Championship Results Division I Championship .......................... 2 2 DIVISION I CHAMPIONSHIP Division I Championship “We had to go by sevens, because their offense was as good as advertised,” Keeler said. 2007 Title Game Summary The Mountaineers used the momentum and drove 99 yards in a minute and 26 seconds to make the score 14-0. It only took five plays plus a 15-yard facemask penalty for Appalachian Appalachian State Wins Third Consecutive Football Championship: Everywhere State to score. Reserve running back Devon Moore ended the quick-strike drive by going Appalachian State football coach Jerry Moore went during the summer of 2007 in Boone, untouched up the middle on a 46-yard touchdown run. North Carolina, people would greet him with a three-finger wave. Murphy’s Law kept tapping Delaware on the shoulder as it fell behind, 21-0, despite making The symbol, which looks similar to the traditional “okay” sign, represented the community’s Richardson fumble near the goal line. Appalachian State freshman tight end Daniel Kilgore expectation of the Mountaineers repeating as NCAA titlist in the Football Championship recovered the ball in the end zone. The Blue Hens, who gained 432 yards, managed to cut Subdivision. It did not seem to matter to the Appalachian State fans that their thirst for a the deficit to 14 points after Flacco threw a 39-yard scoring pass to Mark Duncan with 1:10 third straight national championship at this level of football had never been accomplished left in the first half. before. Any momentum gained was quickly taken away by Appalachian State 21 seconds later. After Appalachian State pulled off a stunning upset of then-fifth-ranked Michigan in front Edwards drove the Mountaineers 72 yards in two plays by completing two passes, the sec- of 100,000-plus fans in Ann Arbor September 1, the pressure to win another FCS crown only ond of which was a 60-yard score to Dexter Jackson. intensified. “We had to be disciplined and some of our miscues cost us,” said Delaware defensive lineman The Mountaineers fulfilled that goal by grabbing a convincing 49-21 win over Delaware Jeremy Kametz, whose team trailed, 28-7, at halftime. “Their offense was speedy.” in the FCS title game December 14. A standing-room-only record crowd of 23,010 packed In the second half, the Mountaineers increased their advantage after Richardson caught an Chattanooga’s Finley Stadium to witness history. Thousands of those in attendance ended up eight-yard scoring pass from Edwards. on the field to celebrate with the team for a third consecutive year. Cuff cut the lead to 35-14 by scoring on a 1-yard run with 54 seconds remaining in the third “I can’t tell you what a relief it is being able to three-peat,” said Moore, whose team overcame quarter. It was Cuff’s FCS-record 39th touchdown of the season. injuries, two regular-season losses and two close calls in the playoffs to finish 13-2. “It is over. About midway through the season, I wasn’t so sure what they were going to do with all those That was as close as the Blue Hens, who defeated top-seeded Northern Iowa, 37-29, and fingers. It’s been a great run with a bunch of great kids.” fourth-seeded Southern Illinois, 20-17, on the road just to reach the finals, would climb to Appalachian State the rest of the way. Appalachian State’s black-and-gold-clad fan base composed most of the crowd, and the atmosphere in the stadium remained festive throughout as the Mountaineers showed why All during the season, Moore and his student-athletes told everyone who would listen that they are the standard to which all others are compared at the FCS level. winning the FCS title was more important to them than beating Michigan. Sophomore quarterback Armanti Edwards threw for three touchdowns and senior tailback “Beating Michigan didn’t put a ring on my finger,” said Edwards, who was 49-of-71 passing for Kevin Richardson capped a stellar career by scoring three times -- twice on receptions -- to 722 yards with seven touchdowns and no interceptions in four postseason games. He also lead the Appalachian State offense. The Mountaineers amassed 556 yards of total offense. scored eight rushing TDs while producing 1,382 yards of total offense in the playoffs. Edwards, the catalyst to Appalachian State’s spread offense, began the season by dazzling Appalachian State almost didn’t make it to the title after escaping with a 28-27 win over college football fans with his passing and running abilities against Michigan. Those same James Madison in the first round when a fumble inside its 10-yard line in the final seconds skills were on display in the FCS championship game. kept the Mountaineers’ season alive. In the second round, Appalachian State edged Eastern Washington, 38-35. After forcing the Blue Hens (11-4) to punt after three plays on the game’s opening pos- session, the Mountaineers marched 58 yards in six plays to take a 7-0 lead. Edwards and “I hadn’t cried in years, but I cried,” said Appalachian State senior left guard Kerry Brown. “It’s Richardson capped the drive by connecting on a 19-yard screen pass for the score. a great way to go out.” The pivotal sequence of the game began on Delaware’s next possession. The Blue Hens Moore has been an assistant coach at Nebraska and Arkansas, but the phenomenon drove 70 yards and appeared to have tied the score when Omar Cuff was tackled near the Appalachian State has grown into tops anything he has experienced in his coaching career. goal line on second-and-goal from the 4. The on-field officials ruled it a touchdown, but the “Those are institutions with renowned football programs,” Moore said. “But in the years I play was overturned by the replay official after seeing that Cuff’s elbow hit the ground just was at those places, I don’t think we ever got the national attention as our football team before he broke the plane of the goal line. has at Appalachian State. I am thrilled for these players. Our seniors have three national Cuff was stuffed at the 1-yard line on third down, and senior quarterback Joe Flacco threw championships.” an incomplete pass on fourth down. Delaware coach K.C. Keeler decided against a chip-shot Now, Appalachian State fans will have to develop a four-fingered wave to inspire Moore and field-goal attempt, because he figured field goals wouldn’t be enough to beat Appalachian his team for 2008. State. FINLEY STADIUM/DAVENPORT FIELD, 3:18 Delaware—Duncan 75 kickoff return (Striefsky kick), CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE; DECEMBER 15 Delaware 21 - Appalachian St. 49 (Note: The time listed at the beginning of each scoring play is the time remaining in the quarter. Delaware Appalachian St. Listed after the scoring play or conversion are the number of plays, yards and time elapsed on FIRST DOWNS .................................................................. 24 26 the scoring drive.) RUSHES-YARDS (NET) ................................................... 31-98 51-358 PASSING YDS (NET) ....................................................... 334 198 Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Final Passes Att-Comp-Int ..................................................... 48-23-0 15-9-0 Delaware (Record: 11-4) .......................................... 0 7 7 7 21 TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS ................................ 79-432 66-556 Appalachian St. (Record: 13-2) ............................. 14 14 7 14 49 Fumble Returns-Yards .................................................. 0-0 0-0 Punt Returns-Yards ........................................................ 1-6 2--7 FIRST QUARTER Kickoff Returns-Yards.................................................... 8-189 4-64 11:49 Appalachian St.—Kevin Richardson 19 pass from Armanti Edwards (Julian Interception Returns-Yards ........................................ 0-0 0-0 Rauch kick), 6-58 3:02, Delaware 0 - Appalachian St. 7 Punts (Number-Avg) ..................................................... 4-32.8 4-38.2 4:15 Appalachian St.—Devon Moore 46 run (Rauch kick), 5-99 1:26, Fumbles-Lost ................................................................... 0-0 1-0 Delaware 0 - Appalachian St. 14 Penalties-Yards ................................................................ 9-94 9-87 Possession Time .............................................................. 27:53 32:07 second QUARTER Third-Down Conversions ............................................ 7 of 16 7 of 12 10:22 Appalachian St.—Daniel Kilgore fumble recovery in end zone (Rauch Fourth-Down Conversions ........................................ 1 of 4 1 of 1 kick), 11-80 4:50, Delaware 0 - Appalachian St. 21 1:10 Delaware—Mark Duncan 39 pass from Joe Flacco (Jon Striefsky kick), Red-Zone Scores-Chances ......................................... 1-4 4-4 6-39 1:46, Delaware 7 - Appalachian St. 21 Sacks By: Number-Yards .............................................. 1-10 3-19 0:44 Appalachian St.—Dexter Jackson 60 pass from Edwards (Rauch kick), 2-72 0:21, Delaware 7 - Appalachian St. 28 Individual Statistics Rushing—Delaware: Omar Cuff 21-84; Kervin Michaud 2-20; Joe Flacco 7-minus 1; THIRD QUARTER Phillip Thaxton 1-minus 5. Appalachian St.: Kevin Richardson 22-118; Armanti 4:56 Appalachian St.—Richardson 8 pass from Edwards (Rauch kick), 14-67 Edwards 18-89; Trey Elder 2-71; Devon Moore 4-62; Josh Jackson 4-24; Tavaris 6:40, Delaware 7 - Appalachian St. 35 Washington 1-minus 6; Daniel Kilgore 0-0. 0:54 Delaware—Omar Cuff 1 run (Striefsky kick), 12-64 3:55, Passing—Delaware: Flacco 23-48-0-334. Appalachian St.: Edwards 9-15-0-198. Delaware 14 - Appalachian St. 35 Receiving—Delaware: Aaron Love 7-101; Mark Duncan 7-83; Michaud 3-45; Cuff 3-41; Josh Baker 2-49; Robbie Agnone 1-15. Appalachian St.: Hans Batichon Fourth QUARTER 2-30; Richardson 2-27; Dexter Jackson 1-60; CoCo Hillary 1-41; Moore 1-19; 6:02 Appalachian St.—Richardson 6 run (Rauch kick), 10-87 5:01, Josh Johnson 1-12; T.J.