From July 7-August 5, GoASU.com will recap Appalachian State University athletics' 30 most memorable games, matches and meets from the 2009-10 academic year. Check back daily to relive the excitement from a fantastic year!

***SPECIAL NOTE FOR ASU FOOTBALL FANS!!! Football season is right around the corner. The Mountaineers hit the field for practice in just over two weeks and the preseason hype gets into full swing next week at GoASU.com. Early in the week, fans can view the 2010 ASU football online guide, with 208 pages of full-color information about the Mountaineers. On Tuesday, the Southern Conference holds its annual preseason media teleconference and GoASU.com will have insight from head coach Jerry Moore and Buck Buchanan Award candidate D.J. Smith shortly following its conclusion. Be sure to stay tuned to GoASU.com for all of the latest news on the Mountaineers as we approach the start of the 2010 gridiron campaign!!!

Mountaineers Top Bulldogs in Overtime

October 3, 2009

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Jason Vitaris booted a 29-yard field goal in overtime to give No. 10 Appalachian State University a thrilling 30-27 win over The Citadel on Saturday at Johnson Hagood Stadium.

Appalachian (2-2, 2-0 SoCon) sent the game to overtime when Brian Quick blocked a 53-yard field-goal attempt by The Citadel's Sam Keeler on the final play of regulation. Earlier in the fourth quarter, Quick hauled in a 74-yard touchdown pass from Armanti Edwards to knot the score at 27-27.

ASU won the coin toss in overtime and elected to play defense first. The Mountaineer defense then capped an up-and-down day on a positive note when it held The Citadel (2-2, 0-1 SoCon) to five yards on three plays. Keeler, who made 45- and 50-yard field goals earlier in the game, was wide right on his 37-yard attempt and Appalachian took possession needing only a field goal to win the game.

Cedric Baker began the Mountaineers' overtime possession with a 10-yard run to the 15. From there, the Apps played it safe with three-consecutive carries by Devon Moore that set up Vitaris for the 29-yard game-winner.

Vitaris' kick culminated a wild game that included two lead changes and two ties, all in the second half.

Thanks to some untimely special-teams miscues and The Citadel's effective ball-control offense in the first half, Appalachian trailed 13-7 at halftime. The Citadel limited ASU to just three possessions in the first two quarters by controlling the ball for 18:15 of the half's 30 minutes. Despite the fact that the Mountaineers drove inside the Bulldogs' 10 yard line on each of their three first-half possessions, they only had seven points to show for it thanks to a mishandled snap on a 25-yard field-goal attempt and a 26-yarder that went wide right.

Appalachian appeared to seize the momentum of the game when it scored on its first two possessions of the second half – a one-yard touchdown run by Edwards and a 44-yard field goal by Vitaris – to take a 17-13 lead.

The Mountaineers carried the four-point advantage into the fourth quarter but on the third play of the final period, The Citadel's Van Dyke Jones burst down the right sideline for a 69-yard touchdown that gave the Bulldogs the lead back at 20-17.

ASU drew even again on its next possession with a 30-yard field goal by Vitaris but The Citadel's Kevin Hardy returned the ensuing kickoff 58 yards to the ASU 39 and, aided pass-interference call on a second-and-22 wide-receiver pass, the Bulldogs regained the lead on a 29-yard touchdown pass from Bart Blanchard to Luke Caldwell.

Two plays later, the Mountaineers tied it at 27-27 when Edwards found a wide-open Quick for the 74-yard strike down the right sideline with 4:28 to play.

After the teams traded punts, The Citadel had a final chance to avoid overtime when it got the ball on the ASU 43 with 21 seconds remaining in regulation. On third-and-14, Blanchard completed an 11-yard pass to Terrell Dallas to set up Keeler's 53-yard field-goal attempt, which Quick blocked to send the game to overtime.

Despite the wild finish, the story of the game was Edwards. The senior accounted for 407 of ASU's 478 total yards with 327 yards on 22-of-29 passing and 80 yards on 10 rushes. He also had a hand in all three Mountaineer touchdowns (two rushing, one passing).

In the process, Edwards surpassed his predecessor as Appalachian quarterback, Richie Williams, as the school's all-time passing leader with 7,857 career passing yards (Williams amassed 7,759 yards through the air from 2002-05). Additionally, Edwards moved into 10th place in NCAA Division I FCS history with 11,708 yards of total offense in his career.

Quick finished with 117 yards on four receptions and Moore chipped in with 66 yards on the ground.

Defensively, ASU surrendered 373 yards but limited The Citadel's prolific passing attack to only 159 yards, 40 below its season average. Senior All-America receiver Andre Roberts managed just 47 yards on six catches, which was 43 yards below his personal season average.

D.J. Smith led the defensive effort with 10 tackles, Jabari Fletcher added seven stops, including one-and-a-half for loss and a sack, and Demery Brewer was in on two of the Mountaineers' three sacks.

NOTES: Edwards broke the ASU passing record on a 16-yard completion to Blake Elder early in the fourth quarter … the 300-yard passing effort was the sixth of Edwards' career while he topped 400 yards of total offense for the fifth time … in four career games against The Citadel, Edwards amassed 1,360 yards of total offense (874 passing, 486 rushing) and 15 total touchdowns (eight passing, seven rushing) … Appalachian defeated The Citadel for the 15th time in the last 16 meetings, including the seventh time in the last eight games played at Johnson Hagood Stadium … ASU upped its lead in the all-time series to 27-11 … Smith has led ASU in tackles in all four games this season and has recorded double-digit tackles in 3-of-4 games.

GoASU.com's 30 Most Memorable Games of 2009-10
30. Football 52, Georgia Southern 16 (Oct. 24, 2009)
29. Men's Tennis 6, Davidson 1 (Apr. 18, 2010)
28. Women's Tennis 4, Charlotte 3 (Apr. 8, 2010)
27. Women's Indoor Track and Field SoCon Championship (2nd) (Feb. 25-26, 2010)
26. Men's Soccer 3, Alabama A&M 2 (Sept. 11, 2009)
25. Softball 7, Virginia Tech 5 (April 7, 2010)
24. Casey Johnson Wins Men's Golf Spring Hill Suites Intercollegiate (Sept. 15, 2009)
23. Women's Outdoor Track and Field SoCon Championship (2nd) (April 25, 2010)
22. Wrestling 21, The Citadel 16 (Jan. 24, 2010)
21. Volleyball 3, Samford 2 (Oct. 11, 2009)
20. Baseball 5, Furman 4 - 10 innings (April 3, 2010)
19. Field Hockey 3, Sacred Heart 2 (Aug. 29, 2009)
18. Women's Soccer 2, Davidson 0 (Sept. 27, 2009)
17. Men's Basketball 93, Harvard 71 (CIT First Round — March 17, 2010)
16. Women's Basketball 66, Samford 55 (Feb. 15, 2010)
15. Football 30, The Citadel 27 OT (Oct. 3, 2009)
14. July 23
13. July 24
12. July 25
11. July 26
10. July 27
9. July 28
8. July 29
7. July 30
6. July 31
5. August 1
4. August 2
3. August 3
2. August 4
1. August 5