Inside The Rock

Mountaineer Fans and House United family, welcome back to ‘Inside the Rock’, a behind-the-scenes blog on App State Football. For those of you that are new, my name is Trey Schaneville and I am a graduate transfer kicker for your Mountaineers, and I am excited to share my experiences within the App State football program with you. Be sure to subscribe to Houseunitedsports.com to never miss a blog, and to be notified of upcoming promotions and events.

Thanks to the generosity and support of App State alumni, the Yosef Club, and House United; my teammates and I are able to earn a world-class education while playing a sport that we love in front of the best fans in the country. Continue your support by visiting and subscribing to houseunitedsports.com, where 20% of your purchases will be given to support the student-athletes you read about in this blog.

If you are interested in supporting the relief efforts in Kentucky regarding the recent tornado please visit Mountaineers Supporting Hilltoppers - Any amount will help!

The Beginning and The End

It’s been a while, Mountaineer fans! Thanks for tuning back into “Inside the Rock”, where this week I will be looking back on a memorable season, discussing bowl preparation for Boca Raton, and looking ahead at the future of App State football.

Obviously, the result a couple weekends ago down in Louisiana was not the result we were looking for. Appalachian State expects championships, and nothing less. We came up just short, losing to a very good Ragin’ Cagins’ team at their home field. All of the work that we put in on the field and in the weight room since January was meant for us to end the season as champions. Coming up just shy hurts, especially for the seniors that will never get another shot at a Sun Belt Conference Championship, but the mantra of our football program is to take it one game at a time and move on, regardless of a win or a loss.

I try to stay off social media as much as possible during the season, but I’ve seen plenty about a “down year”, or “the decline of App State football”. I’ll say this, if 10+ wins is considered a down year, then I came to the right place to finish out my football career. Yes, we set higher expectations than what we accomplished this year, but there is still plenty to be proud about: Sun Belt East champions, Sun Belt conference home attendance records, countless program and FBS records broken by many of our 6th year seniors, and an opportunity to win App State’s 7th bowl game in a row.

We are scheduled for kickoff on December 18th at 11:00am in Boca Raton, FL against Western Kentucky. Not only is this bowl game an opportunity to finish the year out on a positive note, but it is also an opportunity to enjoy ourselves and “celebrate” all of the hard work that was put into this season. Don’t get me wrong, there is definitely business to be taken care of, but practicing and playing games in late November and into December is something that not a lot of  football programs get to do, so the players in the locker room see these days of bowl-game preparation as a privilege. Because of this attitude and perspective, practices have been lively, energetic, and full of competition.

Today (as I am writing this) was the last practice at Kidd Brewer Stadium before we head off to Florida and begin our practices and bowl festivities there. The seniors, in accordance with App State tradition, were carried off on the backs of their teammates when practice ended. I can only imagine the emotion they must have been feeling, especially this group of seniors; all they have accomplished over the past 5-6 years and all the blood, sweat, and tears they have shed on that field. It’s only right to go down to Florida and finish off on a high note for those guys.

Those that have been following closely the past 5-6 years will be startled by how different the roster and depth chart will look next year due to the departures of many ‘super-seniors’ who have been in the limelight for some time. However, looking towards the future, as a player within the locker room, you can take it from me that you App State football fans have a lot to look forward to. The young guys will need to step up in order to carry on the tradition here at App State, and trust me, there will be no shortage of talent to fill in the gaps. Both as a team and personally, the motivation to get better and improve is through the roof, especially after that loss in the SBC Championship. I don’t think any of us want to experience that feeling again; we want to be back on top, and getting back on top starts in January.

Again, please think about supporting those affected by the recent tornado in the Western Kentucky area and visit the link - https://www.gofundme.com /f/mountaineers-supporting-hilltoppersif you are interested.