David Coulson

It didn't take long for that lethal Appalachian State offense to strike against Elon. DeAndre Presley used a play fake to set up a 39-yard pass connection to CoCo Hillary on the first play from scrimmage and the Mountaineers needed less than five minutes to march 75 yards in eight plays for a touchdown.

On third and one from the Elon four, running back Devon Moore crashed in from a two-back shotgun set to make it 7-0 ASU with 10:15 remaining in the first period.

Appalachian State's defense then stopped Elon on three and out to force the Phoenix to punt on their first possession. But a roughing the punter penalty extended the Elon drive.

The ASU penalty set up Elon for an eight-play, 60-yard drive that ended with Scott Riddle's seven-yard scoring strike to Aaron Mellette to knot the score at 7 with 6:18 left in the first period.

A pass interference penalty on third and long when ASU's Ed Gainey ran into Aaron Mellette cost the Mountaineers a first down and 15 yards, but it saved a 50-yard pass play.

But after picking up another first down on a nifty downfield lateral from Riddle, the Phoenix came up empty when Mellette dropped a third-down pass underneath. It is 7-7 at the end of the first period as ASU regains the ball.

DeAndre Presley cost ASU a first down when he scrambled out of bounds on second down instead of running to the sticks. ASU was then stopped on third and two and was forced to punt from its own 40.

The Mountaineer secondary got turned around for the second time today to give Elon a long passing first down as Scott Riddle hit Aaron Mellette again. This time cornerback Troy Sanders lost track of both the receiver and the ball.

Elon had third and one at the App State seven, but was called for an illegal shift on tight end Taylor Berry. A pass from Riddle to Mellette was broken up by D.J. Smith in the end zone and Elon had to settle for a 28-yard field goal by Adam Shreiner. It is 10-7 Elon with 9:14 left in the half.

ASU struck back with a nice 31-yard strike from DeAndre Presley to Brian Quick. One play later, Cedric Baker dashed to the corner and scampered 36 yards for a touchdown. It is 13-10 ASU at the 7:31 mark of the second quarter. Jason Vitaris missed the extra point for ASU.

Can we ban all college bands from playing ANY "songs" by Lady Gaga at football games?

Lance Camp is the latest Elon receiver to drop a pass on third down. On fourth and one from the ASU 25, the Phoenix went for it with an A.J. Harris run up the gut. The measurement showed Elon was well short of the first down. It is ASU's ball with 5:34 left in the first half.

DeAndre Presley just scooted 53 yards for an ASU touchdown on a QB draw with 2:37 left in the half. After the PAT, it is ASU 20, Elon 10. It was the longest run of Presley's career. He has seven carries for 102 yards already.

The SoCon's finest just called a ridiculous personal foul penalty on ASU safety Dominique McDuffie as McDuffie was pulling up on the sideline and gave a little push in the back to A.J. Harris. Elon has now moved to the ASU 15 with a third and inches with 48.6 seconds left in the half. There is one time out left for Elon.

Elon surprising threw a hitch pass to Lance Camp for a first down at the ASU 13. Camp then was credited with a catch on a ball that appeared to bounce at the Mountaineer five. The Phoenix have used their final time out and there is 30 seconds left on the clock.

Scott Riddle scrambled away from pressure to toss a TD pass to Aaron Mellette at the left pylon. It is ASU 20, Elon 17 with 22.5 seconds left in the first half.

A pooch kick for Elon nearly backfired when Travaris Cadet almost broke free on a kickoff return. Credit kicker Kenton Beal with saving a touchdown. It is 20-17 at the half for ASU.

After one half, Appalachian State has out-gained Elon 286-243, but a 176-67 edge on the ground might prove to be the difference for the Mountaineers as this one winds down.

Perhaps the biggest statistic is that ASU has been penalized seven times for 85 yards, while Elon has been flagged just once for five yards. The one Elon penalty did kill a touchdown threat for the Phoenix and forced them to settle for a field goal in the second period.

ASU's DeAndre Presley has been the player of the game thus far, running nine times for 102 yards and a 53-yard TD and hitting 8-of-10 passes for 110 yards.

Elon QB Scott Riddle is 15-of-21 for 176 yards and two scores and would have been even more efficient if not for several dropped passes. Riddle has run twice for 27 yards.

Aaron Mellette has grabbed five passes for 68 yards and two TDs for Elon.

Despite only picking up 67 rushing yards in the first half, Elon has burned ASU with play-action passing on the first possession of the second half. The Phoenix has a first and goal at the Mountaineer eight with 13:06 left in the third period.

A pass interference penalty on third and long when ASU's Ed Gainey ran into Aaron Mellette cost the Mountaineers a first down and 15 yards, but it saved a 50-yard pass play.

But after picking up another first down on a nifty downfield lateral from Riddle, the Phoenix came up empty when Mellette dropped a third-down pass underneath. It is 7-7 at the end of the first period as ASU regains the ball. Newsome had eight carries for 27 yards in the first half.

Elon misfired on a couple of plays inside the eight to set up fourth and goal at the ASU six. Jabari Fletcher got one of the few pressures of Scott Riddle on the pass play to force an incompletion and give App State the ball back.

Elon held ASU without a first down to force a punt. A delay of game penalty from punt formation forced ASU to kick from the five, giving Elon the ball again on the Phoenix 42 with 9:55 left in the third period.

ASU seems to be exerting more pressure on Scott Riddle in the second half. The Mountaineers finally got their first sack of the game to force an Elon punt with 8:13 left in the third quarter. It is Appalachian State's ball at their own 13.

From a schematic prospective, ASU is getting the heat without the use of blizting.

Elon just missed a possible pick six when linebacker Brandon Wiggins dropped an almost sure interception. On the next play, Blake Elder broke loose for a 28-yard gain to get the ASU offense rolling.

A pass play to former QB Travaris Cadet and a fourth-down run gave the Mountaineers a first down at the Elon 44 with 5:35 remaining in the third period.

DeAndre Presley scorched Elon's defense again on a QB draw to go 44 yards for a touchdown. It is 27-17 ASU after the eight-play, 87-yard drive in just over three minutes. With 5:05 left in the third period, Presley already has a career-high 158 yards rushing on 14 carries with two TDs. He also has completed 10-of-14 passes for 143 yards. That's 301 yards of total offense in about two and a half quarters.

Elon answered with Scott Riddle going 43 yards to Aaron Mellette for a touchdown with 3:37 left in the third quarter. It is now 27-24, App State.