Oct. 27, 2007

Final Stats

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Armanti Edwards passed for 211 yards and a touchdown and ran for 126 yards and a pair of scores to help nationally 10th-ranked Appalachian State hold off Furman, 34-27, in Southern Conference football action Saturday afternoon at Paladin Stadium.

Edwards, a sophomore from Greenwood, S.C., completed 16-of-24 passes and rushed 28 times for 337 yards in total offense for the Mountaineers (6-2, 2-2 SoCon), who claimed their third straight win over Furman but only their fifth victory in 18 clashes in Greenville.

Furman, which trailed 24-7 at halftime, rallied in the second half and moved to the Appalachian State 29 on the game's final possession before ASU's Corey Lynch sealed the result with an interception at the Mountaineer 3-yard line on the game's final play.

Gray, the first cousin of the Mountaineers' Edwards, passed for 154 yards and ran for career high 103 yards to lead Furman (3-5, 1-3 SoCon).

"It was a typical Appalachian-Furman ballgame," said Appalachian State head coach Jerry Moore. "I'm proud of our players and coaches because we needed a win over a good team to stay in the hunt for a conference championship, and we were able to do that."

"Probably the big key for us were the three, three-and-outs in the first half," said Furman head coach Bobby Lamb. "We certainly didn't control the football very well in the first half, and you can't fail in that area like we did against a team like Appalachian State. We made some adjustments at halftime and got going in the second half, but it was ultimately too big a hump to get over."

Appalachian State rolled up a 511-402 advantage in total offense.

After both teams traded touchdowns to open the game, Appalachian State's defense clamped down and its offense took control with a 19-yard touchdown strike from Edwards to Batichon, a 32-yard Julian Rauch field goal, and a 1-yard scoring run by Devon Moore midway through the second quarter to build a 24-7 lead.

Furman opened the second half with a quick three-play, 79-yard drive highlighted by a 50-yard touchdown run by Mike Brown to slice the Appalachian State advantage to 24-14.

The Mounainteers answered with a 10-play, 80-yard drive that culminated with Edwards' second touchdown of the contest, a 7-yard run with 10:02 to go in the third quarter to give ASU a 31-14 lead.

A pair of Scott Beckler field goals made it 31-20 before Julian Rauch countered with his second field goal of the contest from 27 yards out with 7:18 remaining to give ASU a 34-20 lead.

Furman was forced to punt on the ensuing possession but capitalized on a fumble by Mountaineer running back Devon Moore at the ASU 47. Six plays later fullback Jerome Felton bulled over from 1-yard out, and Beckler's PAT made it 34-27 with 3:27 to go.

Appalachian State drove to the Furman 24, but Clifton Dortch blocked Rauch's 42-yard field goal attempt to give the Paladins one last chance.

From its own 24, the Paladins advanced to Appalachian State 29 before Lynch stepped in front of Gray pass attempt at the Mountaineer 3 and returned it to the 50 as time expired.

Lynch paced Appalachian State with 12 tackles, a tackle-for-loss, an interception, and a pass deflection.

Andrew Jones topped Furman's tackle chart with 12 tops, including two for-loss, and a sack.

Kevin Richardson added 124 yards rushing for ASU, and Brown ran for a career high 83 yards for Furman. Felton's two rushing touchdowns extended his school career record tally to 58.

Furman entertains Elon next Saturday in a 2:00 p.m. game at Paladin Stadium. Appalachian State, meanwhile, travels to Charleston to face The Citadel, also at 2:00 p.m.