Friday, December 15, 2006

appalachian state 28 - umass 17

Congrats to the Mountaineers... ! The game was entertaining, which is what sports oughta be - win or lose. Life goes on.

It'll be interesting to see when & where the running backs, Richardson & Baylark, go in the NFL draft next spring.

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Appalachian State defeats UMass to repeat as I-AA champs

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) -- Kevin Richardson led Appalachian State to its second straight Division I-AA national championship, running for 179 yards and four touchdowns in the Mountaineers' 28-17 victory over Massachusetts on Friday night.

Richardson's third touchdown put the Mountaineers (14-1) ahead 21-14 at the beginning of the fourth quarter. He added another for 2 yards with 1:51 left that gave him the I-AA record for rushing touchdowns in a season with 30.

Appalachian State is the first team to win consecutive crowns in six years, and the Mountaineers relied heavily on Richardson.

The Minutemen (13-2), hoping to win their first title since 1998, cut it to 21-17 on Chris Koepplin's 42-yard field goal with 8:46 left. UMass got the ball back, but Appalachian State's Corey Lynch had an interception to seal it.

Appalachian State is the first team to take home the newly named NCAA Division I Football Championship. The NCAA is phasing out the terms Divisions I-A and I-AA that applied to football. I-A is now the Football Bowl Subdivision, while I-AA is the Football Championship Subdivision.

The large contingent of Appalachian State fans, who didn't have to travel far from Boone, N.C., swarmed the field as the final seconds ticked off the clock and celebrated as fireworks went off.

Appalachian State was ranked fourth nationally in rush offense, and Richardson came into the game with 1,497 yards on the ground.

Richardson broke the TD record of 29 set by Colgate's Jamaal Branch in 2003.

The Mountaineers' freshman quarterback, Armanti Edwards managed the game well and finished 12-of-19 for 146 yards. He also ran 15 times for 81 yards, and Appalachian State totaled 285 yards on the ground.

Richardson's counterpart for UMass, Steve Baylark, tried to carry the Minutemen. He ran for 133 yards on 24 carries.

UMass tied it at 14 in the third quarter on Liam Coen's 17-yard pass to Brad Listorti, who tiptoed a few yards down the sideline to stay in bounds and score.

The Minutemen got the ball after James Ihedigbo intercepted a pass by Edwards at the UMass 19, stopping Appalachian State's first prolonged drive of the second half.

UMass had not allowed an opponent to score in the second half during the playoffs, but Appalachian State responded with a drive that lasted nearly 6 minutes and was capped by Richardson's 4-yard run with 13:22 remaining.

The Minutemen then had to settle for a field goal. Appalachian State got the ball back and scored to put the game away. UMass scored on its first possession when Matt Lawrence ran through the pile a yard for a touchdown.

Appalachian State tied it at 7 at the end of the first quarter on Richardson's 45-yard touchdown run. He ran up the middle and then veered left toward the end zone to avoid defenders.

Richardson put the Mountaineers ahead 14-7 on his 6-yard scamper with 49 seconds left before halftime.

The drive started after a young woman wearing an Appalachian State jersey and holding a big yellow foam finger ran onto the field during a television timeout. She was escorted away by security.

The attendance was announced at 22,808, a sellout and overflow crowd and the largest for the I-AA title game since it moved to Chattanooga in 1997.

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