- Junior running back Devon Moore (20) suffered an ankle injury during the game vs. Jacksonville and is expected to miss about 6 weeks of the season. Sophomore running back Robert Welton will make his first career start on Saturday. Photo by Lonnie Webster.
The ASU Mountaineer football team returns to friendly territory this Saturday, September 27, following a stinging loss to the James Madison Dukes in Harrisonburg, Va. The Mountaineers host the Presbyterian College Blue Hose at Kidd Brewer Stadium for a rare nighttime kickoff at 7:00 p.m.
In case you’re wondering, Blue Hose is a moniker for a fierce Scotch-Irish warrior. Some say that the Presbyterian Scotch-Irish wore blue stockings during the Puritan era of the United States. Another story has it that a band of Scotch-Irish named the Hose painted their entire bodies blue before going to battle. Presbyterian College Athletic Director Walter Johnson changed the uniform colors to blue around 1915, with blue stockings and jerseys. A sports writer started referring to the college’s teams as the Blue Stockings, and it stuck. Later, the nickname changed to the Hose, and the name was officially adopted sometime in the 1950s.
Presbyterian has an enrollment of 1,200. The school is in its second year of transition from NCAA Division II to Division I and is in its first season as a member of the Big South Conference. The last time the two teams met was November 8, 1969, when the Blue Hose defeated the Mountaineers 27-25 in Boone. ASU and Presbyterian played each other 16 times between 1946 and 1969, and Presbyterian leads the series 9-7. The Blue Hose are 1-3 this season.
The Mountaineers had a solid start to their game in Harrisonburg, putting up 21 unanswered points in the first half. But as soon as the opening kick of the second half, JMU began chipping away at ASU’s lead. The Dukes captured the lead with 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, and although more points were scored, ASU never caught back up. The final score was 35-32.
The loss to JMU dropped ASU to a 1-2 overall record and to No. 3 in The Sports Network national media poll and No. 4 in the national Coaches Poll. Richmond now holds the top spot in the media poll, followed by JMU. The Dukes were ranked No. 1 by the coaches this week.
The game also resulted in injuries to two players—running back Devon Moore with an ankle injury and defensive end Tony Robertson with an injury to his foot. Both are expected to miss about six weeks of the season. Sophomore running back Robert Welton will make his first career start in Moore’s place this Saturday, and sophomore Jabari Fletcher and freshman Lanston Tanyi will see more playing time as Robertson recovers.
Saturday is Open House and Family Day at Appalachian. As a result of those activities, parking and tailgating for the game will not begin until 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. Saturday is also Hall of Fame Day, and ASU will honor four inductees at halftime—former ASU football stars Wayne Byrd and Dexter Coakley, men’s golfer Andrew Pitts and longtime field hockey coach Dr. Jan Watson. Dr. Judy Clarke will also receive a Special Service Award.
All tickets, including reserved seats and general admission grass seats, are sold out for Saturday’s game vs. Presbyterian.
