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Washington Named SoCon Specialist of the Week

Tony Washington tallied 174 all-purpose yards, including a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, versus Wofford on Saturday. Photo by Tyler Buckwell and courtesy of Appalachian Sports Information

Oct. 23, 2012. On the strength of recording the second-longest kickoff return in Appalachian State University history during Saturday’s 38-28 loss to No. 8 Wofford, junior Tony Washington (High Point, N.C./T.W. Andrews) has been named the Southern Conference’s Special Teams Player of the Week, the league office announced on Monday. 

Washington gave Appalachian State a 28-24 lead late in the third quarter when he took a Wofford kickoff back 99 yards for a touchdown. Appalachian’s first kickoff return for a touchdown since CoCo Hillary’s 95-yarder at Wofford in 2007 was the second-longest return in school history and the longest since Keith Nash’s school-record 100-yarder at Lenoir-Rhyne in 1968.

With the 99-yard return, Washington upped his season average to 28.4 yards per kickoff return, good for second in the SoCon and ninth nationally. The wide receiver also caught a game-high seven passes for 75 yards in the defeat and ranks 39th nationally with 989 all-purpose yards this season (123.6 per game).

Appalachian State has had a player recognized as a SoCon Player of the Week in 7-of-8 games this season.

Washington and the Mountaineers (5-3, 3-2 SoCon) look to return to their winning ways this Saturday (Oct. 27) when they travel to face archrival Western Carolina (1-7, 0-6 SoCon) in the annual Battle for the Old Mountain Jug. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. at E.J. Whitmire Stadium in Cullowhee, N.C.