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File Photo
Linebacker Daniel Traylor (21) and cornerback Jay Lyles (15) pursue Bulldog
runningback Nehemiah Broughton during last year's game versus The Citadel.
El Cid beat Appalachian State 24-21 on their home turf. |
Football team looks for revenge against El Cid
by Brad Norman
Senior Staff Writer
Revenge will be the theme this Saturday for the Appalachian
State football team.
Last year, The Citadel upset ASU in Charleston, S.C., a
loss that knocked the Mountaineers to 1-3 on the season and a loss that
ultimately led to their exclusion from the playoffs.
“Since I’ve been here [1999] we’ve never
lost to The Citadel until last year when I was out [with an injury],
so I was kind of frustrated about the loss last year,” sixth-year
senior Nygel Rogers said.
“I’m looking forward to playing them again
this year.”
When the two teams meet Sept. 18, it will be the first game for the Bulldogs
this season.
The Sept. 4 game against Charleston Southern was canceled
due to Hurricane Frances and the team had a bye last week.
“That’s both an advantage and a disadvantage,” running
back Alan Atwater said.
“The disadvantage is we don’t know exactly
what kind of defense they run and we can’t scout them. The advantage
is we’re in better shape and we have our team unity already down.
We’re together.”
The Bulldog team Atwater and company will face this year
is a far cry from the squad that went 6-6 last year and defeated Southern
Conference powers Georgia Southern and Furman.
Willie Simmons was the first team All-SoCon selection at
quarterback and was replaced this year by Justin Hardin.
Hardin has completed four passes in his playing career
and has one interception.
In addition to the quarterback position, the offensive
line and receiving corps also boast all new starters.
One position on The Citadel that the Appalachian football
team knows plenty about is running back.
Senior Nehemiah Broughton is the team’s offense star.
He ran for 778 yards last season and caught an additional 21 balls, making
him both The Citadel’s top returning rusher and receiver.
“[Broughton] is definitely good, he’s a very
talented back,” linebacker Jerelle Carter said. “They lost
their quarterback, their offensive line and they don’t have any
receivers that played in a game last year. So basically it’s going
to be a grind game. They’re going to hand it to him all day long,
that is what I’m expecting.”
Depending on the weather, The Citadel defense may see a
heavy dose of running backs Atwater, Kevin Richardson and Michael Metcalf.
As of press time, the National Hurricane Center forecasts
Hurricane Ivan, currently a Category 4 hurricane, to hit Boone around
2 a.m. Friday.
If heavy rain and wind gusts were to hit Boone, the Mountaineer
aerial attack would struggle to get off the ground.
"It's
Black Saturday and we don't lose at home. That's one thing we don't
do; we just don't lose at home."
-Alan Atwater
Mountaineer runningback |
With Boone and surrounding cities already reeling from
Hurricane Frances, flooding could become a serious problem.
Regarding delaying or even canceling the game, Director
of Athletics Roachel J. Laney said: “If we get into a situation
where safety is a factor for people, we will consider something at that
time. We will continue to monitor the situation.”
The game against The Citadel is the annual “Black
Saturday” game.
“It’s Black Saturday and we don’t lose
at home,” Atwater said of the team’s chances against The
Citadel.
“That’s one thing we don’t do; we just
don’t lose at home.”
Mountaineer Sports Roundup
by Nick Coulapides
Staff Writer
Football
Head Coach Jerry Moore conquered his 150th career win this
past weekend as he watched his Mountaineers dominate EKU 49-21.
“It wasn’t a tear-down the goalpost game, but for me it was,” Moore
said about the win.
Women’s Soccer
ASU women’s soccer kicked their way to a victory
by the skin of their teeth this past weekend, beating Radford 2-1 in
double overtime.
Dana Murphy slipped by a defender to boot in the game winner
off a double assist from Jennipher Martin and Jill Parsons. Parsons launched
a sideline throw-in all the way into the box where Martin passed it to
an open Murphy for the golden goal and victory. Jennifer Rudy tied up
the game at one during the 57th minute with an unassisted goal.
Neither team would score for over 45 minutes until Murphy’s
goal. There were three minutes left before the teams would have to resort
to a shoot-out to decide the victor.
The game pushed ASU women’s soccer record to an even
2-2 and will play host on tomorrow to VMI at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
Field hockey
ASU field hockey had a rough time finding the back of the
net while up North.
In back to back days, ASU traveled to Indiana and Ohio, only to get pummeled
by both schools.
It was a blowout from start to finish with the Hoosiers
winning their fourth straight after losing their opener to Cal. The 4-0
loss to IU was only a taste of things to come for the field hockey’s
weekend of play.
They traveled to Ohio to play Miami University the next
day, only to be shutout again 3-0. Miami’s Senior Meredith Lee
scored the first two goals against the ASU squad to lead her team to
a 2-0 score. Just half a minute afterward, Alyssa Nye put the score up
to 3-0, putting the game out of reach for the Mountaineers.
Volleyball
Appalachian women found their volleyball squad on the brink
of winning the Charlotte Invitational Championship.
However, it was not to be as they fell to in-state rivals,
and tournament host, UNC-Charlotte 3-2. Tournament MVP Lisa Newell of
Charlotte led the way contributing 10 kills and five block assists in
the championship contest. All-Tournament honoree Abbey Szlanfucht nailed
19 kills, along with 11 digs against ASU. Sophomore Jessica Oldenburg
totaled 19 kills as well in defeating Appalachian volleyball.
ASU dropped to 6-2 overall, despite the efforts from All-Tournament
athletes Chrissy Finch (18 kills, 15 digs in final match) and Amber Mangrum
(59 assists, 10 digs in final match). ASU will travel to Fort Worth,
Texas this weekend for the TCU Invitational, where they will try to accomplish
what they lost in Charlotte.
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