Jerry Moore enters his 10th season as head football coach at
Appalachian State University and welcomes 44 lettermen and 15 starters from
last leason's squad, for the 1998 campaign.
	Moore stands as the winningest football coach in the school's
history with at 69-37 overall mark.  Entering his 17th season as a Division
I head coach, Moore owns a 96-85-2 career record.
	Last season, the Mountaineers fashioned a 7-4 overall mark, and a
6-2 Southern Conference slate.  Appalachian ended the year as the nation's
22nd-ranked I-AA squad in The Sports Network poll, and finished as the
country's 23rd-ranked I-AA team in the ESPN/USA Today poll.  The
Mountaineers' second-place league finish was the 13th consecutive
upper-division finish and the 15th in the past 16 seasons in the
conference.
	Moore will have to replace just 14 lettermen from last season's
club, but it will be without the services of All-American defensive tackle
Jackie Avery, and All-Southern Conference performers in quarterback Bake
Baker, defensive end Steve Carson, tailback Gerard Hardy, and defensive
back/punt returner Ken Byrd.  Appalachian will also miss the services of
starters Earl Hunter at linebacker, along with defensive backs Elando
Johnson and Jon Duncan.
	"We didn't lose very many players from last year's team, but we did
lose a good deal of experience, especially at quarterback," said Moore. 
"We are still a very young team, with the majority of our players being
sophomores and juniors.  We have more question marks on defense than
offense, we have things to work on everywhere in preparation for the 1998
season."
	Moore says his club's strength heading into fall drills will be his
offensive and defensive lines, along with the receiving corps.  He said the
weaknesses of his club lies in an inexperienced quarterback, not having a
game-tested punter, and the health of some of his key returnees.
	"We've got to do a good job early in the season in helping our
quarterbacks get needed game experience, without throwing them to the
lions.  And we are experienced everywhere on offense except that spot, so
we will ask our veterans to take on a protective role.  Our kicking games
is solid, but we have to identify a consistent punter, and make sure we do
all the little things in making our punter successful.  And, we have some
health issues that I'm concerned with---some from last season, some from the
off-season, and some we were faced with in spring practice."
	Offensively, the Mountaineers return 19 lettermen, including nine
starters.  Shawn Clark, a two-time All-Southern Conference choice, and a
1996 All-America selection on the offensive line returns after injuring his
back in the second contest of 1997 and undergoing back surgery last fall. 
The senior tackle has been in on 2,258 plays in his 38-game career.  Also
returning is All-Southern Conference tight end Frank Leatherwood.  The
league's top pass catcher among tight ends, Leatherwood hauled in 36
receptions for 436 yards and five scores.  He grabbed 10 passes for 100
yards and a touchdown in the season finale against Liberty.  Also back
after earning All-Southern Conference laurels a year ago is guard Tony
Bequette.  A starter in all 11 games, Bequette was in on 709 plays and
posted a winning performance in every outing in 1997.  Another All-Southern
Conference performer returning is flanker Joey Gibson.  The junior
receiver topped the squad in receptions with 46 for 695 yards and four
scores.  He had three 100-yards receiving games on the season.  Also
returning to starting assignments in 1998 are guard Cedrone Hodges, center
Scott Williams, tackles Bryan Metts and Jeff Yardley, fullback Kareem
Young, and spilt end Daryl Skinner.  Hodges was in on 748 snaps on the
line, with Williams in on a team-best 769 plays, and Metts getting one less
at 768 snaps.  Yardley moved from tight end to tackle midway through the
year and started the final four frays and was in on 274 plays on the line. 
Young started in seven gaems at fullback and picked 129 yards rushing on 40
attempts.  He also caught eight passes from 77 yards.  Skinner was second on
the club with 42 receptions for 668 yards and five scores.  Other
letterment returning on offense include wide receivers Luke Manuel, Ben
Rhodarmer and Rashad Slade; offensive tackle Billy Young; running backs
Terrence McCall, Ronny Huitt, and Neil Cornatzer; tight end Scott Murphy;
and quarterback David Reaves.
	"We really have a good offensive unit returning.  We have quality
starters and quality depth, with experience at virtually every position. 
We just don't have a quarterback that has played when the game is on the
line, and that kind of thing is remedied only by playing in those kinds of
situations," said Moore.
	Defensively, Appalachian returns 22 lettermen, with six players
back to starting roles.  Linebacker Joey Hall returns after posting 72
stops a season ago, and running mate Joe Best is back after compiling 67
tackles in 1997.  On the defensive line, Rocky Hunt is on hand after 11
starts last year where he finished with five sacks and 16 quarterback
pressures.  Also back after starting on the defensive front is Jamie Lovern. 
In the secondary, Corey Hall returns after starting the final six games at
free safety, and Chuck Payne is back after seven starts at strong safety. 
Other lettermen rejoining the defensive unit are linebackers Ben Aiken,
Matt Alspaugh, Jimmy Freeman, Arthur Merschat, Adam Neiheisel, Daniel
Patterson, Matt Watson and Darrell Wilson along with defensive backs L.J.
Brooks, Mike Jones, and Kevin Tatum.  Brooks also served as the
Mountaineers' kickoff return specialist, handling 18 kickoffs for 431 yards. 
	"I feel as though we are going to be a very good defensive team.  I
know we will be an aggressive and attacking defensive squad.  We just have
to fill some holes and get our people in the proper situations to be
successful.  We lost some key players, but I think we are deeper overall on
this side fo the ball, and some of our younger players are ready to make
major contributions."
	The special teams returns placekicker Chris Barden who posted a
9-for-9 field goal slate in 1997 while also booting 28-of-32 on point-after
conversions, with Stuart Jones again handling the kickoff duties.  Jones had
nearly 70 percent of his kickoffs reach the end zone in 1997, with just
under 42 percent not being returned, and held opponents to an average field
position of the 21-yard line.  Also back is long snapper Josh Hinson.
	"We are coming off consecutive 7-4 seasons.  We expect to improve
upon those two years, and challenge for the Southern Conference
Championship.  Our goals are not different than they have been---win the
conference, contend for the national championship, exhibit class on and off
the field, and continue to work hard to be the most successful I-AA program
in the country."