Chugging back up the mountain toward my old home, there are sights and sounds that jog the memory in a big way. The hazy blue horizon draped over the Blue Ridge Parkway, the sound of my 4-cylinder struggling up the hill, the smell of the Carolina pines in the breeze; it was really pleasant to be back in such a comfortable, familiar place.

As I got farther and farther up the hill, the leaves turned darker and darker green, until they finally started to give up and surrender to the brown tones right about the time I reached the 3,333-foot mark, where Boone resides. It is most certainly fall up there in Watauga County, complete with the chill in the air and the smell of autumn all around.

And autumn means one thing to me: football. And my Appalachian State Mountaineers had a home game under the lights on Saturday, facing the holy might of Presbyterian University, -- backed by God, I'm assuming. Saturday morning, I shook myself from a deep sleep somewhere around 2:00pm, in time to catch some of the afternoon action on TV before tailgate time. The old gang from Bowie headed out to our spot in Greenwood a bit later on, grilled some burgers and some dogs, and imbibed copious amounts of beer and liquor. It was raining coldly off and on, even further proof that it is indeed football season in the mountains.

The contest was hard fought for the first half, but even God himself failed to help the visiting team overcome the stifling defense of the Mountaineers. We win 48-14. Bad news though: QB Armanti Edwards went down with a leg injury in the 3rd Quarter, and unfortunately, it appears to be somewhat serious. Best of luck to Edwards as he tries to recover in short order.