ROBlog

ASU's comeback falls three yards short

2009-12-15T09:10:00.000-08:00

“I didn’t catch it.”

That was all Appalachian State wide receiver Brian Quick could say after dropping what could have been the game-tying touchdown pass Saturday against Montana.

Appalachian was at the UM three-yard line with six seconds left in the game after getting the ball back with 1:31 left.

Armanti Edwards’ first-and-goal pass was broken up in the end zone, and Quick dropped the second-and-goal pass as time expired, giving Montana a 24-17 victory. READ MORE

No Cheering in the Press Box: Dec. 14

2009-12-15T09:08:00.000-08:00

The sky is crying

As I looked at the faces of the Mountaineer fans I traveled to Missoula with as we boarded the bus to take us from Washington-Grizzly Stadium to the airport, I noticed that everyone appeared to be thinking the same thing I was:

It was not supposed to end like that.

Appalachian was on the three-yard line with the greatest player to ever play in the FCS at the helm. It was a foregone conclusion that Appalachian was going to tie the game and go to overtime.

But they didn’t. READ MORE

The Breakdown: Appalachian State at Elon

2009-11-12T10:43:00.000-08:00

The Matchup
Appalachian State is 7-2 on the year after defeating Chattanooga last weekend 35-20 in Boone.

Elon is 8-1 after knocking off Western Carolina 42-17.

Both teams bring 6-0 Southern Conference records into the contest. The winner of the game will clinch at least a share of the SoCon championship and the automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship. READ MORE

No Cheering in the Press Box: Nov. 10

2009-11-10T15:28:00.000-08:00

(originally published in the Nov. 10 edition of The Appalachian)

Elizabeth Lambert, will you marry me?

I’m not really a fan of women’s sports.

I’m not opposed to women’s sports, it’s just that I was raised watching men’s sports, so that’s what I enjoy watching.

So before you start sending me a bunch of letters about how I am a chauvinist, let me make it clear: I think women’s sports are important.

And I know collegiate female athletes are far more athletic than I am.

And I know they would beat me at most sports, except for competitive beer drinking: I’m pretty sure I could hold my own with a lot of people in that.

Now that I got that disclaimer out of the way, on with the column. READ MORE

No Cheering in the Press Box: Oct. 27

2009-10-28T08:13:00.000-07:00

(originally published in the Oct. 27 edition of The Appalachian)

FAILhomme strikes again

As many of you may have seen Sunday afternoon, Jake FAILhomme failed against the Buffalo Bills as he led the Carolina Panthers to a fabulous FAILory.

It was truly remarkable how much FAIL he was able to cram into one game.

FAILhomme threw three interceptions and was sacked twice as the Panthers fell 20-9.

The blame for this loss belongs to FAILhomme and FAILhomme alone.

The Panther defense played great, holding the Bills to only 167 yards of offense.

DeAngelo Williams played well, gaining 89 yards and one touchdown on 16 carries READ MORE

Appalachian manhandles Georgia Southern 52-16

2009-10-25T11:59:00.000-07:00

(originally published Oct.24 on theapp.appstate.edu)

Appalachian State racked up 712 yards of total offense en route to a 52-16 thrashing of Southern Conference foe Georgia Southern Saturday at Kidd Brewer Stadium.

The Mountaineers got on the board on their first drive of the game as Armanti Edwards hit Matt Cline in the left flats for a 15 yard touchdown connection.

Georgia Southern equalized a few minutes later after ASU tight end Brad Hardee fumbled to Derek Heyden, who returned the ball 38 yards to make the score 7-7.

Appalachian answered on their next drive when Edwards hit CoCo Hillary with a pass over the middle and Hillary outran the Eagle defense 53 yards to the end zone. READ MORE

The Breakdown: Georgia Southern at Appalachian State

2009-10-22T09:26:00.000-07:00

(originally published in the Oct. 22 edition of The Appalachian)

The Matchup

Georgia Southern’s record stands at 4-3 after knocking off Chattanooga 30-20 Saturday.

Appalachian State is 4-2 after defeating Wofford 44-34 last weekend in Spartanburg, S.C.

How ASU can win

Offensively, the Mountaineers need to keep doing what they have been doing for the past two weeks: racking up a lot of yards and points.

Appalachian has gained 1,255 yards and scored 99 points combined in its last two games. READ MORE

No Cheering in the Press Box: Oct. 6

2009-10-07T05:02:00.000-07:00

(originally published in the Oct. 6 edition of The Appalachian)

No really, you can't cheer in here

So you might be wondering why I gave my column the name “No Cheering in the Press Box.”

Well, even if you aren’t wondering, I’m going to tell you.

In any press box before football games, an announcement is made that goes something like this:

“The Football Writers Association of America and ‘insert college name here’ Sports Information remind you that this is a working press box and no cheering for either team will be tolerated. Violators will be asked to leave the press area.” READ MORE

Oct. 3 content from The Appalachian

2009-10-03T06:28:00.000-07:00

The Breakdown: Appalachian State at The Citadel

Around the SoCon

Pigskin Pick'em

BEARD ODYSSEY 09!

No Cheering in the Press Box: Sept. 29

2009-10-03T06:24:00.000-07:00

(orignally published in the Sept. 29 edition of The Appalachian)

Armanti's 'Samford Scramble' puts Chuck Norris to shame

I saw the most incredible, mind numbing, ridiculous, absurd, illogical, unbelievable and outrageous play I have ever seen in person Saturday during Appalachian State’s game against Samford.

Appalachian was lined up in a four-receiver set with Cedric Baker at running back next to Armanti Edwards.

Edwards took the snap, dropped back three steps, set his feet and scanned the field for an open receiver.

Samford defensive tackle Jeremy Towns occupied ASU’s right guard and center, allowing Bulldog nose guard Patrick Hatcher to get a free rush into the Mountaineer backfield.

Edwards was left with no protection in the backfield, as Baker paused for a moment before running to his right to look for the pass. READ MORE

No Cheering in the Press Box: Sept. 22

2009-09-22T21:08:00.000-07:00

(originally published in the Sept. 22 edition of The Appalachian)

Defense lacks leadership

I don’t like writing columns like this.

Every time I do, I feel like a blowhard like Jay Mariotti, Jason Whitlock, Skip Bayless, Mike Lupica or any of the other idiotic sports writers who think they know more about sports than the athletes who actually play them.

However, after watching Appalachian State play McNeese State Sept. 12 and after speaking with coaches and players, I think I might know why the Mountaineer defense looked so bad against the Cowboys: Appalachian needs players to step up and be leaders on the defensive side of the ball.

The Mountaineers looked confused most of the game against McNeese.

The team was consistently lined up wrong against the Cowboy offense. Coaches said that the team was misaligned on nearly half of the Cowboys’ offensive snaps.

The team was not misaligned because of a coaching problem or a lack of talent. Being in the wrong spot is the result of not having a leader to take command of the defense and tell his teammates where to be...READ MORE

Senior golfer wins first tournament of fall

2009-09-22T21:04:00.000-07:00

(originally published in the Sept. 22 edition of The Appalachian)

Casey Johnson shot rounds of 69, 67 and 71 to score his first victory of the fall season Sept. 15 at the Spring Hill Suites Intercollegiate in Florence, S.C.

“[In the] first two rounds I played good. [The] last day, I just struggled and never really got anything going,” Johnson said.

Johnson finished tied at 9-under-par with Jayson Judy of Elon, but both were crowned champion because the tournament did not have a playoff.

Johnson credited the win to his ability to drive the ball well off the tee.

“That was the best I’ve ever driven the ball,” Johnson said. “I drove it incredible.”

Coach Bill Dicus said Johnson was averaging drives of 320 yards...READ MORE

Defense 'soul-searching' after performance against McNeese

2009-09-17T08:19:00.000-07:00

(originally published in the Sept. 17 edition of The Appalachian)

After having two days to reflect on the performance of Appalachian State’s defense against McNeese State, shock had turned to disappointment for defensive coordinator John Wiley on Monday.

“[My thoughts have] waffled from complete disbelief to, obviously, extreme disappointment,” Wiley said. “You know, being two days later we’ve already morphed into finding the issues that are keeping us confused and not allowing us to line down and execute. As it was going on Saturday, it was like a comedy of errors. It was just disbelief.”

The Cowboys’ offense was virtually unstoppable Saturday as they finished the game with 40 points, 26 first downs and 522 total offensive yards...READ MORE

ASU vs. McNeese State highlights

2009-09-16T10:12:00.000-07:00

No Cheering in the Press Box: Sept. 15

2009-09-16T10:06:00.000-07:00

(originally published in the Sept. 15 edition of The Appalachian)

Just call me Brent Barry

My buddy Eric and I have a lot of conversations that end up going strange places.

Most of them turn out to be nonsense, but a select few create some pretty interesting ideas.

A few weeks ago we were discussing two of our favorite topics: sports and women. Somehow the conversation morphed into a discussion of why my level of success with women is comparable to the NBA career of Brent Barry.

OK, let me explain.

The question we began talking about goes like this: if you compared your level of success with women to the career success of a professional athlete, what athlete would it be?

The Haircut pics

2009-09-11T07:18:00.000-07:00

Here are a few of the pictures we took during my haircut and shave during preparation for BEARD ODYSSEY 09! Enjoy.

From summer 2009

2009-09-09T10:50:00.000-07:00

The following links are all of my published articles for The Appalachian during the summer of 2009.

Peterson introduced as head coach

House debates budget cuts, tuition increases for state universities

Four Mountaineers chosen in MLB draft

Appalachian agrees to series with Montana, McNeese State

Preseason accolades roll in for Mountaineers

Coach Popoola takes leave of absence

Experienced Appalachian defense ready for 2009

Edwards leads 'potent' Mountaineer offense

No Cheering in the Press Box: Aug. 31

2009-09-09T10:36:00.000-07:00

(originally published in the Aug. 31 edition of The Appalachian.)

Taking the playoff beard to the next level

There are several things I enjoy about hockey.

Fighting.

The complete disregard for teeth.

Awesome eastern European names.

Players who have awesome eastern European girlfriends.

But without a doubt, the thing I love most about hockey is the utterly fantastic tradition of the playoff beard...READ MORE