By Steve Behr
sports@wataugademocrat.com

Appalachian State running back Kevin Richardson did not practice Monday or Tuesday and Mountaineers coach Jerry Moore was unsure if the senior would play Saturday against Eastern Washington in the second round of the FCS playoffs.

Richardson was limited to 55 yards on 14 carries in the Mountaineers’ 28-27 victory over James Madison. He did not play the fourth quarter after leaving the game with an ankle sprain. Devon Moore took over the running back position, catching two passes for 22 yards and running once for four yards.

“He’s doing better, but we won’t go with him if he’s not full speed,” Moore said on the a conference call Tuesday. “We have another good back in Devon Moore. If Kevin is not at full strength, he’s not going to help our football team.”

Left tackle Mario Acitelli practiced for the first time since he broke his leg midway through the season.

However, he did not work out in full pads and Moore didn’t think he’d play Saturday. Brad Coley has been playing in Acitelli’s place.

“I doubt it,” Moore said. “He worked out for the first time. It’s different for him. He did well enough to go play (Monday) in shorts.”

Another linemen coming off a broken leg, Daniel Kilgore, was moved to tight end during the James Madison game.

“We had to do it. We were down on numbers,” Moore said. “Daniel can play a lot of different positions. We needed him at tight end so we could go to two tight-end sets.”

Protection must improve
Moore was not happy with how the Mountaineers blocked during extra points. Kicker Julian Rauch had one extra point blocked, another nearly blocked and another moved back 15 yards because of a penalty. Rauch missed that kick, leaving the Mountaineers without two key points.

“That didn’t bother me,” Moore said about missing the extra points. “The protection bothered me. It wasn’t the kicking that bothered me, it was the protection that bothered me. It’s like golfing. You stand there and miss enough of those three or four foot putts, it starts bothering you. I think that’s what happened to Julian when we got the penalty. I wasn’t even concerned about it.”