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chattanoogamocs
December 13th, 2007, 02:42 AM
Whew, a lot to go thru in the Thursday paper...

First, a cool "intro" front and center on the front page of the paper...they do the Aquarium "bit" every year with two divers dressed in the two teams uniforms...pretty neat and always gets the front page.

http://www.mocfans.com/tempimg/ncdive.jpg



And they have a video on the T-FP with players from both schools (and Coach Keeler)...

http://www.timesfreepress.com/absolutenm/templates/local-video.aspx?articleid=26735&zoneid=175



And the articles...

Lynch looks to finish year on top
Thursday, December 13, 2007

By John Frierson
Staff Writer

BOONE, N.C. -- One hundred and four days ago, Corey Lynch delivered the block heard round the world.

Appalachian State's 34-32 win over Michigan on Sept. 1 stunned all of college football and had people talking about the Mountaineers for weeks. But the fact that it was Lynch who blocked the Wolverines' 37-yard field-goal attempt on the game's final play should come as no surprise. The senior safety, a three-time All-American, has been making big plays like that for years.

"It's all just God-given talent that I'm fortunate to have," said Lynch, the Southern Conference defensive player of the year and a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, which goes to the nation's top defensive player. "I don't know how I do it -- I just do it."

Lynch heads into Friday's Football Championship Subdivision title game against Delaware with 24 career interceptions. One more will tie the school record. It will also, if history is any guide, guarantee an Appalachian State victory. In his career, the Mountaineers are 21-0 when Lynch has an interception.

FULL ARTICLE:
http://www.timesfreepress.com/absolutenm/templates/college.aspx?articleid=26754&zoneid=140


Quarterbacks dominate Payton Award field
Thursday, December 13, 2007

Staff Report

The Walter Payton Award will go to a quarterback.

Named for the former Jackson State and NFL standout running back, the award has been given to the most outstanding player in the Football Championship Subdivision since 1987.

The award is the FCS equivalent to the Heisman trophy with media and sports information directors from across the country casting votes.

Payton set the NCAA record for points scored in a career with 464. He scored 66 touchdown and rushed for 3,563 yards before joining the Chicago Bears and setting the NFL all-time rushing record, which has since been eclipsed.

Previous winners of the Payton Award include Tony Romo (QB, E. Illinois), Brian Westbrook (RB, Villanova), Brian Finneran (WR, Villanova), Steve McNair (QB, Alcorn State) and Dave Meggett (RB, Towson).

Each of the three finalists for this year's award have staggering statistics. Here's a look at them, in alphabetical order.

FULL ARTICLE:
http://www.timesfreepress.com/absolutenm/templates/college.aspx?articleid=26755&zoneid=140


Cuff tallies TDs for Blue Hens
Thursday, December 13, 2007

By David Paschall
Staff Writer

At some point this season, keeping up with Delaware tailback Omar Cuff's touchdown tally became futile.

Cuff admits he never really started a count. Blue Hens quarterback Joe Flacco only knows, "it's a lot." Even Delaware coach K.C. Keeler has no idea.

"I couldn't tell you," Keeler said. "In the first game he had seven."

During a 49-31 opening win at William & Mary on Aug. 30, Cuff tied an NCAA championship-level record with seven touchdowns -- six rushing and one receiving. The 5-foot-10, 195-pound senior from Landover, Md., has tapered off since but only slightly.

Cuff enters Friday night's title game at Finley Stadium against Appalachian State with 1,861 rushing yards on 377 carries and with 38 touchdowns, with all but four of those scores coming on the ground. His 33 touchdowns during the regular season were nine more than the next closest competitor (Georgia Southern quarterback Jayson Foster), and his current total shatters the previous Colonial Athletic Association mark by nine.

"Omar Cuff is the best running back in the country," said James Madison coach Mickey Matthews. "He can do it all and has always reminded me of Brian Westbrook, who played at Villanova and is now with the Philadelphia Eagles."

FULL ARTICLE:
http://www.timesfreepress.com/absolutenm/templates/sports.aspx?articleid=26753&zoneid=6


Finley to hold 23,010 on Friday
Thursday, December 13, 2007

By David Paschall and John Frierson
Staff Writers

Finley Stadium will be configured to hold 23,010 spectators for Friday night's Division I football championship game between Appalachian State and Delaware.

"It will be beautiful," Merrill Eckstein said Wednesday afternoon. "It will be the first time ever that 23,000 will be at Finley Stadium."

Eckstein, the president of the Greater Chattanooga Sports and Events Committee, said Finley's north and south sides contain 20,668 seats but that 302 folding chairs are being added to the south side's handicap row. There will be room for 1,140 fans on the hill under the scoreboard in the east end zone, and there will be room for 900 standing fans on the pavilion plaza above the west end zone.

The numbers in each in zone, Eckstein added, are the maximum amount allowed by Fire Marshal Craig Haney of the Chattanooga Fire Department.

Appalachian State's 28-17 victory over Massachusetts in last year's title game drew a record crowd of 22,808. That broke the longstanding record of 22,642, which was established Oct. 18, 1997, when the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga opened its new home with a 28-7 thumping of Tennessee State.

FULL ARTICLE:
http://www.timesfreepress.com/absolutenm/templates/college.aspx?articleid=26756&zoneid=140


App State shows power of success
Thursday, December 13, 2007

Here's how football can unify a campus. How one game can capture the hearts and wallets of an entire nation.

How applications can increase, average SAT scores rise and retail sales multiply with the right leadership, a marketing plan with vision and, of course, a pretty darn good football team.

Here's a story you wish could happen to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. If it can happen at a tiny resort town in the Blue Ridge Mountains named after Daniel Boone, it can happen here, right?

The fervor over Appalachian State athletics used to be confined to the mountains in Boone, N.C. Come down the mountain, and the black and gold colors faded into the blues of North Carolina and Duke. Black and gold meant Wake Forest away from the Blue Ridge. People didn't know much about the Mountaineers.

North Carolina and Duke fans just knew they probably didn't want to play them in football.

Appalachian State came to Chattanooga and won the I-AA title in 2005, but the echoes from the roar couldn't be heard down the mountain. You could not find much national championship gear outside of Boone.

"It was disappointing," said athletic director Charlie Cobb, who came to Appalachian State from N.C. State that year.

FULL ARTICLE:
http://www.timesfreepress.com/absolutenm/templates/college.aspx?articleid=26760&zoneid=140


App's title run almost ended early
Thursday, December 13, 2007

You can't look ahead to Friday night's NCAA Football Championship Subdivision game between Delaware and two-time defending champ Appalachian State without looking back to Nov. 24.

That's the frigid Saturday afternoon when App's run should have ended in the opening round of the playoffs against James Madison. That's the afternoon the craziest college football season that anyone can remember took another unexpected bounce.

It was over for the Mountaineers, you see. Oh, man, was it over. Less than 30 seconds remained on the game clock. James Madison was at the App State 9, trailing by a single point.

All the Dukes had to do to keep advancing toward their second championship game in four years was kick a 26-yard field goal. All the Dukes had to do to write a bitter ending to the sweetest start of this college football season was, basically, kick an extra point.

"If they kick the field goal, it's over," said Appy junior linebacker Pierre Banks. "We needed a miracle."

Along the Appalachian sideline, inside the Mountaineers' stunned stadium, senior offensive guard Kerry Brown was already planning for life without football.

"I was thinking I better pack my stuff and finish my school up," he said. "I said, 'That's it. That's all.' "

FULL ARTICLE:
http://www.timesfreepress.com/absolutenm/templates/college.aspx?articleid=26761&zoneid=140

APPride
December 13th, 2007, 07:55 AM
apparently Jerome Touchstone took on the Saluki's last week...nice article though in Winston paper..

http://journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ/MGArticle/WSJ_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1173353845185

unicat87
December 13th, 2007, 09:09 AM
Thank you! I agree, the diver bit is pretty awesome and neat. I hope to get to visit the aquarium the next time I am in Chattanooga. :) -unicat87

OL FU
December 13th, 2007, 09:19 AM
It is good to see the Chattanooga paper deliver so much coverage.

A thing to remember for those fans that think the venue should be a larger city. Ain't no way Las Vegas or some other larger place would give much of a darn.

bamamountaineer1013
December 13th, 2007, 09:21 AM
I have been very impressed with the T-FP coverage this week, they really seem to have a nice outfit there.

ASUMountaineer
December 13th, 2007, 09:21 AM
Great articles, thanks for posting them Mocs.

93henfan
December 13th, 2007, 09:40 AM
Three App State articles, two neutral articles, and one Delaware article. Not as bad as I thought it would be, actually. I was thinking the media darlings would get five articles to our one instead of three. Not bad.xlolx

unicat87
December 13th, 2007, 09:52 AM
Chattanooga does very fine for this title tilt. I hope it stays in Chattanooga for many years to come. Choo Choo! :) -unicat87

appfan2008
December 13th, 2007, 10:15 AM
That is a very impressive aquarium there in chatty...

asu7
December 13th, 2007, 10:23 AM
That is a very impressive aquarium there in chatty...

I am going to the aquarium tomorrow before tailgating ... looking forward to it ..

I have been to Ripley's in Gatlinburg and it was cool. Also been to the one in Charleston and New Orleans. I love em!

chattanoogamocs
December 13th, 2007, 04:06 PM
Three App State articles, two neutral articles, and one Delaware article. Not as bad as I thought it would be, actually. I was thinking the media darlings would get five articles to our one instead of three. Not bad.xlolx

Admittedly, you are going to have some ASU bias since it is a SoCon school (honestly, I wish there were more UD stories because everyone here pretty much knows all about ASU)

unicat87
December 13th, 2007, 05:10 PM
Admittedly, you are going to have some ASU bias since it is a SoCon school (honestly, I wish there were more UD stories because everyone here pretty much knows all about ASU)

I learned enough about UD recently! xlolx Actually, this title game should be as classic as 2005 was. And although UNI isn't in it, I am looking forward to it with a lot of interest and excitement. :) -unicat87