Commentary: It’s a

great time

to be a local fan
By Steve Behr, sports editor
sports@wataugademocrat.com

Is there a better time to be a sports fan in the High Country?

I would have to say, well, no.

Tonight, Appalachian State plays for its third straight FCS championship. The opponent is Delaware, which has a really good football team. In fact, the Blue Hens, which play in the Colonial Athletic Association, could end up being the best team Appalachian State faces since Michigan. As it is, the best team they’ve seen since Sept. 1 was James Madison, which the Mountaineers play in Virginia in 2008.

Then, one day later, Watauga’s Eric Breitenstein plays in the Shrine Bowl at Wofford’s Gibbs Stadium down in Spartanburg, S.C.

Breitenstein has helped revive a Watauga program that had precious few winning seasons since 1981. He was an all-state player as a junior and has led the Pioneers to two straight state 4-A semifinal games.

Breitenstein is the first Watauga player to play in the Shrine Bowl since 1980, when Mike Ward made the trip to Charlotte. Breitenstein led a high-powered offense that averaged 29.5 points per game and reached the 50-point mark twice this year.

He finished with 2,297 yards and 28 touchdowns rushing this season. That goes with the 2,625 yards and 30 touchdowns he scored last season. For those who would rather I did the math, that comes to 4,922 yards and 58 touchdowns in just two years.

Based on those numbers alone, Breitenstein deserves a Shrine Bowl bid. The fact that he made 113 tackles from his safety position this year only solidifies his spot.

But Breitenstein is more than just numbers. He played several games this year with ribs sore enough that in one game, he had to leave the game when he aggravated them.

It’s unclear how he will be used Saturday. But he’ll be on the field, and that’s a sign that Watauga’s football program is getting better.

Other sports around Watauga and Appalachian State are also worth checking out. Watauga’s boys’ basketball team has crushed its last two opponents — Mitchell and Avery — and the Pioneers’ girls’ team is 4-3 after winning just five games all last year.

Appalachian State’s men’s basketball program reached the NIT last year, and though the Mountaineers are off to a slow start, they begin Southern Conference play in January.

And both Watauga’s and Appalachian State’s baseball programs have high expectations this spring. The Mountaineers, who had back-to-back 10-win seasons this decade, could challenge for a SoCon championship.

It’s a good time to be a sports fan in the High Country. The rest of the season begins tonight in Chattanooga, Tenn.