Dec. 3, 2006

By David Coulson

Special to CSTV.com

BOONE, N.C.-- For an entire month, Corey Lynch kept encouraging himself with a passage of scripture from II Corinthians 12:9-10.

But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Recovering from surgery to repair a broken left arm, suffered Nov. 4 in a 42-13 win over The Citadel, the All-American junior free safety had doubts he would be able to return for the Mountaineers' 2006 playoff run.

"The medical staff and the trainers were telling me I would be back in four weeks, but I thought `No way,"' Lynch said on Saturday. "I knew a bone takes six weeks to heal."

But not only did Lynch return to the Appalachian State starting lineup on Saturday in an NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision quarterfinal game against Montana State, his fourth-quarter interception turned the tide of momentum and helped the Mountaineers pull away for a 38-17 victory. He also matched his career and season high with 13 tackles.

The win advanced the No. 1 ranked and defending national champions to the national semifinals next weekend against Youngstown State.

Lynch had recovered a fumble and run it back for a touchdown and had intercepted a pass in the game against The Citadel before breaking his arm making a tackle.

Before the game was finished, Lynch was in surgery at Watauga Medical Center to install a plate into his left arm to stabilize the injury.

It would have been easy for Lynch to have given in to discouragement. His 2004 season was ruined when on a similar play, returning a punt against Eastern Kentucky, a broken elbow, torn muscle and ruptured tendon had ended his sophomore year.

"Having gone through that helped me with this injury," Lynch said. "This one wasn't nearly as bad."

But there were still some tough times during November as Lynch endured the pain and frustration of rehabilitation.

"There were some times of gritting my teeth and crying," Lynch said.

Lynch was one of ASU's biggest cheerleaders, rooting for his backups, Billy Riddle and Titus Howard, as the Mountaineers closed out the regular season with a win over Western Carolina and beat Coastal Carolina in the first round of the playoffs.

"I was really confident in Billy and Titus," Lynch said. "I didn't want to play, if I didn't have to play."

Lynch's presence in the lineup became more crucial when Riddle sprained an ankle in the first half against Coastal Carolina.

With the defense holding Montana State to 11 yards and building a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, it looked like Lynch might have a short day on Saturday. But three Mountaineer turnovers in the second period turned the game into a dogfight.

It was 24-17 in ASU's favor at the start of the fourth quarter, with Montana State looking at a first and 10 from the Mountaineer 40.

Bobcat coach Mike Kramer decided to roll the dice and run a trick play, with All-Big Sky receiver Michael Jefferson throwing an option pass off a reverse.

"At the start of the fourth quarter, down seven, that's where we wanted to be," said Kramer. "We just overreached ourselves a little bit."

The Mountaineers didn't bite on the reverse and Lynch was laying in wait at the back of the secondary.

"I knew he was going to throw the whole time," said Lynch, who grabbed his 16th career interception. "Pierre (Banks) got a hit on him just as he threw the ball and he threw it about 20 yards."

Surgically-repaired arm, or not, Lynch had no trouble making the catch.

"I can't tackle very well, but I can still catch any ball that is thrown at me," Lynch said.

Jefferson had caught a team-leading 62 passes this season, but hadn't thrown one until Saturday.

The senior transfer from Arizona said he wished he had the pass, off of a fake reverse, back.

"You learn from your mistakes," Jefferson remarked. "It's part of the game. They made a great play. As coach (Kramer) said, I probably should have tucked it and run."

After Lynch returned the ball 37 yards to the Mountaineer 49, it took Appalachian State just eight plays to score on Kevin Richardson's one-yard burst.

Another Montana State turnover three plays later, when ASU defensive tackle Omarr Byrom stripped MSU quarterback Jack Rolovich at the three for a Daniel Orlebar recovery, led to Richardson's fourth touchdown of the game on another one-yard blast to put the game out of reach with 6:44 remaining.

But everyone agreed that Lynch's interception had turned the tide of momentum.

"It gave us a lot of confidence," said ASU's All-American defensive end Marques Murrell. "I looked at our linebackers when we went back on the field and they had a swagger like they weren't going to move the ball on us, that we weren't going to be scored upon."

ASU coach Jerry Moore has come to expect big plays from Lynch, who has 16 interceptions, six fumble recoveries and four forced fumbles in his career and three blocked field goals and two touchdowns just this season alone.

"Having Corey back is a bonus," said Moore, who added that he also had tremendous confidence in Riddle and Howard. "It wasn't necessary for Corey to be on the field for us to win. But Corey has been a leader and he's made a lot of big plays for us."

Player of the Game

Omarr Byrom, Appalachian State defensive tackle: Byrom set the tone for the Mountaineer defense early with a sack and a pressure on Montana State quarterback Jack Rolovich on the Bobcats' first possession. Byrom, playing the best game of his four-year career, had a career-high three and a half sacks for 18 yards of losses, one forced fumble and four solo tackles and two assists.

Quote of the Game

"One thing I worry about as a coach is how your team will react in a close game."

                --Appalachian State coach Jerry Moore

Notes

Appalachian State junior running back Kevin Richardson broke school career records for points (282), touchdowns (47) and rushing touchdowns (44) and single season marks for points (150), touchdowns (25) and rushing touchdowns (24). All six of those marks were formerly held by former Atlanta Falcons All-Pro John Settle (1983-86). Richardson (29 carries for 131 yards) also tied Jimmy Watkins' 2001 school playoff record with four touchdowns in a game. William Mayfield became just the fourth ASU receiver to pass 1,000 yards in a season, joining Bob Agle, Rick Beasley and DaVon Fowlkes. Montana State played in its first quarterfinal since its 1984 national championship run. ASU tied school records for consecutive wins and wins in one season with 12. The Mountaineers extended their home winning streak to 26 games at Kidd Brewer Stadium. ASU hasn't lost at home since a first-round, 14-13 playoff loss to Maine in 2002. Marques Murrell added to his school record for career forced fumbles with his 17th. Murrell's two sacks gave him 10.5 for the season and a a school-record 33.5 for his career. Montana State managed just 11 yards on 17 plays in the first quarter. When the Bobcats scored two touchdowns in the second quarter, it marked just the fourth time in 13 games that the Mountaineers had given up a first-half touchdown this year. Freshman quarterback Armanti Edwards rushed 17 times for 105 yards, giving ASU two 100-yard rushers for the second week in a row. Edwards broke Richie Williams' single-season mark of 936 rushing yards by a quarterback. Edwards now has 962.