Appalachian State rolls, returns to Division I title game

Dec 10, 2006 - 1:26 AM BOONE, North Carolina (Ticker) - Armanti Edwards joined Vince Young in some very exclusive company. Now he would like to finish his freshman season in similar fashion.

Edwards ran for 110 yards and three touchdowns and threw for 164 yards and another score as defending champion Appalachian State returned to the Division I Championship game with Saturday's 49-24 victory over Youngstown State.

Edwards became just the fifth player in Division I history to throw for 2,000 yards and run for 1,000 in the same season. He has 2,105 passing yards and 1,072 rushing yards this season.

The second freshman to turn the trick, Edwards joined David Dinkins of Division I-AA Morehead State (1999), Woody Dantzler of Clemson (2001), Brad Smith of Missouri (2002) and Young, who did it for Texas last year en route to a national championship.

Walter Payton Award finalist Kevin Richardson rushed for 145 yards and and two TDs on 18 carries for Appalachian State (13-1), which set a school record for wins and ran its winning streaks to 13 overall and 27 at home.

The top-ranked Mountaineers will face third-ranked Massachusetts in next week's title game in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Massachusetts, which escaped with a 19-17 victory at Montana on Friday night, won the title in 1998.

Edwards completed 12-of-14 passes, including an 18-yard TD to Hans Batichon that opened the scoring with 1:23 left in the first quarter. He added a six-yard scoring jaunt less than four minutes later.

After a one-yard TD run by Youngstown State star tailback Marcus Mason, Richardson had TD runs of one and 18 yards less than three minutes apart to give the Mountaineers a 28-7 lead late in the first half.

Edwards had a 10-yard scoring run in the third quarter and an eight-yarder in the final period to keep Appalachian State comfortably in front.

Devon Moore ran for 87 yards and a TD for the Mountaineers, who piled up 353 yards on the ground and held a 517-332 advantage in total yards. Appalachian State has scored 132 points in its three playoff games.

Also a Payton Award finalist, Mason ran for 121 yards and Tom Zetts threw for 150 yards and a score for the Penguins (11-3), who lost for the first time in seven semifinal appearances. They won four championships in the 1990s under current Ohio State coach Jim Tressel.