive speedster is also another player that has given the opposition trouble in man-on-man situations, due in large part to his tremendous speed. The redshirt sophomore was held to just one catch for 17 yards last season against the Apps, but enters Saturday’s quarterfinal matchup with a team-leading 46 catches for 622 yards and three touchdowns.

Another reliable option in the passing game for the Spiders is redshirt sophomore Donte Boston, who backs up Grayson at the ‘z’ wide receiver position. Boston, a 6'1", 200-pound receiver, is another physical option for the Spiders, much like the player he backs up. Boston is the Spiders’ third-leading receiver this fall, having hauled in 32 passes for 490 yards (team-leading 15.3 YPR) and leads the team with four touchdown receptions.

Rounding out the primary receiving options for the Spiders is veteran wideout Jordan Mitchell. The 5'11", 188-pound receiver is another speedy option with possibly the best hands on the team. He enters Saturday’s matchup with the Mountaineers having caught 21 passes for 223 yards (10.3 YPR).

Set to start at the tight end position for Saturday’s evening’s contest is senior William Bischoff. The 6'6", 236-pounder has excellent size, good physical instincts, and an ability to be a legitimate receiving option in the Spider passing attack. In 12 starts this season for the Spiders, Bischoff has caught eight passes for 68 yards (8.5 YPR) and a touchdown.

The Spiders bring maybe the top offensive line in the FCS to Saturday’s quarterfinal matchup and possibly one of the largest fronts that the Mountaineers have faced all season. The offensive front, which returned four 16-game starters from last season’s national championship team, have helped the Spiders rank as one of the most efficient offenses in the nation.

Coming into Saturday’s game, the Spiders are averaging 354.1 YPG of total offense, with 194.1 of those yards coming through the air and 160 yards coming on the ground. The Spiders are also averaging 29.8 PPG and rank 29th in sacks allowed (1.42 SPG).

The Spiders offensive front is anchored by NFL prospect and two-time All-American left guard Matt McCracken. The 6'3", 300-pound first-team All-CAA selection will be making his 49th-straight start against the Mountaineers Saturday. He is big and physical, and is likely the most-gifted offensive lineman the Mountaineers have faced in 2009.

The right guard position will be occupied by another talented senior in Chris Kondorossy, who also serves as the team’s backup at center. The versatile, athletic offensive lineman has started all 12 games this season and will be making his 13th-straight start at right guard for the Spiders on Saturday.

The two offensive tackle positions will be manned by seniors Jared Decker at left tackle and Michael Silva at right tackle. Decker is the team’s best pass protector and will be making his 41st career start on Saturday evening. Silva, a preseason All-CAA pick, battled some late season injuries last fall, but has started 42 of his 45 career games and has started all 12 contests in 2009 for Richmond.

Completing the starting five along the offensive front for the Spiders is the lone non-senior, junior Drew Lachenmayer. Lachenmayer was the only non returning starter on the offensive line, serving as Kondorossy’s backup last season. But upon the graduation of left tackle Tim Silver, Kondorossy moved into the starting lineup at a different position, transitioning to right guard. That left the job open for Lachenmayer, who has started all 12 games this season and has totaled 27 career starts.

Previewing the Appalachian State Defense

Over the past month, it’s been the Appalachian State defense that has been grabbing many of the headlines for the 10-time Southern Conference champs and three-time national title winners.  The offense has gone unnoticed.

It started in the fourth quarter of the ASU win over Chattanooga and carried into last week’s unimpressive win over SC State. Appalachian State’s seminal defensive performance in the string of three plus games of strong defensive play, was the performance against Elon, which was the de-facto Southern Conference championship game back on Nov. 14.

In the 27-10 victory at Elon, the stingy Mountaineer defense held the high-octane Phoenix offensive attack, which came in averaging 454 yards per game, to a season-low 270 yards in the road victory.

Much of that improvement has been as a direct result of the play of ASU’s defensive line. The unit has been able to impose its will over the last three weeks, with bookends Jabari Fletcher and Langston Tanyi playing some of the best football of their respective Mountaineer careers.

If you think of some of the Mountaineer tandems at defensive end from the past in comparison, duos like Josh Jeffries and K.T Stovall come to mind, as well as Jason Hunter and Marques Murrell. Tanyi and Fletcher are well on their way to following those footsteps.

In the final two games of the regular season, Fletcher and Tanyi combined for seven of the Mountaineers’ 10 sacks against Elon and Western Carolina. The duo has combined for 14 sacks this season, which makes up for half of ASU’s 28 total on the season.

Fletcher, a 6'3", 255-pound junior, is a powerful and athletically gifted player, and his play over the course of the 2009 season has resembled some of the great predecessors that have played defensive end for the Mountaineers under the direction of Jerry Moore.

Fletcher, a first team All-SoCon selection the past two seasons, enters Saturday’s showdown, having amassed 58 tackles, 10 tackles-for-loss, six and a half sacks, nine quarterback hurries, two pass break-ups, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. Over the past three weeks, Fletcher has recorded one and a half sacks, which came against Elon and Western Carolina in the final two weeks of the regular season.

Tanyi is only a sophomore and has displayed many of the same characteristics of former Mountaineer greats at the position. Tanyi has recorded three and a half of his team-leading seven and a half sacks in the last three weeks against Elon, Western Carolina, and SC State. In addition to his team leading totals as a sack artist, Tanyi has also recorded 66 tackles, 10 tackles-for-loss, and has forced a fumble.

Also impressive has been the play of the Mountaineer defensive interior, anchored by a pair of seniors in nose tackle Anthony Williams and left defensive tackle Malcolm Bennett. Williams, a 6'1", 285-pound, All-SoCon nose tackle, has been one of the defensive leaders for the Mountaineers this season. Bennett comes into Saturday’s quarterfinal showdown having recorded 41 tackles, three tackles-for-loss, two sacks, and a quarterback hurry.

Bennett, a 6'2", 279-pound senior from College Park, GA., is in his second season as a starter along the Mountaineers defensive line. Bennett is a big, physical presence and unlike last season, he hasn’t had nagging injuries to deal with. He comes into Saturday’s showdown with the Spiders, having recorded 38 tackles, six tackles-for-loss, two sacks, a fumble recovery, and six quarterback hurries on the season.

The Mountaineers have a talented trio of linebackers, led by two players that garnered first-team All-SoCon honors in D.J. Smith and Jacque Roman. In fact, the Mountaineers likely have the most talented trio of linebackers the Spiders have seen this season.

Leading the Black and Gold defense this season has been junior outside linebacker D.J. Smith. The 6'1", 220-pound native of Charlotte, N.C., has started all 12 games this season for the Mountaineers and is one of the best athletes on the defensive side of the football.

Smith came into last Saturday’s contest with South Carolina State, ranking fifth in the SoCon and was tied for 29th in the nation in tackles-per-game (9.7). Smith also enters the matchup as the Mountaineers’ leading tackler, with a total of 113 stops. In addition to his tackle totals, Smith has also recorded 12 tackles-for-loss, two sacks, eight pass break-ups, two fumble recoveries, and an interception.

Set to hold down the middle of the defense again on Saturday will be senior middle linebacker Jacque Roman. The 6'1", 240-pound middle linebacker was the 2008 SoCon Defensive Player of the Year and led the league in total tackles.

Roman hasn’t had quite the season in 2009 as the one he had last year, however, with the improvement of the Mountaineer defense, he hasn’t had to. The All-America candidate enters Saturday’s contest having recorded 93 tackles, one tackle-for-loss, three quarterback hurries, and and interception. Roman currently ranks third on ASU’s all-time tackles ledger, with 394 career stops.

Rounding out the starters in the talented Appalachian State linebacking unit is "bandit" linebacker Justin Lloyd. Lloyd, a SoCon All-Freshman team performer, came into the 2009 season with some tough shoes to fill, as he was asked to replace All-SoCon "bandit" Pierre Banks.

Lloyd has done nothing but impress since stepping on the field as a starter for the Mountaineers this season. Lloyd had a career-high eight tackles against Samford and The Citadel earlier in the campaign and is one of the most physical players on the defensive side of the football. He is a vicious hitter to boot. He enters Saturday’s contest with 55 tackles, four tackles-for-loss, and a sack.

The Appalachian State secondary is again led by safety Mark LeGree, who for the second-straight season, is a finalist for the prestigious Buck Buchanan Award, given to the nation’s top defensive player.

LeGree has intercepted 17 passes over the past two seasons as the starter at free safety for the Mountaineers, including a pick in last Saturday’s first-round win over South Carolina State. LeGree leads the SoCon with seven interceptions this season and enters Saturday’s matchup as a first-team All-SoCon selection for the second-straight season. Overall, LeGree has recorded 63 tackles, two tackles-for-loss, a team-high seven interceptions, and 13 pass break-ups.

The "nickel" safety position will be occupied by another All-Freshman Team selection in redshirt freshman Dominique McDuffie. It was McDuffie that clinched Saturday’s first-round win over South Carolina State, with his 50-yard fumble return on a botched field goal snap by the Bulldogs midway through the fourth quarter.

McDuffie might be the best athlete on the defensive side of the football for the Apps and has a knack for making big plays. He enters Saturday’s contest having recorded 22 tackles, one and a half tackles-for-loss, an interception, two pass break-ups, a forced fumble, and a fumble return for a touchdown.

The Mountaineers bring two of the SoCon’s most talented cover corners into Saturday’s matchup. Veteran Cortez Gilbert is one of the leaders of the Black and Gold defense and enters Saturday’s contest with the Spiders as one of the catalysts of this 2009 Mountaineer defense.

Gilbert, who’s one of the premier cover corners in the nation, nearly had an interception that he would’ve returned for six last week, but the ball caromed out of his hands. That was one of the rare occasions that an opposing signal-caller has given him that kind of opportunity, because quite honestly, he has garnered that kind of respect. Coming into Saturday’s contest, the first-team All-SoCon selection has registered 68 tackles, two tackles-for-loss, six pass break-ups, and an interception this fall.

Ed Gainey rounds out the starters on the ASU defense as the starter at the right cornerback position. Gainey, a sophomore, was a player that opponents tried to pick on early in the season, due in large measure to his lack of experience. However, Gainey has improved as much as any player on the ASU defense this season. Gainey possesses good speed and excellent overall athleticism. He enters Saturday’s quarterfinal contest with 53 tackles, two tackles-for-loss, a team-best 13 pass break-ups, and four interceptions.

Stay tuned for part two of the preview, which includes a final analysis and a prediction.