[2024] Appalachian State Spring Games Recap & Regular Season Preview

[dearden]

Boone, North Carolina - As games kick-off elsewhere across the country, we sat down with Coach @dearden, his staff, and players to recap the Mountaineers 3-0 Spring Record and to preview the upcoming regular season.

Spring Games:

at. Bucknell (Final Score: 34-3)

Spring games began with a trip to Lewisburg, Pennsylvania to face-off against the Bucknell Bison.  Led by Coach Shane Berg, the Bison were looking to shake off a disappointing 2023 campaign where they finished at the bottom of the Patriot League with a sole conference win to their record.  In contrast, the Mountaineers entered the matchup with “zero expectations.”

Quote

“In all honesty, these are all ‘barometer games’ as far as I’m concerned,” said @dearden, speaking ahead of the Bucknell game.  “My staff and I have zero expectations for box scores and stat lines going into these next three weeks.  What we expect is for each of our guys to go out there and be competitors, so that we can all make these ‘pre-season games’ a worthwhile learning experience.  Each of these games was scheduled to produce a sort of ‘controlled environment’ for our guys to perform: we’ve got an away game and a couple of home games, our opponents come from different conferences, have their own gameplans, and are scattered throughout the analysts’ preseason rankings - I’ve got confidence in my players to rise to each occasion and to learn from each experience.  If we can do that, we’re gonna come out of these next three weeks a better, stronger, and more resilient unit.”

The Mountaineers certainly “rose to the occasion” against Bucknell, running out to a 24-0 lead at halftime before increasing the ultimate margin in a 34-3 victory.

vs. Liberty (Final Score: 35-0)

Returning to North Carolina in good spirits following their victory in Lewisburg, the Mountaineers were “eager” to host the Liberty Flames.

Quote

“We’re ready to face them, eager even,” said Phil Turner.  The Senior Halfback elaborated: “Last week was amazing - I mean, a solid win always feels good - but we’re looking for more, if that makes sense.  I feel like this is gonna sound super selfish,” Turner chuckled, with a grin, “but I want more: touchdowns, yards, everything.  I found the endzone twice last week and even though it was a ‘Spring game’ there was still that rush of competitive excitement - I want more for myself, and I want more for my teammates,” Turner paused, “...just to keep things interesting and competitive in the Running Back room.”

Turner and Co. would be rewarded for their competitive spirit.  Three Running Backs: Senior Fullback Ramon Brice, Senior Halfback Wenyen Clinton-Dix, and Turner himself, would each rush for over 100 yards each against Liberty in a 35-0 win for the Mountaineers.  Turner, who could been seen grinning ear-to-ear through the game, accomplished his goal: finding the endzone three times in the victory.

vs. Southern Methodist (Final Score: 25-23)

For the third and final week of Spring, the Mountaineers hosted the Mustangs of the Southern Methodist University.  Led by Coach @JW1952TX, the Mustangs started Spring 0-2, following losses at Bowling Green and vs. Wisconsin; however, they showed “flashes of brilliance” in both matchups.  

Quote

“I’ve got nothing but respect for Coach @JW1952TX and his program,” said Coach @dearden, speaking after a mid-week film session with his team.  “We just finished up watching both the Bowling Green game and the Wisconsin game - they’ve got a ton of talent who repeatedly display flashes of brilliance on the field.  That said, I’m confident in our guys to play their game - it’s our job as a coaching staff to use what we’ve learned of their talented squad to minimize their game impact; putting our guys in the best possible situation to succeed and win us a football game.”

While the Mountaineers would open up strong, leading 10-0 at the half, SMU would respond in the third quarter - closing the gap to within a score and the scoreboard displaying 12-10 heading into the fourth.  Ultimately, the Mountaineers would prevail in a nail-biting 25-23 win; holding the Mustangs with 1:09 left on the clock with a resolute defensive performance to halt the SMU two-point conversion attempt.  Although the win signified a perfect pre-season for the Mountaineers, there was an opinion amongst the players that there was “still work to be done.”

Quote

“I’m proud of us, for sure,” said Quarterback Austin Redding, “coming out of Spring with three wins is no easy feat.  There’s still work to be done, of course.  Personally, I’m not too thrilled with how my game was - I need to improve to put the team, and myself, in the best position to succeed.  SMU looked great out there, no question about it, but just when it looked like we’d taken command and control of the game, mistakes creep in.  I'm my own harshest critic in that regard: I want to learn from my on-field mistakes now so I don’t replicate them going forward.”

Redding, the Mountaineers presumptive signal-caller, finished Spring slinging 6 Touchdowns and 4 Interceptions.

 

Regular Season:

Jumping into the Regular Season, the Mountaineers have a singular focus: "win football games."

Quote

"Our plan is to win football games," said @dearden after the Mountaineers Black vs. Gold game, "at the end of the day, that's what each of us wants to do - from the players to the Coaching Staff, to the University, its Administration, and our Boosters: we want to win football games.  We're under no misgivings; however, the road ahead of us isn't easy - we've got a bunch of talented opposition ahead of us.  The players are aware of the expectations we've set for them: we're going to be working hard, because that's what we're going to need to do to compete.  We've got practices, film sessions, position-group meetings; the whole-nine-yards to get the boys ready for the Regular Season and to keep the momentum going.  We're a resilient, fiery, and competitive team, we're gonna compete with the best of 'em and we're gonna win football games.  We've proved that to ourselves, now all that's left is to leave it all out on the field and prove it to the country."

Schedule:

(WEEK ZERO)

vs. Indiana (Coach: @Piercewise1)

at. #7 Kentucky (Coach: @Ezaco)

vs. Western Carolina*

at. Georgia Southern* (Coach: @Miller)

vs. Old Dominion

at. Marshall*

vs. Lousiana, Lafayette

at. Southern Mississippi

(BYE WEEK)

vs. Georgia State

at. Washington State (Coach: @TuscanSota)

vs. James Madison (Coach: @JC.)

at. Coastal Carolina 

*This season's rivalry games include "The Battle for the Old Mountain Jug" and "Deeper than Hate" in back-to-back weeks, followed by "The Old Mountain Feud" two weeks later.

Edited April 20 by dearden

[Kirby]

Nice media @dearden love it