East Carolina takes an early lead, then holds off a furious ASU rally to beat the Mountaineers 29-24 in Greenville on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009.

First Look: Staff photojournalist Shawn Rocco's raw edit from the game between Appalachian State and East Carolina in Greenville on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009.

GREENVILLE — East Carolina finally found a way to stop third-team Appalachian State quarterback Travaris Cadet and held on to win 29-24 on Saturday at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.

Defensive end Scotty Robinson sacked Cadet on second down, and Cadet threw too high for Coco Hillary at the East Carolina 40-yard line on fourth down with 16 seconds remaining.

GREENVILLE — Appalachian State starting quarterback Armanti Edwards apparently won't play in this afternoon's season opener at East Carolina.

Edwards is wearing his jersey but not a helmet, shoulder pads or turf shoes as Appalachian State warms up for the game, which kicks off at noon. He was listed as doubtful for the game after needing 35 stitches to close an injury suffered in a lawn mowing accident.

If you want to see Appalachian State against an in-state FBS opponent, Saturday's your day at East Carolina. The Apps play Florida (2010), Virginia Tech (2011) and Georgia (2013) but won't be making any appearances in the Triangle, or Winston-Salem, any time soon.

Of course, UNC, N.C. State and Duke do play two games each against FCS opponents this season, so that's not the problem.

After a nine year hiatus, Buzz Peterson returns to Appalachian State to coach the Mountaineer basketball team.

Back in 1993, UNC Chapel Hill set a state record by collecting 1,052 pints of blood at its one-day blood drive. At the time, it was the largest single-day collection in North Carolina, a record that held until last September.

That's when the folks at Appalachian State took ownership of the title, collecting 1,060 pints.

On Tuesday, June 2, UNC wants its title back. It will hold its annual blood drive at the Dean E. Smith Center from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. with a goal of 1,100 pints.

For more info or to register to give blood, click here.

It took a mighty offensive effort, including three home runs, but North Carolina survived a 9-8 contest with Appalachian State at Boshamer Stadium Tuesday.

How's this for unusual?

Christian Kucab, a Raleigh native and graduate of Appalachian State University, recently aced the LSAT, the law school admissions test.

Aced it. As in perfect score. 

About 125,000 people took the test when Kucab did, recounted Hannah Gage, chairwoman of the UNC system's Board of Governors, which recognized Kucab Friday. Of that, fewer than 25 got a perfect score, Gage said, prompting a boisterous round of applause.

"We're so proud of you," Gage told Kucab, a graduate of Raleigh Charter School. "You represent the brightest and the best and are the reason we do what we do."

Kucab took a year off after graduating from Appalachian State and is working now for a law firm in Raleigh. He plans to attend law school in the fall. He has not decided where to attend. With that score, he'll probably have a few to choose from.

A tough nonconference schedule has East Carolina traveling to the mountains and the Triangle this fall. The Pirates open with Appalachian State on Sept. 5 and travel to UNC on Sept. 19.

N.C. State and Wake Forest are missing from ECU's nonconference schedule, but in their place, the Pirates, Conference-USA champions in 2008, will take on two-time defending ACC champion Virginia Tech and West Virginia.