Nov. 19, 2009

Rivalry Revisited: Western Carolina vs. Appalachian State Photo Gallery

Western Carolina at No. 6 Appalachian State - Game Notes

Cullowhee, N.C. - The mountain rivalry that burns deep within the western reaches of North Carolina and reverberates throughout the state and region will once again be rekindled this Saturday (Nov. 21) as Western Carolina visits sixth-ranked Appalachian State at Kidd Brewer Stadium (21,650) in Boone.

The Catamounts and Mountaineers will meet for the 74th time on the football field, with the "Old Mountain Jug" up for grabs for the 34th time since 1976. Kickoff is set for 3:30 pm.

Saturday's game - the season finale for WCU - will be broadcast by the Catamount Sports Network. Fans can hear the game, beginning with a 90-minute pregame at 2:00 pm, on five stations across Western North Carolina including locally on WWCU-FM, Power 90dot5 in Cullowhee and 680 AM WRGC in Sylva; 920 AM WPTL in Canton; 1480 AM WPFJ in Franklin; and 1600 AM WTZQ in Hendersonville.

Fans can also catch all of the play-by-play action online with streaming audio through Stretch Internet at www.CatamountSports.com.

Western Carolina (2-8, 1-6 SoCon) held its final practice prior to Saturday's game under the lights Thursday night at E.J. Whitmire Stadium. The loose and spirited practice session in helmets, half pads and shorts featured both offensive and defensive scout work, as well as special teams' drills on a chilly November evening in Cullowhee.

The team will travel to Boone on Friday afternoon with a walk-through scheduled at Kidd Brewer Stadium on Friday evening.

Both squads enter Saturday's gridiron grudge match coming off road victories. Western Carolina snapped an eight-game road losing skid by knocking off Eastern Kentucky, which was ranked 33rd in the country in the "others receiving votes" category, 24-7, last Saturday in Richmond, Ky. The Mountaineers earned at least a share of the Southern Conference regular season championship - and did secure the league's automatic bid into the FCS playoffs - with a 27-10 road victory over Elon.

In a head-to-head series that dates back to 1932, WCU trails Appalachian State, 18-54-1, including a 9-27 all-time mark in games played in Boone. The Catamounts have not returned from Boone victorious since 1984, having dropped 12-straight road contests in the series. WCU has lost four-straight since its dramatic, come-from-behind, 30-27, home win back in 2004, with the Apps having won 22 of the last 24 overall meetings.

"We will go out there a play for the `Old Mountain Jug.' It's a great rivalry, though we have not done our part recently. Our job here is to challenge our guys and try to bring the Jug back here to Cullowhee," said second-year head coach Dennis Wagner.

For the fourth-straight year - and the 18th-time since 1987 - the Mountaineers enter the game among the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision national rankings. ASU (8-2, 7-0 SoCon) is ranked sixth in both the coaches' and Sports Network polls. Since 1983 when the FCS (then I-AA) began conducting a poll, Western Carolina has only won once against Appalachian State when the Mountaineers were nationally ranked; the 1998 Catamounts upset then second-ranked ASU, 23-6, in Cullowhee.

All told since `83, Western Carolina is just 11-62-3 all-time against nationally-ranked, FCS teams with eight of the 11 wins coming at home as WCU is just 3-35-2 all-time on the road against nationally-ranked FCS teams. Two of those three road wins came during the 1983 season as WCU became the first SoCon team to advance to the NCAA I-AA National Championship game.

The Catamounts' last win over a ranked opponent came in 2006 - a 20-17 upset victory over then No. 19 Eastern Kentucky in Cullowhee - with their last road win over a nationally ranked team coming at #12 Furman, 20-19 on Oct. 27, 1984.

In addition to trying to snap the current four-game slide to ASU and the 12-game drought in Boone, Western Carolina will look to put an end to a 15-game road SoCon losing streak while also trying to win back-to-back games for the first time since the opening two games of the 2006 season - home wins over Chowan and No. 19 Eastern Kentucky. WCU has not won back-to-back road games since 1993, at East Tennessee State and at Chattanooga.

Kickoff for the 2009 season finale is set for 3:30 pm.

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WCU at ASU, Catamount Club Pre-Game Football Tailgate:
The Catamount Club will be hosting a pre-game football tailgate for all Catamount Club Members in Boone, N.C., at the annual "Battle for the Old Mountain Jug." The tailgate will be located in the parking lot of the Comfort Suites Hotel and will begin at 1:00 pm. Food and soft drinks will be provided to all that attend!

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Western Carolina Head Coach Dennis Wagner

On the win at Eastern Kentucky:
"Right now for our program, every win is a great win. To top it all off, we did go on the road (and win). It was one of those games where we told our kids they had to play error free football because Eastern Kentucky have done a great job of not turning the ball over and creating several turnovers on defense. I think our kids played hard for four quarters. That is something that we challenged them. After we played Elon, we feel we didn't play hard in the second half. The guys had a great week of practice and responded."

On the difference of playing a full four quarters in the win against Eastern Kentucky:
"I heard a lot of our kids talking at half time about not letting this opportunity slip away. We had played a good first half and we were up, but it was close. They just rallied themselves together. We had talked about it all week and challenged them to play four quarters."

"We got a couple of breaks early. They tried to field a punt; they couldn't field it and touched it. We got a touchdown out of it. Then we got a couple of big plays on offense that gave us a comfortable lead. We were able to play several guys in the fourth quarter, which always helps your morale. We haven't been able to do that much this year because the games have been close. We kept our starters in most of the way, but I think every guy that made the trip had a chance to play in the game."

On if both Appalachian State and Western Carolina are peaking:
"Appalachian (State) is certainly peaking. They are playing good football. Armanti (Edwards) has been unbelievable all season long. He has been able to make some plays and pull them through. They had a close game with The Citadel in the middle of the season. They took it to overtime and found a way to win. I think Chattanooga got the game close in the third quarter, but they didn't panic. They had been there before and they were able to rally and win that game. They got such an early jump on Elon, they just never responded. In regards to ourselves, I would hope we haven't peaked yet. I would hope we are still getting better. We have a lot of improvements to make and we are going to have to play a perfect football game to beat (Appalachian State)."

On ASU quarterback, Armanti Edwards:
"He's a tremendous player. When he's in the game, you have to account for him the entire time. Their offense is built around him, but they have some other great players as well. They have some great receivers and backs that can run the football. Their offensive line plays hard. He's just the thing that makes it all work. We will prepare either way. We are planning on him playing. They are getting ready for the playoffs and I'm sure they want to lose any of that continuity that they have built so far this season with that offense."

On the play of senior linebacker, Adrian McLeod:
"Adrian does a lot of good things for us. He's a young man that we brought in with our staff as a junior college transfer. He has gone through a lot of things with us. He is one of those guys you wish you could have him for four years. It seems like he has just begun to play his best football and he'll be done this Saturday. We'll miss his presence. He's certainly a guy that has made a lot of plays for us. We are just going to have to hope we can find someone to replace him next year. He has done a tremendous job for us."

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