Code Orange

Final

And it’s over as Appalachian State becomes the 4th school to go to a 3rd straight national championship and tries to become the first I-AA/FCS school to win 3 in a row as they defeat Richmond 55-35.

5:27 4th Quarter

A 13 yard touchdown to Cardwell pretty much puts this game out of reach as Appalachian State goes up 55-35. Armanti Edwards also passes 300 yards and breaks a record for the most rushing yards by a quarterback in any I-AA/FCS game ever.
8:04 4th Quarter

Cory Lynch comes up with the interception. That’s a critical turnover that Richmond couldn’t commit as they try to come back in this game.

10:11 4th Quarter

A 29 yard touchdown pass to Cardwell puts Appalachian State up by 2 touchdowns once again, 49-35, and Richmond once again is in trouble as they have to come from behind again, but this time with only about 10 minutes left.

14:06 4th Quarter

Richmond once again forced into a 3-and-out and Appalachian State’s offense once again takes over.

0:30 3rd Quarter

Richmond finally makes a defensive stop that they need, forcing Appalachian State to punt after holding them to a 3rd and 14.

3:01 3rd Quarter

Appalachian State gets a defense stop that they need as Richmond goes three-and-out.

4:41 3rd Quarter

Richardson gets a 3 yard touchdown run on a drive where Armanti Edwards goes over 100 yard passing on the game, as Appalachian State retakes a 42-35 lead on Richmond.

9:02 3rd Quarter

Eric Ward has a 5 yard touchdown run and Richmond is able to close the entire 14 point Mountaineer lead without Appalachian State even being able to run a play in the 2nd half. It’s now tied at 35.

11:48 3rd Quarter

Hillary fumbles the ball on the kickoff return, and Richmond picks up their first turnover of the game as they’re in great position to tie the game.

11:57 3rd Quarter

Joe Stewart catches a 17 yard touchdown pass as Richmond scores on their opening drive of the 2nd half to narrow the score to 35-28.

Halftime

Appalachian State still has to watch out in this game as they’ve allowed Richmond to score 21 points and are only ahead by 2 scores. If Richmond can find out how to stop their offense, the Mountaineers will have to be on high alert on defense.

However, Richmond’s main problem is stopping Appalachian State on offense as, other than the drive that finished the half, the Mountaineers have scored touchdowns on 5 of their 7 drives. It doesn’t matter how much Richmond might be able to get their offense going, if they can’t stop Armanti Edwards, then they’re never going to be able to close the gap.

Halftime

Appalachian State just takes a knee to take the game to halftime, leading 35-21.

0:21 2nd Quarter

Eric Ward runs for a 32 yard touchdown run as Richmond once again closes the gap to two touchdowns as it’s now 35-21.

3:22 2nd Quarter

Richmond stops Appalachian State on 4th down this time and takes over on their own 45 yard line

5:58 2nd Quarter

Richmond drives a ways down the field, but is forced into a 4th down, and Richmond fails to convert, giving the ball back to the Mountaineers on the 28 yard line.

10:36 2nd Quarter

Armanti Edwards gets his 4th rushing touchdown of the game on a 3 yard rush, as Appalachian State goes up 35-14. They may break a record for most points scored in a playoff game at this rate.

13:42 2nd Quarter

Kevin Grayson gets his 2nd touchdown on a 26 yard pass as Richmond tries to climb back into the game, narrowing Appalachian State’s lead to 28-14.

14:41 2nd Quarter

Armanti Edwards gets his third touchdown run, and his 4th overall touchdown of the night as he gets a 36 yard touchdown run as Appalachian State now goes ahead of Richmond 28-7.

End of 1st Quarter

Armanti Edwards rushes for 9 yards to go over 100 yard rushing, and it’ll be 2nd and 1 on the 48 yard line to start the 2nd quarter.

0:10 First Quarter

We have our first turnover as Richmond fumbles the ball after a 23 yard reception, and Appalachian State gets the ball back on their own 39 yard line

0:29 First Quarter

Armanti Edwards helps Appalachian State rush down the field as they score another touchdown on a 9 yard touchdown run by Edwards to put Appalachian State back up 21-7.

3:35 First Quarter

A 29 yard touchdown pass to Kevin Grayson puts Richmond on the board, and it’s now 14-7.

6:29 First Quarter

Appalachian State picks up a key 3rd and 7 on their way down the field as they score score a touchdown on a 7-yard Armanti Edwards run to make the game 14-0.

8:31 First Quarter

Richmond goes 3-and-out after gaining only 8 yards.

9:33 First Quarter

Dexter Jackson catches and runs for a 52-yard touchdown pass and Appalachian State goes up on Richmond 7-0.

10:30 First Quarter

Each team has had the ball and punted. ASU got it first and went 24 yards in 4 plays before giving it up, while Richmond also had it for 4 plays, going 23 yards.

Pregame

The first I-AA/FCS semifinal is about to come up. Can Appalachian State become the 4th school to make it to three straight national titles? It’s been done by 3 schools - Eastern Kentucky, Georgia Southern, and Youngstown State - 4 times.

The I-AA semifinals are set to get underway, starting with Richmond at Appalachian State tonight, and Delaware at Southern Illinois tomorrow afternoon.  The winners will play each other in Chattanooga December 14th.

As most people know, Appalachian State is going for their third consecutive national championship.  No other I-AA/FCS team has won three championships, but three straight championship game appearances is not unprecedented.  Attending at least 3 straight championships has occurred 4 times in the past: Eastern Kentucky went to four straight championships between 1979 and 1982, winning the first and last.  Georgia Southern went to 3 straight title games between 1988 and 1990, as well as in 1998 and 2000, winning the last two titles in both streaks.  Meanwhile, Youngstown state also played in 4 title games between 1991 and 1994, winning all but the 2nd.  Youngstown State is still the only school to have even won 3 titles in 4 years.

The 2005 and 2006 titles are the only national championship appearances for Appalachian State.  Their opponent, Richmond, has never played in a national championship game (in face, they have never played in a semi-final game either, until tonight).  Delaware has played in two championships: the 1982 championship, where they lost to Eastern Kentucky, and in 2003, when they defeated Colgate 40-0.  As an interesting note, Appalachian State has already defeated James Madison, who was the last time who won the championship before them.  Delaware was the team who won the championship before JMU.  Southern Illinois played in one title game, in 1983, defeating Western Carolina 43-7.

So three of the four teams in the semifinals have won national championships, though Southern Illinois last did it 14 years ago.  There may be a few players left on the Delaware team who got rings however, but they would have been redshirting that year.

There is also the possibility that we will have our first intra-conference national title since 1988 when Furman defeated Georgia Southern - both of the Southern Conference.  It can happen this year if Delaware and Richmond play each other in the title game.  That could end up being a wild game since in their regular season meeting, it took 5 overtimes for Richmond to finally defeat Delaware 62-56.