BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University football dominated the first and fourth quarters to overcome a shaky middle two periods and defeat Chattanooga, 35-20, on Saturday afternoon at Kidd Brewer Stadium.

Appalachian’s victory, combined with Elon’s 42-17 win at Western Carolina on Saturday, sets up a de facto Southern Conference championship game next weekend between ASU (7-2, 6-0 SoCon) and Elon (8-1, 7-0 SoCon). The winner of next Saturday’s unprecedented matchup between the seventh-ranked Mountaineers and sixth-ranked Phoenix will claim at least a share of the SoCon title and the league’s automatic berth in the 2009 NCAA Division I Football Championship.

In the early going on Saturday, it looked like Appalachian would cruise into next week’s showdown, as it jumped out to a 21-0 first-quarter lead against Chattanooga (5-4, 3-4 SoCon).

Things couldn’t have started out better for ASU, as linebacker D.J. Smith picked off a deflected pass on the third play of the game and returned it 34 yards to the UTC one yard line. Two plays later, Devon Moore dove in from a yard out to give the Mountaineers a 7-0 lead just 2:09 into the game.

Smith’s first interception of the season set the tone for what would be a dominant first quarter for the Mountaineers. The Apps’ defense followed up the interception on the Mocs’ initial possession with another pickoff  and consecutive three-and-outs, while the offense converted the defensive stands into touchdown drives of 67 and 55 yards to take a commanding 21-0 lead with 2:01 still to play in the opening period.

However, the next 30 minutes would belong to Chattanooga. UTC’s comeback began with three-straight ASU turnovers ­— a fumble by Moore and Armanti Edwards’ first two interceptions since Oct. 10. Thanks to the Mountaineer defense, the Mocs only converted one of the miscues into points and the Apps took a 21-7 lead into halftime.

UTC used some trickery to make it interesting in the third quarter. The Mocs opened the second half by successfully converting an onside kick. They drove 42 yards before settling for a 30-yard field goal by Craig Camay to make it 21-10.

On the ensuing kickoff, Chattanooga surprised ASU with another onside kick and recovered once again. UTC drove all the way to the ASU five yard line and could have cut the deficit to one possession with a chip-shot field goal. However, the Mocs chose to go for it on fourth-and-one from the five and Jacque Roman and Bobby Bozzo stopped quarterback B.J. Coleman cold on a sneak to snuff out the scoring threat.

Even with the big stop, Appalachian couldn’t regain the momentum. Chattanooga got the ball back quickly and put together a nine-play, 53-yard drive, capped by a two-yard touchdown pass from Coleman to Blue Cooper that cut the ASU lead to 21-17.

The Mountaineers went three-and-out on their next possession and, with the tide of the game clearly in their corner, the Mocs marched 46 yards to the ASU 20 on their next possession. But once again, the ASU defense came up with a big short-yardage play when Michael Frazier and Demery Brewer stuffed Coleman on another sneak attempt on third-and-one from the 20, which forced UTC to settle for another Camay field goal and make it 21-20 with10:43 remaining in the ballgame.

Clinging to the one-point lead, Edwards engineered a vintage nine-play, 63-yard drive, highlighted by a 12-yard completion to Brian Quick on a third-and-nine play and capped by an eight-yard touchdown run by Moore that gave Appalachian some breathing room with a 28-20 lead.

On an afternoon filled with big plays by the ASU defense, Mark LeGree made perhaps the biggest when he notched the Mountaineers’ third interception of the day on the third play of UTC’s ensuing possession. Three plays later, Moore iced the Mountaineers’ 18th-straight SoCon victory with a 15-yard touchdown scamper that made it 35-20 with 5:38 to go.

In all, Chattanooga outgained Appalachian, 351-322, thanks in large part to running 83 plays compared to ASU’s 60. The Mountaineers’  322 yards were their fewest since they managed just 246 in the season opener at East Carolina and the 35 points was their lowest scoring output since a 30-27 win at The Citadel on Oct. 3. Much of that can be attributed to the three second-quarter turnovers and the Mocs’ impressive third-quarter showing, when they climbed back into the game by holding the ball for 10:59 of the period’s 15 minutes and limiting Appalachian to just two yards on nine plays.

The story of the day, however, was ASU’s big-play defense, which was led by Roman’s game-high 11 tackles and first-quarter interception. Brewer chipped in with nine stops, a tackle for loss and a fumble recovery.

Offensively, ASU was led by Edwards, who managed 192 yards of total offense (140 passing, 52 rushing) despite Chattanooga holding a commanding 36:17-23:43 edge in time of possession.  Moore carried 12 times for 74 yards (6.2 avg.) and three scores and Matt Cline caught seven passes for 64 yards.

Coleman completed 25 of 46 passes for 246 yards and a touchdown but was plagued by his season-high three interceptions. Chris Pitchford was the game’s leading receiver with nine catches for 106 yards and Chris Awuah ran 28 times for 97 yards.

Wofford 43, The Citadel 17

Final Stats

Charleston, S.C. - The Citadel recorded its 11th consecutive loss to the Wofford Terriers on Saturday before a SportSouth televised homecoming crowd of 15,155 at Johnson Hagood Stadium. The Terriers totaled 450 yards of offense in the 43-17 final.

The Citadel won the toss and received the ball first for the eighth time out of nine games this season. Both teams went three-and-out on their first possession. The Bulldogs only advanced three yards on the three plays, while Wofford moved the ball five yards on three plays.

On The Citadel's second possession, a Bart Blanchard 14-yard pass to Scott Harward, followed by an 11-yard pass to Kevin Hardy, gave the Bulldogs back-to-back first downs. Solid runs by Van Dyke Jones on the next two plays gave The Citadel another first down and put them in Wofford territory on the 34-yard line. Advancing to the Terrier eight-yard line, the Bulldogs were unable to get in the end zone and brought out the field goal to attempt a 25-yarder. Sam Keeler's kick was good and the Bulldogs put the first points on the board at 7:05 in the first quarter, 3-0.

The Terriers answered on the next drive, beginning the possession on the 40-yard line after Jordan Panter's 55-yard kick went out-of-bounds. Wofford got a delay of game penalty on the first play and backed the Terriers to the 35-yard line. However, Wofford drove the ball 60 yards in eight plays, scoring on a five-yard Mitch Allen touchdown run with 3:23 on the clock. The Terriers took the lead 7-3.

Wofford scored on their next two possessions. The first, early in the second quarter, was a seven-play, 11-yard drive that was capped off by 39-yard field goal by Christian Reed. The Terriers scored again after their defense forced a Bulldog three-and-out. This time Mike Rucker ran for a 5-yard touchdown run with 7:58 on the clock to take a 17-3 lead.
 
The Citadel attempted to get back in the game when Keith Gamble returned a Chris Tommie 70-yard kickoff for 46 yards, starting the drive on the Bulldog 46-yard line. A couple of screen passes, followed by two Terrell Dallas rushes for five-yard each, gave the Bulldogs a first down and the ball on the Wofford 20-yard line. Van Dyke Jones brought up first-and-goal when he rushed for 13 yards to the Terrier seven-yard line. Two plays later, Blanchard found Alex Sellars for a six-yard touchdown pass with 1:44 left in the second. Keeler's extra point attempt was good, making the score 17-10.

The Bulldog defense forced a Wofford three-and-out on their next possession and got the ball back with 1:01 left in the half. However, the Bulldogs could not stop the Terriers from scoring again before the half as Blanchard was sacked for a loss of six yards in the end zone for a safety on the first play of the next drive. With less than a minute left in the half, Wofford drove the ball 25 yards in five plays and scored again on a 32-yard field goal with six seconds left in the half, making the score 22-10 at halftime.

The Terrier offense continued to dominate the game on the first possession of the second half. Wofford executed six consecutive rushes, followed by a 13-yard pass touchdown pass at 11:57 in the third quarter for a 29-10 lead.

The Citadel went three-and-out again on the next possession and Wofford got the ball with 10:44 on the clock. Five plays into the drive, Rucker fumbled the ball and Dewitt Jones recovered for the Bulldogs on The Citadel 27-yard line. However, Van Dyke Jones fumbled on the next drive and Wofford took over again on their 33-yard line. The Terriers took advantage and extended their lead on the next drive on a 25-yard touchdown run with 38 seconds left in the third, making the score 36-10.

The Citadel then brought out walk-on freshman quarter Tommy Edwards at the start of the fourth quarter. Edwards rushed up the middle on the second play for four yards, followed by a three-yard pass to Andre Roberts to bring up fourth-and-one. Needing to score and get back in the game, the Bulldogs went for it and got the first down on a 14-yard Dallas run. Edwards then found Roberts for a 17-yard pass before throwing an interception at the Wofford 14-yard line. Kendall Bratcher returned the interception 11 yards to the 25-yard line and the Terriers converted the turnover into a score five plays later when Michael Scott rushed 16-yards for the touchdown at 10:19 in the fourth quarter. The touchdown marked their fifth consecutive score of the game, while Wofford took a 43-10 lead.

Quarterback Miguel Starks then entered the game for the Bulldogs, who were still unable to score on their next possession. It was not until less than a minute left in the game that Starks found Cam Turner for a nine-yard touchdown reception with 37 seconds left in the game. Keeler's extra point was good, making the final score 43-17.

The Citadel (4-5 overall; 2-4 SoCon) totaled 274 yards of offense, while the Bulldogs quarterbacks Blanchard went 15-23-0 for 91 yards, Starks, 5-7-0 for 61 yards and Edwards, 2-3-1 for 20 yards. Dallas led The Citadel running game with 15 carries for 73 yards, while Jones added six carries for 33 yards. Roberts, who moved to second all-time in the Southern Conference in career receiving yards (3,555), caught eight passes for 55 yards. Jordon Gilmore led the Bulldog defensive effort with 10 tackles, while Rod Harland and Dewitt Jones added seven each.

Wofford (3-6 overall; 2-4 SoCon) finished the game with 450 yards of offense, of which 320 were on the ground. Quarterbacks Davitte and Allen totaled 96 and 79 rushing yards, respectively, while Scott also contributed 87 yards. Gary Blount led the Terrier defense with nine total tackles, including one sack for a loss of six yards and one forced fumble.

The Citadel will play its last two games on the road, next week at Chattanooga for a 2 p.m. kickoff, followed by Georgia Southern on Nov. 21 in Statesboro, Ga. at 2 p.m.

Wofford hosts Samford next Saturday afternoon in its final home game of the season.

Samford 31, Georgia Southern 10

Final Stats