William & Mary Fends Off Elon Football Phoenix

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Tracey Coppedge ran for a career-best 120 yards and the Elon defense pitched a second-half shutout for the second consecutive week, but the 24th-ranked Tribe of William & Mary held off the feisty Phoenix in a 17-7 CAA Football contest from Zable Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 8.

“I think the turnovers in the first half were critical,” said Elon coach Rich Skrosky. “For the most part, we were moving the ball OK. We were able to balance a little bit better tonight. We ran the ball the most consistently we have all year. It was good to see that. There were some good holes there. There are a lot of good things to take. It was a well-played game. We continue to improve and guys are getting better.”

Trailing 17-0 at the half, Elon (1-9, 0-6 CAA) forced punts on the first three William & Mary (6-4, 3-3) drives of the second half. The maroon and gold then went 75 yards on just six plays to get on the board as Demitri Allison made a diving grab in the end zone for his first touchdown reception of the season with 3:59 remaining in the third quarter. Coppedge gained 44 yards on just three carries during the drive. The lone completed pass on the drive was the 26-yard connection to Allison as the Phoenix made it a 17-7 game.

The Tribe came back with a drive that reached the Elon 18-yard line before John Carpenter came on to attempt a 35-yard field goal that would have made it a 20-7 game, but the Phoenix special teams came up big as Marquise Wright got a hand on the kick to deny the score. It was the second blocked field goal of the afternoon for Wright.

Elon’s ensuing drive began with a 29-yard pass from Quinn to Kierre Brown as the Phoenix moved in to Tribe territory. The drive reached the William & Mary 10 before Quinn went to tight ends Doug Warrick and Jesse Tate to move to the three. Elon would have to try a field goal of its own, but the Tribe, which leads the nation in blocked kicks, was able to get another one to stop the Phoenix’s scoring chance.

From there, two lengthy William & Mary drives closed out the game.

The Tribe opened the scoring on its first drive of the game, going 71 yards on eight plays as Mikal Abdul-Saboor plunged in from a yard out. A Kendell Anderson touchdown run and a late field goal in the second quarter put William & Mary up 17-0 at the break.

For Coppedge, it was the second 100-yard rushing game of his career. Allison led the team with 64 yards on five receptions.

On defense, Jonathan Spain led all players with 12 total tackles, including a tackle for loss and 0.5 sacks.

Elon will conclude the home portion of its schedule next Saturday, Nov. 15, with a 3 p.m. game against Maine.