Commentary:

App dynasty put

on hold until 2009
By Steve Behr, sports editor

That wasn’t so good, was it?

The Appalachian Dynasty took a major hit at The Rock Saturday when Richmond rolled in and put a 33-13 whuppin on the Mountaineers.

Richmond looked strong. Its offensive line did a nice job of pushing Appalachian’s defensive front around and the Spiders’ defense trapped Appalachian State quarterback Armanti Edwards in web after web.

Actually, Edwards was not alone. The entire Mountaineers’ running game was trapped by the Richmond defensive front seven. When they got blocked, they got off those blocks and constantly surrounded Appalachian State runners.

When they got to those runners, they tackled. Sounds too simple or easy to do? Watch an NFL game and see how shoddy the tackling is.

It’s been a while since somebody has come to Kidd Brewer Stadium and controlled the Mountaineers like the Spiders did. The last time I can think of was 1999, when Florida A&M beat them 44-29 in the first round of the Division I-AA playoffs. Appalachian State struggled offensively in its 14-10 loss to Maine in the second round of the playoffs in 2002 and Wofford rolled up over 500 yards in offense in a 26-19 win in 2002.

So while Richmond advances into the semifinals into a showdown with Northern Iowa, Appalachian State finds itself in an unusual position — watching the playoffs on television.

That’s how it worked out in 2008. It doesn’t necessarily mean it will happen again in 2009.

Following the game, Richmond coach Mike London called Appalachian State the “Mecca” of FCS football and the road to the championship goes through Boone.

I’ve got news for anybody who thinks that has changed.

It hasn’t.

Teams in the 2009 chase for the championship will still have to go through the Mountaineers to collect the hardware. The team returning next season is talented, a year older and a year wiser.

My guess is that it just got hungrier.

Their loss to Richmond was no fluke. The Spiders controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, holding Appalachian State to just 39 yards rushing and posting 238 yards on the ground. Edwards completed 26-of-41 passes for 323 yards, but when a team as to throw 42 times (CoCo Hillary attempted an option pass), chances are things aren’t going so well.

Edwards played with a sore knee and a sore hip that was probably hurt more than he let on. In fact, Edwards was taking shots to numb the pain for his hip on conference calls earlier in the last two weeks.

He confessed Saturday that his knee was bothering him, but refused to allow that to be an excuse for the five interceptions he tossed, or the fact he was held to three yards rushing.

Richmond got a dose of what a healthy Edwards can do last year when he ran for 313 yards and four touchdowns. In that game, it was the Spiders fighting the injury bug.

This time around, the presence of defensive ends Lawrence Sidbury, Jr. and Sherman Logan was felt. Both got good pressure on Edwards and Logan grabbed Edwards’ arm on an interception.

To be fair, three of Edwards’ interception could have been avoided. Had he been right handed, Logan’s grabbing of Edwards’ left arm would not have been so bad and the pass may have reached its original target.

Another interception went through Hillary’s hands and Brian Quick tripped in the end zone on yet another.

But as Don Meredith used to say on Monday Night Football, “If ifs and buts were candy and nuts then oh what a Christmas we’d have.”

The injuries bug that bit Appalachian State was no worse than any other team. However, I would like to see just what kind of numbers Edwards could really put up if he could stay healthy for the entire 2009 campaign.

He was dinged for much of he 2007 and 2008 seasons, but when healthy, he matches the hype.

I’d also like to see running back Devin Radford go through 2009 healthy. He’s lightning in a bottle in the open field and a legitimate threat to take it the distance any time he gets the ball.

Other skill position players such as Quick, Hillary, running back Robert Welton and tight end Brian Jorden continued to get better as the season went on. Jorden could be the forgotten weapon in the ASU arsenal that teams can’t afford to forget.

And covering the 6-foot-5 Quick will be a chore once he learns all of the ins and outs of football.

Remember, Quick didn’t start playing the game until his senior year in high school. Imagine what he can do in 2009, 2010 and in 2011, his senior year in college. The NFL may come calling if he can continue to improve.

No doubt, this one will hurt for a while. The main drawback of a playoff system is that only one team ends its season with a victory.

And the Mountaineers will lose their share of talent to graduation. Seniors such as linebackers Pierre Banks, tackles Jonathan Bieschke and Brad Coley, receiver T.J. Courman and defensive backs Leonard Love and Billy Riddle, and punter Neil Young have contributed tremendously to the success of the program the past four years.

So have seniors Trey Hennessee, receiver Anthony Cruver, tight end Brandon Simpkins and receiver Clay McKnight, who contributed on special teams and added depth. Special teams is still such an underrated part of the game, yet games can be won or lost because of a blocked punt, a botched hold, a kickoff return or whatever.

The 2008 Mountaineers may not have won a fourth national championship, but they won a fourth Southern Conference title by running the table to an 8-0 league mark. They avenged their two 2007 league losses to Georgia Southern (37-36) and Wofford (70-24).

They showed grit during adversity. They dazzled with their speed and skill and bounced back after a tough loss to James Madison.

They’ll be back. Caution to anybody who gets in their way.