The Echo

Issue date: 11/13/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Matt Kreitzer So close, yet so very far: Junior wide receiver Blue Cooper, Rome, Ga., stretches out, but cannot quite haul in what would be a touchdown catch for the Mocs. UTC lost 49-7 at home in a game that was not nearly as close as Cooper was to making this catch.

Appalachian State shut out the Mocs' foothall team, 49-7, Saturday, at Finley Stadium.

The Mountaineers wasted no time scoring, as running back Robert Welton ran straight up the middle for an 18-yard score to finish off a five play, 80-yard drive only 1:24 into the first quarter.

After swapping punts, Mocs junior quarterback Jare Gault, Boiling Springs, Miss., connected with wide receiver Clint Woods, junior from Birminham, Ala., down the left sideline to even the scoreboard 7-7. Undaunted, the Mountaineers responded immediately after a touchback on the kickoff.

A 76-yard dash by quarterback Armanti Edwards set up another Mountaineers touchdown two plays later, capping off another 80-yard drive taking only 1:19 off the clock.

The Mountaineers' offense was relentlessly effective, scoring on five of its next seven first half possessions, and scoring its last touchdown of the half with ten seconds left on the clock to finish a 7-play, 95-yard possession in 1:21. Appalachian State headed into the locker room at halftime with a 35-7 cushion.

The only signs of life from the Mocs came in the form of a few trick plays, as junior wide receiver Blue Cooper, Rome, Ga., threw a 32-yard pass on a throwback pass to Gault in the third quarter, leaving Cooper with a passing record of 3-3 for 77 yards and two scores in his career.

Mocs punter Jeff Lloyd, a junior from Murfreesboro, Tenn., also got in on the trickery with a punt attempt that turned into a 13-yard run by Lloyd for the first down. Lloyd also placed six out of his nine punts of the day inside the 20-yard line.

But the Mocs were unable to find the endzone again, and the Mountaineer's second team finished off the lopsided victory.

Junior linebacker Joseph Thornton, Stone Mountain, Ga., led the Mocs with 10 tackles. Cornerback Buster Skrine, sophomore from Woodstock, Ga., added six tackles and three pass breakups.

Appalachian State was led by Edwards who raked in 328 yards of total offense and two scores in a single half.

The Mountaineers had 428 rushing yards on offense, led by 152 on the ground from Edwards.

Appalachian State, ranked second in the FCS, is undefeated in the conference this year, and can clinch the title next week with a win.

It would be their fourth straight SoCon title for Appalachian State, and would put them in the FCS playoffs with a chance to earn their fourth straight national championship.

The Mocs will travel to Charleston, S.C., next Saturday to face the Citadel.

The Mocs play their last game against Samford, Nov. 22, at Finley Stadium.

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