Appalachian State quarterbacks Trey Elder (15) (top photo) and Armanti Edwards (14) have both started games for the Mountaineers this year. Photos by Marie Freeman

Armanti Edwards stays in charge of offense this week

By Steve Behr

sports@wataugademocrat.com

The job of starting quarterback belongs to freshman Armanti Edwards, at least for now.

Edwards did nothing to disappoint Mountaineers coach Jerry Moore in his initial start Saturday against Mars Hill. The South Carolina native hit 15 of his 29 pass attempts for 203 yards and a touchdown. He was also intercepted twice.

Moore said following the game that he wanted Edwards to provide a spark to the Mountaineers offense. Though it was against a Division II team, Edwards led the Mountaineers to 27 points and 352 yards in total offense in the first half. Appalachian State ended up winning the game 41-0 and outgained the Lions 571-87 in total offense.

“It’s a high-speed, fast-paced offense and Armanti gives us that faster pace,” Moore said. “That doesn’t mean two weeks from now, Trey (Elder) can’t go in to play. I feel real good that we have two quarterbacks who can run our football team.”

Edwards was told last Monday he would be the starter in place of Elder, who started games against N.C. State and James Madison.  Edwards made appearances in both games.

But he did not start until he faced Mars Hill, a Division II program from the South Atlantic Conference.

“It wasn’t a big shock, but I kind of was a little stunned when I found out that I was going to start,” Edwards said. “Still, I went to practice the same way I did when I was second string.”

Elder was the backup to record-setting quarterback Richie Williams during Elder’s first two years at Appalachian State. He led the Mountaineers to a 29-23 victory over Furman in the semifinals of last year’s Division I-AA playoffs after Williams went down to an injury in the first quarter.

Elder even scored the go-ahead touchdown after leading Appalachian on a long, fourth-quarter drive. He started the championship game against Northern Iowa, guiding the Mountaineers to a first-half touchdown.

However, he also battled three Appalachian turnovers, including one of his own interceptions, and was replaced by Williams in the second half.

Elder said he was disappointed in not starting last weekend, but said he would do his best to help Edwards win games.

“Of course I was disappointed,” Elder said following Saturday’s game. “As the week went on, I tried to be a team player and a leader for Armanti and show my team that I was not giving up on them.”

Elder played the second half, completing 6 of 12 passes for 60 yards and an 18-yard touchdown pass to tight end Daniel Bettis. He also ran for 50 yards on nine carries. Third-string quarterback Chase Laws, a senior, finished the game and tossed a 12-yard touchdown to Tavaris Washington late in the fourth quarter.

For the season, Elder has completed 18-of-41 passes for 197 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Edwards has connected on 17 of 32 passes for 207 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.

“In the big picture, we’re trying to win and how we win or who starts doesn’t matter as long as we win,” Elder said. “So that’s the main thing. I’m glad we won this weekend and I’m going to continue to keep working hard and if I earn my spot back by working hard, then I do. If I don’t, then Armanti’s going to lead us.”

Edwards, who played at Greenwood High School in Greenwood, S.C., threw for over 2,000 yards and 17 touchdowns, while running for 1,000 more yards and 12 touchdowns as a senior from the spread offense. He saw backup duty behind Elder in the Mountaineers’ first two games with N.C. State and James Madison.

Edwards, who also ran for 49 yards on just five carries (9.8 yards per carry), gave credit to his offensive line for giving the 5-foot-11 left-hander time to not only throw on rollouts, but also from the pocket.

“The offensive line gave me more time than I probably should have,” Edwards said.

Moore mentioned in the postgame press conference that still another quarterback, freshman Coco Hillary, may be in the mix in the future. Hillary quarterbacks the scout team or plays running back, depending on the upcoming opponent’s personnel, and is likely to be redshirted.

“I’ll muddy the water even more,” Moore said. “There’s a kid down on the scout team, Coco, and we talked about moving him to running back or to receiver. Now we’re going to try to redshirt him.”