Elon Phoenix Football Enters Final Month of Season With Trip to Towson

ELON, N.C. – With just four games remaining in the 2014 season, the Elon Phoenix football team will hit the road for a trip to Towson, Md. and a Saturday date with the Towson Tigers. Kick is set for 4 p.m. from Unitas Stadium.

The game will be televised in limited markets on the American Sports Network. Those unable to watch the TV broadcast can view the game through Towson’s online video portal.

Fans unable to attend the game can also listen to the game on WPCM 95.1 FM and 920 AM or at elonphoenix.com. The radio broadcast will start at 3 p.m. Fans can also listen to all Elon football games via the TuneIn Radio app. This app is free to download to your smartphone.

CONNECTIONS:
• Elon QB Mike Quinn attended New Jersey’s Wayne Hills High as did Towson WR/RB Brian Dowling and OL Jake Schunke.
• Elon’s roster sports two players from the state of Maryland – DL Tyler Drake (Annapolis) and LB Bruno Anyangwe (Clarksburg).
• Only one North Carolinian is found on Towson’s roster – LS Will Hayes (Winston-Salem).
• Elon quarterbacks coach Scott Van Zile is a 1999 graduate of Towson. He played wide receiver as a freshman and senior and was a starter in the secondary as a sophomore and junior. He twice earned Patriot League Academic Honor Roll honors.

A NEW HOME:
After spending the past 11 seasons as a member of the Southern Conference, Elon has joined the Colonial Athletic Association and CAA Football. The Phoenix officially transitioned to CAA Football on July 1, 2014.

The CAA geographic footprint provides an attractive match with Elon’s student and alumni populations. Elon draws a large proportion of its enrollment from mid-Atlantic and New England states where many CAA teams are located. About 1,850 current students came to Elon from areas close to CAA member schools. Alumni populations in CAA cities are equally strong, with about 5,300 Elon alumni living within 50 miles of CAA member schools.

ELON VS. TOWSON:
• Elon and Towson have met three times with the Tigers claiming all three meetings.
• The lone meeting at Towson came in 2003 as the teams first met on Oct. 25 of that season.
• In both 2004 and 2006, the programs faced off at Elon’s Rhodes Stadium.

FLAGS ARE FEW
When it comes to penalties, Elon has done an outstanding job of avoiding flags. The Phoenix leads the CAA in fewest penalties (34) and fewest penalties per game (4.25) and is second in fewest penalty yards (267) and fewest penalty yards per game (33.38).

In fact, the maroon and gold’s 33.38 penalty yards per game are the second-fewest in the nation, just behind CAA mate William & Mary. The Tribe averages 32.63 penalty yards per game.

TACKLING MACHINE
Senior linebacker Jonathan Spain currently boasts 317 career tackles. That number ranks fourth in program history during Elon’s FCS tenure and seventh on the school’s all-time tackles chart.

COPPEDGE CARRIES THE LOAD
With injuries to two of Elon’s top three running backs, junior Tracey Coppedge has received the bulk of carries by running backs over the past four games. In that span, Coppedge has 64 of the 80 rushing attempts by Elon backs. That amounts to 80.0 percent of carries by running backs. He has 217 rushing yards in those four games, an average of 3.4 yards per carry.