ASU ready for ‘Dogs

By Steve Behr

sports@wataugademocrat.com

When Appalachian State head coach Jerry Moore sees Gardner-Webb on the schedule, he doesn’t want his Mountaineers to be a victim.

That is, a victim of overlooking the Bulldogs.

Moore only has to go back one year to prove to his players that they can be an upset victim of the Bulldogs, who host Appalachian State Saturday at 6 p.m. James Madison, the 2004 Division I-AA national champions, went to Coastal Carolina looking to leave with what it thought would be a victory.

Instead, James Madison fell behind early and lost 31-27 to the Chanticleers.

Appalachian State (2-1), the current defending I-AA national champs, face a 2-1 Gardner-Webb squad, which like Coastal Carolina, is a Big South team. Moore knows if Appalachian State is not ready to play, the Bulldogs will give the Mountaineers fits.

“I made a comparison a while ago that this time a year ago, James Madison had just come off a great year and went down to Coastal Carolina and just sort of showed up there,” Moore said. “Coastal wore them out. They tried to turn it on in the fourth quarter and couldn’t get it done.”

Appalachian State, after beating James Madison 21-10 two weeks ago, could have had a letdown against Division II Mars Hill last Saturday. Instead, behind freshman quarterback Armanti Edwards, ASU jumped out to a 27-0 lead and cruised to a 41-0 victory.

The Mountaineers rolled up 571 yards in total offense and held Mars Hill to 87 total yards.

The Mountaineers insist they are not overlooking Gardner-Webb, a 35-9 loser to Tennessee-Martin last Saturday.

“Every game this year is important,” center Scott Suttle said. “We’ve been preparing the same way this week and the coaches are doing a good job of not letting up on us.”

Gardner-Webb comes into the game with victories over Jacksonville and Tennessee Tech. ASU safety Corey Lynch is aware of the Bulldogs’ two top receivers, Davaughn Flagler and Kory Alston, and knows the Mountaineers must disrupt the Bulldogs’ passing game, led by quarterback Devin Campbell, to be successful defensively.

“They’ve got pretty good receivers with good hands,” Lynch said. “They don’t seem to be too fast, but they catch a lot of balls. Their quarterback has a good arm, so when they connect, they usually catch the ball.”

Lynch said he’s prepared for the Bulldogs like he did N.C. State, James Madison and Mars Hill.

“It’s just like last week,” Lynch said. “We expect to do things right and when you expect things to go right and you practice hard, they usually end up like last week.”

Edwards, who practiced with the first team all last week and this past week, threw for 203 yards on 15-of-29 accuracy. He tossed two interceptions, but also had a touchdown pass.

Edwards also ran for a score against Mars Hill and another against James Madison when he took over for an injured Trey Elder.

“I’m starting to get more comfortable, but every week is different and the team has got to adjust to their defense,” Edwards said.

• About 150 tickets remained from Appalachian State’s allotment of 500 as of Thursday morning. The game, to be played at the 9,000-seat Spangler Stadium, could be a sellout by kickoff. They are $9 each and are available at the ASU ticket office at (828) 262-2079.