BOONE, NC - In SoCon circles it is known that the Appalachian State-Furman football game is always hotly contested and consistently goes down to the wire.

Now the rest of the nation knows as well after the Mountaineers’ thrilling 29-23 win over Furman on Saturday, December 10 in the semifinals of the 2005 NCAA I-AA Playoffs.

The win allowed the Apps to earn its first ever national championship game appearance.

The Mountaineers will square off against Northern Iowa, 40-37 overtime winners over Texas State in San Marcos, TX, in the championship game on Friday, December 16 at 8 p.m.

How they obtained the spot in the final is a story of its own and will one day go down as a ? pardon the pun ? sudden boon for the Boone, NC school. And is the case in many instances in football games there was a definite beginning, middle and end with a climax that Hollywood would yearn for if thrown the script.

The Beginning

Appalachian’s appearance in the 2005 championship game took a well-earned victory over Furman that will go down in the App annals as one of the best games in the program’s history.

Noted by most as the most pivotal game in the entire history of the program prior to the game’s commencement at 12:06 p.m., Kidd Brewer Stadium was at a fever pitch come game time on Saturday.

Appalachian looked as if they might run away with the game easily from the outset, using the prowess of SoCon Offensive Player of the Year Richie Williams and a swagger never seen from the Mountaineers before to kickstart things and earn them a 14-0 lead with 6:36 still to play in the opening stanza.

They may have taken an early 14-0 lead, but App had to sacrifice a great deal to acquire that advantage, one that many outsiders might not have deemed plausible had they been inquired about the possibility prior to kickoff.

That earth-shattering thing: an injury to their quarterback and three-year captain Williams.

Williams injured himself midway through the first quarter when he faked an option pitch to running back Kevin Richardson and then ran his way up the gridiron for an 11-yard run that placed the ball at the Paladins’ 45.

With the crowd screaming and feeling the train already coming to town for Chattanooga, Williams hobbled his way to the sidelines, grimacing in obvious pain in what turned out to be a left ankle sprain (ruptured tendon).

Backup quarterback Trey Elder did not disappoint the Appalachian fans on his first snap from scrimmage, finding Dexter Jackson in stride for a 45-yard touchdown and the 14-0 lead on a designed fake option pass.

The play shocked almost everyone in attendance at the game ? players or coaches ? except those making the play calls.

“We had already called the play,” noted Appalachian coach Jerry Moore. “It did not matter who was in the game.”

Still, Elder’s exploits right of the bat did not do anything to deter the frenzy surrounding the game at the point.

The Middle

The game’s middle areas ? really the second quarter ? came when Furman started exerting their dominance in the second period.

Down 14-0 heading into the quarter, Furman looked lackluster at best. That quickly reversed itself, as the Paladins reeled off 23 straight points in the quarter to take a 23-21 halftime lead.

The Paladins in the quarter were moving the ball almost methodically, showing no signs at the point that the Apps dominance of Furman in Boone lately would continue.

Man-child Jerome Felton looked unfathomably unstoppable in the quarter, bulling his way for yard after yard.

The Furman back procured two touchdowns in the quarter (including a 31-yard scamper) and looked as if the game was Pinball to him, as he was bouncing off Appalachian players as if he was looking to get the game’s high score and the victory.

 The game stood still like at this point for much of the second half.

Not that Furman or Appalachian did not have their chances to push their way through for the go-ahead touchdown, particularly the Paladins.

Furman All-America quarterback Ingle Martin drove the Paladins to inside the Appalachian 10-yard line.

The play that will go down in Furman fans’ mind as the reason that one of the end zones in Kidd Brewer has to be haunted due to the fact that the original “Miracle on the Mountain” took place in the same end zone took place on third down.

Martin faked a run up the gut and split out to his left where nobody was and looked to reach the end zone untouched.

It was not to be, as Martin was seemingly shot down by invisible sniper that so many times pervades its way into sports, leaving the Paladins with a fourth and goal from the one-yard line.

The Paladins obviously went for the touchdown with so many bruisers in the background, but Appalachian’s Jason Hunter and Pierre Banks slammed Felton for a loss of two and the Mountaineers escaped unscathed, allowing the Appalachian crescendo to unfold.

The End

Appalachian has long been considered one of the best programs in the country in I-AA, but until now they had always fallen short of the championship game.

That all changed due to the gritty determination and work of a backup quarterback earning legendary status in his first real action in a playoff tilt.

Elder, a sophomore from Duncan, SC, did not look like he was the backup in the Mountaineers final drive, marching the Apps with ease down the gridiron for the eventual game-winning touchdown.

The 11-play, 76 yard drive ended quite apropos, as Elder scooted the ball himself on a one-yard quarterback sneak to earn the Mountaineers the touchdown.

Ahead 29-23 after a two-point conversion was connected on a pass from Elder to William Mayfield, the Appalachian State-Furman game reached its inevitable climax.

Furman fans, a little uneasy but with a great deal of respect for Martin, were thinking that the game had reached “Ingle Time” when Martin took it over and grabbed the Paladins a victory just like he did in the regular-season Appalachian game and the Jacksonville State game.

While App fans had to be bracing for the defense to buck up and stop the Paladins.

The latter happened, but not easily.

Martin had driven the Paladins into Appalachian territory with 40 seconds left to go in the game, but then... Appalachian’s defense was able to get what they needed, as Hunter forced a Martin fumble, giving the Appalachian contingent the win that they so desperately had yearned for.

The Championship

On November 20 it was announced which teams would be in the playoffs.

Appalachian was given the second seed and they have lived up to their billing as one of the two best teams in I-AA.

That number two is secondary now with their game against Northern Iowa on the horizon.

And you can bet Moore and his team will not be willing to stick with the number two because they want to be number one.

If they accomplish that on Friday they will give Appalachian something it has always yearned for ? a national championship.