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GAME-DAY PREVIEW
WATAUGA DEMOCRAT
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2012
Steve Behr Sports Editor
Win over the Griz a tough act to follow Appalachian State’s 35-27 victory over Montana last Saturday gave the Mountaineers a tough act to follow. They’ll give it a try Saturday when the No. 8 Mountaineers host No. 21 Citadel at Kidd Brewer Stadium. Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m. in the 50th anniversary of the place known affectionately as “The Rock.” The Mountaineers, and 30,856 of their closest friends, ganged up on Montana in part three of the trilogy between the two storied FCS programs. A student, who I’m guessing had a little bit of liquid courage before the game, stopped me while I was on my way to the field to take a few photos. “Steve Behr! Tell me what’s going to happen tonight!” “You’ll see the best game you’ve ever seen in your life,” I replied, before a pretty young woman he knew took his attention away. Game one of the trilogy, a Division I-AA semifinal playoff game played in 2000, kept even the grouchiest sports writer on the edge of his seat. Game two, an FCS semifinal playoff game played in 2009, did the same. Those same seats, as all the seats at Washington-Grizly Stadium were that day, were colder. Game three, played on Saturday, had two teams that wanted to win a nonconference game as much as any I’ve seen. “In 2009, we went up there and I was actually a freshman, so I made the trip there. It was just like revenge so to speak,” All-American cornerback Demetrius McCray said. Oh yeah, this one meant something. ASU has another one that means something today. The Citadel stunned Georgia Southern 23-21 last week, and a win over Appalachian State would shock the FCS world. Not today. I’ll take ASU by seven points.
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Appalachian State true freshman receiver Malachi Jones is second on the Mountaineers with nine receptions for 103 yards. STEVE BEHR | WATAUGA DEMOCRAT
Youth be served Malachi Jones is one of several young App State receivers BY STEVE BEHR sports@wataugademocrat.com For a college debut, Malachi Jones didn’t complain. Jones, a freshman receiver, caught five passes for 69 yards, including a 27-yarder, in Appalachian State’s 35-13 loss to East Carolina. He had a couple of drops, but also showed some flashes of the high expectations that have been put on him. “I felt like I did good,” Jones said. “Obviously things, I could clean up on are those two drops. But for the first game, I thought I did pretty good.” Jones was happy to be a part of the
Mountaineers’ rotation. He started in place of Sean Price, who served the first part of a two-game suspension for breaking team rules. Jones followed with four catches for 34 yards in the Mountaineers’ 35-27 victory over Montana on Sept. 8. He’s second on the team in receptions after two games this season. Jones is part of a talented group of freshmen and redshirt freshmen that includes Price, Simms McElfrish, Chris Starks and Oregon transfer Tacoi Sumler. Jones said getting to start in his first college game was an exciting experience. “It was. It most definitely was,” Jones
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said. “I took it all in because the first couple of series, being in Greenville with the crowd in, it was a great experience for me.” McElfrish had two catches for 11 yards against East Carolina, and followed with two more catches against Montana. Sumler caught one pass for nine yards, and a deep pass was thrown to the receiver who clocked a 40-yard dash time of 4.24 seconds. Price had even a bigger day against Montana. He caught eight passes for 103 yards and a touchdown. One of Jones’ catches against the Grizzlies was a 17-yarder that picked up a first down. SEE JONES, PAGE 3
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