Elon to Recognize Seniors, Host Maine in Final Home Football Game of 2014

ELON, N.C. – With cool temperatures in the forecast for Saturday, Nov. 15, the Elon Phoenix will return to Rhodes Stadium for one final game during the 2014 season. The maroon and gold will welcome in the Maine Black Bears on Senior Day and Military Appreciation Day for a 3 p.m. contest.

Fans unable to attend the game can listen to the game on WPCM 95.1 FM and 920 AM or at elonphoenix.com. The radio broadcast will start at 2 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. The WSOE tailgate show can be heard on 89.3 FM beginning at 1 p.m.

Phoenix All-Access, Elon’s video portal, will also show the game for free.

For Military Appreciation Day, fans that present a military ID at the gate will receive free admission. Family members of those military members can receive a ticket for just $5.

Prior to the game, Elon will recognize a class of 12 players during its Senior Day festivities. The group that will be honored is: Odell Benton, Karl Bostick, Kierre Brown, Ricky Brown, Michael Crispi, Evan Kendrick, Akeem Langham, Michael Pearson, Mike Quinn, Dustin Ruff, Austin Sowell and Jonathan Spain.

CONNECTIONS:
• Elon long snapper Michael Crispi and Maine wide receiver Damarr Aultman both graduated from Half Hollow Hills West High (N.Y.).
• Elon’s roster has no Maine natives. Maine’s roster does not sport a player from North Carolina.

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. MAINE:
• This is the first-ever meeting on the gridiron between Elon and Maine.

BLOCK PARTY
Over the past three weeks the Phoenix, which totaled five blocked kicks from 2011-13, has blocked five kicks (two punts and three field goals). Chris Blair got it started by blocking a punt against Richmond. The following week at Towson Jeremy Gloston blocked a punt and Alexander Dawson got his hand on a field goal. Last week at William & Mary, Marquise Wrightblocked two field goals.

Elon’s five blocked kicks rank 13th nationally and third in the CAA.

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 per game (4.30), fewest penalty yards (339) and fewest penalty yards per game (33.90). Elon (43) and Maine (43) are tied for the league lead in fewest total penalties.

In fact, the maroon and gold’s 33.90 penalty yards per game are the second fewest in the nation. The next CAA team in those rankings is William & Mary. The Tribe’s 39.60 penalty yards per game rates sixth nationally.

TACKLING MACHINE
Senior linebacker Jonathan Spain currently boasts 340 career tackles. That number ranks fourth in program history during Elon’s FCS tenure and sixth 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 six games. In that span, Coppedge has 93 of the 116 rushing attempts by Elon backs. That amounts to 80.2 percent of carries by running backs. He has 376 rushing yards in those six games, an average of 4.0 yards per carry.