April 23, 2013. A terrific defensive effort and stellar punting and place-kicking by Zach Matics (Jacksonville, N.C./Southwest-Onslow) lifted the Black squad to a 12-3 win over the Gold in Appalachian State University football’s Spring Game on Saturday afternoon at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
The Black defense surrendered just 180 yards (2.9 yards per play), including a paltry 26 yards on 35 Gold rushes (0.7 yards per carry). The Gold defense was nearly as staunch, allowing just 261 total yards (3.9 per play) and forcing the game’s only two turnovers on a pair of interceptions by sophomore Doug Middleton (Winston-Salem, N.C./Parkland). With neither defense yielding much yardage, Matics proved to be the difference in the ballgame. The redshirt freshman not only kicked three of the Black’s four field goals from 48, 27 and 31 yards but also helped his squad win the field-position battle by averaging 42.2 yards per punt.
On the other hand, two Gold punters combined to average just 26.4 yards per boot, which allowed the Black to drive 50 yards or less for all four of its scores. The squads combined for 17 sacks and 24 tackles for loss, led by 2.5 sacks and 4.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage by Gold defensive end Ronald Blair (Greensboro, Ga./Greene County).
Inside linebacker Denzel Ward (Elizabeth City, N.C./Northeastern) also had 2.5 sacks to go along with a game-high 10 total tackles for the Gold. On the Black side, defensive end Deuce Robinson (Blythewood, S.C./Blythewood) matched the game-high 2.5 sacks and outside linebacker Patrick Blalock (Asheville, N.C./A.C. Reynolds) added two. Redshirt freshman defensive lineman Olawale Dada (Columbus, Ga./Shaw) chipped in with seven tackles, including 2.5 for loss and a sack.
Offensively, junior quarterback Logan Hallock (Ferguson, N.C./West Wilkes) completed 22-of-33 passes for 209 yards for the victorious Black squad. His favorite target was sophomore Simms McElfresh (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Christian), who led all players with eight receptions and 84 receiving yards. Black running back Paul Magloire (Lynbrook, N.Y./Lynbrook) rushed 15 times for a game-high 57 yards and caught two passes for 19 more yards. Gold quarterback Kalik Barnes (Atlanta, Ga./Parkview) completed 19-of-28 passes without an interception for 154 yards.
Senior Andrew Peacock (Durham, N.C./Northern Durham) led the Gold with five catches for 51 yards and sophomore Ricky Fergerson (Fuquay-Varina, N.C./Fuquay-Varina) added 86 all-purpose yards, including a team-high 53 on the ground.
The game consisted of two 40-minute halves with the clock running throughout, except for the final two minutes of each period. A crowd of 3,500 braved an unseasonably cool game-time temperature of 47 degrees to witness Appalachian State’s first official Spring Game since 2005.
Notable players that did not participate due to injury included quarterbacks Jamal Londry-Jackson (Atlanta, Ga./North Atlanta) and Kameron Bryant (Cary, N.C./Panther Creek), wide receivers Tony Washington (High Point, N.C./T.W. Andrews) and Tacoi Sumler (Miami, Fla./Christopher Columbus), offensive linemen Alex Acey (Clay, Ala./Clay-Chalkville) and Davante Harris (Blythewood, S.C./Blythewood) and defensive back Dante Blackmon (Covington, Ga./Eastside). All are expected to be at full strength when Appalachian State opens fall camp in August.
In case you missed it, or in case you needed a better look, take a peek at our photo gallery to get the full scoop.
Photo Gallery
Photos by Debbie Carter
Click on the first photo, then use the arrow key to flip through the gallery. This gallery includes multiple pages, so use the navigation keys under the gallery to switch between pages.
[nggallery id=145]