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Moore becomes winningest coach in
Southern Conference history
ASU head coach picks up 111th win against
East Tennessee State, surpasses Duke’s Wallace Wade
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James
Nix
Associate Editor |
Josh Brown | Chief PhotographerAppalachian head coach Jerry
Moore was lifted on to the shoulders of his team after earning
his 111th victory as a Southern Conference coach against East
Tennessee State University Saturday night in Johnson City, Tenn.
Moore, who was already the winningest coach in ASU history,
surpassed Wallace Wade of Duke University. Wade earned 100 wins
in the conference from 1931-41 and 1946-50.
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As the final minutes ticked away
Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Johnson City, Tenn., the Appalachian
fans in attendance began chanting his name.
With over a minutes left in play, members of the
Mountaineer football team dumped a bucket of Gatorade on him, spilling
ice onto the field.
And with the clock finally extinguished, the Mountaineers
lifted head coach Jerry Moore onto their shoulders and carried him
to midfield. |
Moore is now the winningest
coach in the history of the Southern Conference, with 111 wins after
Appalachian State University’s 29-10 win over East Tennessee
State.
This puts Moore one notch ahead of Duke University’s
Wallace Wade, who earned 110 wins from 1931-41 and 1946-50.
“It’s just been a privilege to get to
coach,” said Moore. “I’m getting to do something
I love to do.”
Moore came to Appalachian State in 1989 after holding two previous
head coaching positions and four assistant coaching positions.
Since taking the helm at ASU, Moore’s record is 111-58, with
three SoCon Championships (1991, 1994, 1999).
He has been named SoCon Coach-of-the-Year three times (1991, 1994,
1995).
“[Moore] is a quite competitor,” said Rob Best, ASU’s
offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
“He’s one of those guys who loves to compete, and it eats
him up inside when we don’t compete. He’s a competitor
from the ground up no doubt.”
“[Moore] is a players coach,” said
senior quarterback Joe Burchette. “He’s there for you,
anything you need done he’ll do it. If you’ve got a problem,
go tell the coach and he’ll do his best to solve it.
“He’s like a second dad to most people on this team. He’s
a great man and it’s a privilege to play for him”
On the field, Moore is often seen standing on the sidelines quietly
observing the game. It is only on rare occasions he becomes animated.
“He’s big on whatever God’s given you, or you possess
or whatever, you need to use it to its fullest,” said Best.
“When he recognizes that maybe someone’s not, or we’re
not as a team, that frustrates him and brings out the animation
in him.”
“When coach Moore says something, he can get animated, don’t
let him fool you,” said senior defensive end Josh Jeffries.
“When he says something to you, everyone listens.”
The Mountaineers, now 41 (2-0 SoCon), are on the right foot to win
the SoCon Championship, said Burchette.
“We said at the beginning of the year, let’s get three
wins and then win the conference and the playoffs,” said Burchette.
“We now got one of our goals.”
“Our immediate goal is to win the Southern Conference and compete
for the National Championship,” said Jeffries.
With Moore’s new record, the team has a new boost of energy
to take on Furman University next weekend and the rest of the SoCon
schedule.
“[The record] boosts our self esteem,” said senior running
back Jerry Beard. “We went into this season not really knowing
about the record, but then we jumped on the bandwagon and said we
wanted to do it for coach.”
“Having the winningest coach in the Southern Conference going
into games definitely gives us some motivation,” said Jeffries.
“We weren’t concerned with coach Moore; he was going to
get his record one way or another,” said Burchette. “It’s
good to get it now, get it behind us and start focusing on the conference.” |
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