Kings of the Mountain

APP. STATE WINS THIRD STRAIGHT TITLE

After a controversial goal line stand by the Appalachian State defense, Mountaineers sophomore Devon Moore essentially ended the I-AA (also known as FCS) championship game by breaking off a 46-yard touchdown. The score capped a five play 99-yard drive which extended Appalachian State's lead to 14-0.

Fresh off his record setting performance, QB Armanti Edwards threw for 198 yards passing with three touchdowns and 89 yards rushing as the Mountaineers routed Delaware 49-21 to claim their third straight national championship.

The Friday before, during the semifinals, Edwards set an NCAA Division I record for rushing yards by a quarterback with 313. Edward's truly epic performance also included four rushing touchdowns and a 14-of-16 passing day for 182 yards and three TDs.

In fact, SI.com's Stewart Mandel says Tim Tebow should watch out and that fleet-footed Edwards is a new competitor for the 2008 Heisman. Mandel may just be right.

So the season that began with a monumental upset in the Big House, ends by making history by winning three titles in a row.

But were the Mountaineers truly the best I-AA team in the championship? Arguably not.

That's the problem with any tournament. Sure the Mountaineers won the four-game playoff, but there's another story.

App. State definitely won their second two games, crushing both Richmond and Delaware. But, the Mountaineers were gift-wrapped two games, played three of the four games at home and they never faced one of the top four seeds (Northern Iowa, McNeese State, Montana, So. Illinois). Hardly a tarnished title by any means, but nothing truly amazing either.

Mountaineer fans are quickly becoming insufferable. That obnoxiousness could certainly grow as Edwards, only a sophomore, will have two more chances to lead the Mountaineers to other championships.