Josh Brown | Chief Photographer
Tennessee State University. The Mountaineers return to Johnson City,
Tenn. to take on the Buccaneers Saturday at 6 p.m.
Josh Brown | Chief Photographer |
The Appalachian State
University football team travels to Johnson City, Tenn. Saturday
to face Southern Conference opponent East Tennessee State University
(3-2, 2-0 SoCon).
The Mountaineers (3-1, 1-0 SoCon) made an impressive
showing last Saturday beating the visiting Bulldogs from The Citadel,
but ETSU was even more impressive in its 27-7 win over Western Carolina
University in Cullowhee.
Head coach Jerry Moore said that he feels the
Buccaneers will be ready for Appalachian to arrive in Tennessee.
“There is no question about them being ready,
they have all the confidence in the world about us coming down there,”
said Moore. “They beat the number one team in the nation last
year in Georgia Southern down [in Johnson City].”
In ETSU’s two victories over Southern Conference
opponents, the Bucs have rushed for over 200 yards a game, while
holding their opponents to under 100 yards on the ground. Look for
the Bucs to run the ball frequently against Appalachian and give
added pressure on the Mountaineer backfield.
“They are going to rush for some first downs,
we won’t stop the running game completely but we won’t
let them run all over us either,” said Moore.
Defensively, the Buccaneers look to hold Appalachian
to small yardage on the ground as well as in the air. With two strong
defensive backs, ETSU looks to limit Burchette and not allow him
to throw for over 300 yards two games in a row.
Montreal Harkley, former Southern Conference
defensive player of the week, and Tony Tiller will put a lot of
pressure on Appalachian receivers, said Moore.
“We can have a good passing plan, but when
we get out there things are different,” said Moore. “Many
times we don’t know where we stand until we get out there on
the field, we must be prepared to do what we have to do to succeed.”
On the other side of the ball ETSU has an All-American
wide receiver with game-breaking capabilities and sure hands.
Cecil Moore is second in the conference in both
receptions (137) and receiving yards (2,138). Cecil Moore will undoubtedly
be a threat to the Mountaineer secondary said Jerry Moore.
“We need to have the right coverages and
not make mistakes,” said Moore. “We won’t do anything
special, we will just have to play a sound and solid defensive game
and try to contain him.”
With a victory, Moore will become the all-time
winningest coach in Southern Conference history, surpassing Wallace
Wade of Duke University.
Game time is set for 6:00 p.m. at Memorial Center
Stadium in Johnson City, Tenn. Saturday. |
