Appalachian State Universityâs rushing tandem of junior running back Kevin Richardson and freshman quarterback Armanti Edwards continued to rewrite the record books in ASUâs 38-17 victory over Montana State University Saturday.
The pair kept their streak alive by rushing for more than 100 yards for
the second straight game. The last pair to do it was Alan Atwater and
Michael Metcalf against the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in
2003.
Edwards, the Southern Conference Freshman of the Year, gained 105 yards
on 17 carries with one touchdown. Richardson, the SoCon offensive
player of the year, ran for 131 yards on 29 carries and a playoff
record of four touchdowns.
Richardson became the all-time leader in career points and points in a season with 282 and 150 respectively.
He also became the career leader in touchdowns with 44.
However, Richardson was more excited about the playoff win than the records.
âI donât think about them,â Richardson said. âI just go out and play
football and whatever happens, happens. I mean, itâs great to have
them, but itâs just fun to be out there to play and be part of a team
like this.â
Richardsonâs four touchdowns tied a playoff record set by Jimmy Watkins against William & Mary College in 2004.
The four touchdowns also put Richardson at the top of the lists for
touchdowns in a season and rushing touchdowns with 25 and 24
respectively.
Freshman quarterback Armanti Edwards set the record for rushing yards
by a quarterback, with 962 rushing yards this season. His total
surpassed Richie Williams, who set the record last season with 936
yards.
âArmantiâs tough, and he had some balls skeeter off of some guys hands
and some guys dropped the ball, but he made great adjustments on the
quarterback sweep he ran after the interception return down inside the
5-yard line,â MSU head coach Mike Kramer said.
âHe is a tremendously physically gifted guy and I think in the years to
come everyone in this part of the country are going to be dialing up
their TV every Saturday night watching that guyâs highlight video,â he
said.
Edwards is very close to achieving an unheard of achievement in ASU
football. He needs 38 more rushing yards for ASU to have its first pair
of 1000-yard rushers in a season, with Richardson.
The ASU offense ran the ball 53 plays out of its 67 total plays in the game. The average gain was 5.3 yards per carry.
âWe probably tried to force some things early, we wanted to get a deep
ball, and we thought we had a play,â ASU head coach Jerry Moore said.
âIt goes right back to when you have a good line coach and he is
fussing about those guys âletâs run at them, letâs run at them.â
Finally we started listening to him and we got to moving the ball.â
Richardson and Edwards kept the MSU defense guessing with their misdirection and counter plays.
âThere was great execution in the red zone by the Mountaineers,â Kramer
said. âOur defense was unable to make consistent stops because the
Mountaineers kept us off balance. They go at such a fast pace on
offense.â
Edwards is undefeated as a starter and will look to continue that streak against Youngstown State University Saturday at 4 p.m.
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