Richmond and App. State

[mabus]

Anybody have anything about these two teams?
Have to go to a party I don't want to be at, but there will be a TV-Looking for a little bit of action for entertainment sake. Thanks

 

[IE]

UR vies for spot in final

Spiders' defense has hands full containing Appalachian State


-- Before the University of Richmond beat Wofford 21-10 Saturday night in an NCAA Division I-AA playoff game, the Spiders had a chance to relax and watch some football on TV.

Many of them tuned in to see Appalachian State outlast Eastern Washington 38-35 in another I-AA game. They got an eyeful of ASU's quarterback Armanti Edwards.

"The biggest thing about him is he's got the whole package," free safety Andrew Harris said. "He may be small, but he'll run on you, he'll throw on you. He'll get out of some scramble situations. He's dangerous everywhere."

Edwards, a 6-0, 175-pound sophomore, accounted for 347 yards of offense against Eastern Washington, passing for 221 yards and running for 126.

In the Mountaineers' season-opening stunner at Michigan, Edwards passed for 227 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 62 yards.

The Spiders (11-2) will get an up-close look at Edwards tonight (8) when they face two-time national champion ASU (11-2) in the I-AA semifinals at Kidd Brewer Stadium. The winner advances to the title game next Friday in Chattanooga, Tenn.

"He's a pretty good player," Richmond coach Dave Clawson said. "I remember watching him last year in the national championship game. The game was on the line, and here's a freshman quarterback. They put the ball in his hands and he made some huge plays and throws in the fourth quarter to win a national championship.

"I remember watching him then saying, 'Man, it's unbelieveable that this guy is doing this as a freshman.' Now, he's a year older and a year better. It seems like he's extremely tough for a guy his size. He doesn't appear to be that big but he'll lower his shoulder and try to run people over. He throws the ball well. He's very elusive. It's going to be a challenge to try and defend him."

Edwards was sidelined for 4? games this season because of a shoulder injury, but was replaced quite capably by senior Trey Elder, who has passed for eight TDs and rushed for 402 yards.

The Mountaineers, who average 41.3 ppg, also feature senior running back Kevin Richardson, the school's all-time leading rusher (4,610 yards), and senior safety Corey Lynch, who has 23 career interceptions. Richardson has been slowed by an ankle injury but is expected to be near full strength.

UR will counter with tailback Tim Hightower, who became the school's all-time leading rusher this season by gaining 1,829 yards to give him 3,617 for his career, and sophomore quarterback Eric Ward, who has completed 62.5 percent of his passes -- a school record -- for 14 touchdowns. He has rushed for nearly 400 yards.

"Number one, they're a very hungry football team," ASU coach Jerry Moore said of his concerns about UR. "They're a very young team and they've had great success. They're extremely well-coached. You have to hunt and peck to find just a little dent in the armor somewhere. There's not many dents. They know what they're doing and they do it well.

"They did some things to Wofford that nobody else down here [in Southern Conference] ever does. We sat there with our mouth open watching that tape."

ASU barely escaped a first-round matchup with James Madison, edging the Dukes 28-27 in a game JMU could have won. The Spiders, winners of eight straight, squeaked past JMU 17-16 earlier this season.

"We're going into this game eager to win," said UR wideout Kevin Grayson. "We've gotten this far in the playoffs, where we just feel like we need to win the national championship. If we don't win it, we're going to be angry. So much hard work during the off-season, during the season. We've gone through everything in the world. From injuries to close games to all kinds of stuff.

"It could be like the Delaware game [five-overtime shootout won by UR 62-56]. We knew going into that game that our offense was going to have to put points on the board to have a chance to win. Coming into this game, it's pretty much the same. We know they have a high-powered offense, so we're coming into the game and do what we've done all year. Put points on the board and let our defense hold their offense down."

 

[IE]

PREVIEW: Richmond at Appalachian State


Records: Richmond 11-2, Appalachian State 11-2
Players to watch: Rich -- QB Eric Ward, So., 202-323-10, 2,133 yds., 14 TDs; TB Tim Hightower, Sr., 305 carries, 1,829 yds., 20 TDs; WR Kevin Grayson, Fr., 61 catches, 848 yds., 5 TDs. ASU -- QB Armanti Edwards, So., 125-191-7, 1,568 yds., 11 TDs, 188 carries, 1,186 yds., 17 TDs, RB Kevin Richardson, Sr., 221 carries, 1,154 yds., 14 TDs, FS Corey Lynch, Sr., 98 tackles, 5 int.
Outlook: This will be the fifth meeting between the schools and the second in the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs. ASU leads the series 3-2 and beat the Spiders 20-3 in the first round in 1987 in Boone. . . . The Mountaineers have won 10 straight playoff games (eight of them at home) en route to back-to-back titles. . . . ASU averages 41.3 ppg behind Edwards and Richardson, but its defense has given up some large numbers on occasion. . . . The Spiders, who average almost 35 ppg, will probably be without defensive end Lawrence Sidbury (sprained ankle) but are expected to have strong safety Stephen Howell, who missed most of last week's game with a shoulder stinger. . . . UR will rely heavily on Hightower, its record-setting tailback, but Ward needs to have an error-free game for the Spiders to win. . . . The survivor of this game advances to the national championship next Friday in Chattanooga, Tenn., against either Delaware or Southern Illinois, who play tomorrow in Carbondale, Ill.

The three keys for Richmond
1. Slow Edwards. Richmond's defense must find a way to slow quarterback Armanti Edwards, who averages 306 yards of offense per game out of the spread option. He's ASU's leading rusher and has scored 17 TDs on the ground. He has passed for 11 more. Then there's Richardson, who has scored 14 TDs rushing and is the Mountaineers' second-leading receiver with 31 catches for 317 yards and three TDs. It won't be easy.
2. Score early, often. The Spiders' offense will probably have to find a way to produce points, most likely in the 30s or even 40. The running game will need to be much better than last week, when UR was limited to a season-low 128 yards. Hightower must have one of his better days and cannot afford any fumbles. Ward has to avoid bad passes that could lead to interceptions and hold onto the ball if he's sacked.
3. Silence the crowd. Since a more-than-capacity turnout is expected in Kidd Brewer Stadium, that's going to be a difficult proposition. The best way to do it is for long, time-consuming drives that lead to scores and keeps the ball away from ASU's high-powered offense. If it's a close game, the Mountaineers will feed off the energy of their fans.

 

[IE]

Commentary: Defense can make statement





For a defense that has been as criticized as much as it has this year, Appalachian State?s played pretty well last week.

Considering that the Mountaineers allowed just two long scoring drives in their 38-35 win over Eastern Washington, that?s a pretty safe assessment.

But that was last week. Eastern Washington?s pass-happy offense played into the hands of Appalachian State?s solid secondary and the Mountaineers held the Eagles? explosive quarterback Matt Nichols in check.

This week, a different tactic will likely be used on the Mountaineers ? the dreaded running game.

It?s no secret that Richmond will ?turn around and hand it to Hightower,? according to Spiders coach Dave Clawson.

Hightower as in Tim Hightower, the Spiders? 6-0, 225-pound running back.


Hightower is good, from everything I hear. He kind of sounds like Massachusetts back Steve Baylark from last year?s championship game.

It?s a good time for Appalachian State?s defense to make a big statement.


They?ve struggled with stopping the run all year. Then again, there have been some good running teams that have lined up against the Mountaineers.


Few are better than Georgia Southern quarterback Jayson Foster, the Southern Conference?s player of the year, or Michigan?s Mike Hart, who ran for 188 yards against the Mountaineers during the first week of the season.


Had Georgia Southern not returned an interception for a score, Appalachian State may not have lost 38-35 to the Eagles. We all know what happened at Michigan.


Appalachian State doesn?t have to smother Hightower, but getting a tape of the Wofford game was a good idea. The Terriers held Hightower to 88 yards on 23 carries, though the Spiders won the game 21-10.


And as they say, the best defense is a good offense. It would help the Mountaineers? defense if their offense stuck a few touchdowns on the scoreboard in the first quarter.


Appalachian State did so against Eastern Washington. The Mountaineers built a 21-7 halftime lead and increased it to 38-21 before holding on to win 38-35.


Things haven?t been as easy this time around like they were the first two championship seasons. The Mountaineers were simply dominant in their road to Chattanooga last year, beating Coastal Carolina 45-28, Montana State 38-17 and then pounded a good Youngstown State team 49-21.

That?s what a No. 1 seed can do for you. This year, the opponents have been better and the scores closer. Appala-chian State needed some key breaks to beat James Madison 28-27.

And though the Mountaineers built a 17-point lead on Eastern Washington, I?m not sure anybody felt their win last Saturday was safe until the clock struck 0:00.

Yet, there?s something to be said about this team?s march to Chattanooga. The defense may not be as dominant as in the past, but they make big plays when they need to and win games.

And the Mountaineers? offense has almost been unstoppable. It almost seems they could score any time they wanted. Stop one guy and another makes a big play. Even when Armanti Edwards was on the bench, the Mountaineers didn?t miss much with Trey Elder in the lineup.

But Richmond is likely to be better than Coastal Carolina, Montana State and Youngstown State was last year.

We?ll find out for sure tonight.

 

[patlives]

Thanks IE! Has anyone seen numbers on the Division 2 games that are on TV Saturday on ESPN2? The NWMSU/GVSU should be an unreal game!! I'm sure 5 dimes has a number, but any chances of other books lining these games?