By Steve Behr
sports@wataugademocrat.com
There are some things that a team looking to win its fourth national championship in five years just don't do.
One is overlook beatable opponents. Two is overlook a beatable opponent that is an arch-rival.
Western Carolina is that opponent that Appalachian State has focused on during the Mountaineers' practice week. Appalachian hosts the Catamounts in the Mountaineers' season finale Saturday at Kidd Brewer Stadium looking to not only keep the Old Mountain Jug in Boone for another year, but to gain some momentum heading into the FCS playoffs.
Appalachian State (8-2, 7-0 SoCon) can win the Southern Conference championship outright with a victory over Western (2-8, 1-6). The Mountaineers, ranked sixth in the FCS Sports Network poll, rolled over now No. 10 Elon 27-10 to clinch at least a tie for the league title.
"The coaches do a great job of keeping us focused in practice," Mountaineers quarterback Armanti Edwards said. "This game is one you don't want to overlook, because it's a week before the playoffs. You want to have some confidence about yourself."
Confidence should not be a problem for the Mountaineers, who have won eight straight after dropping their first two games this season. Appalachian State averages 37.4 points per game, which is third in the FCS. The 491.2 yards per game the Mountaineers average leads the nation.
Western Carolina, however, is coming off a confidence booster of its own in the form of a 24-7 surprise win over Eastern Kentucky. The Catamounts got three touchdown passes from quarterback Zack Jaynes, two to Marquel Pittman, while ending an eight-game road losing streak.
"Right now, every win's a great win," Western coach Dennis Wagner said. "It was one of those games that we had to play error-free football because Eastern Kentucky's done a great job of not turning the ball over much. We had to play four quarters, which they did."
Western's effort this season impressed Mountaineers coach Jerry Moore, who noticed that when watching Elon play the Catamounts on film last week.
"Even before they played Eastern Kentucky, we were studying film on Elon and we couldn't help but notice how Western played," Moore said. "They've gone about things in a proper way as far as building their program and getting it back on track."
Western faces the difficult task of stopping Edwards, who is a front-runner to win his second Walter Payton Award. Edwards has thrown for 2,504 yards 10 touchdowns and just three interceptions. He's also completed 72.4 percent of his passes and has a quarterback rating of 163.3.
Edwards has gained 575 yards and scored 16 touchdowns rushing the ball. But Edwards twisted his knee against Elon had to leave the game. He returned for the second half, but did not run the ball, and as of Wednesday, he was listed as being "day-to-day."
"It's all right," Edwards said. "Right now it's day to day, but I'm expecting to play."
Wagner has the Catamounts preparing for Edwards and expects the senior from Greenwood, S.C. to play
"He's a tremendous player," Wagner said. "You have to account for him at all times. They're built around him, but he's got great receivers and backs and they can run the football. Their line plays hard and makes it all work."
The Mountaineers are also celebrating Senior Day. Thirteen seniors will play their final regular-season game at Kidd Brewer Stadium. However, the Mountaineers will very likely host a playoff game next Saturday, though they won't know for sure until the playoff pairings and sites are announced on Sunday.
"The season's coming to and end and really we don't have but two guaranteed games left," Edwards said. "Though I hope we have five left."