Elon Football Falls at FBS Foe Charlotte

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Elon University football team could not have asked for a better start, but the Charlotte 49ers got things going after the first 15 minutes as the Phoenix dropped a 47-14 decision against the FBS foe on Saturday night at Richardson Stadium.

BOX SCORE

The loss dropped the maroon and gold to 0-2 on the year. Charlotte improved to 1-1 on the young season.

Quotable: “It was a pretty good start to the game. I said at halftime, the turning point was the interception. The field position flipped. We’d been moving the ball decent. Then not being able to establish a better drive coming out in the second half. As the game wore on, they wore on us. I think we probably did some better things this week than we did last week, regardless of the score. I wish we could have sustained the consistency (that was shown early).” – Elon head coach Rich Skrosky

How it happened: Elon forced Charlotte in to a three-and-out to start the game only to see the 49ers down the punt inside the Phoenix’s one-yard line. The maroon and gold promptly put together a 12-play, 99-yard drive that ended when Brandon Gentry ran it in from two yards out.

The 49ers were then forced in to three more consecutive punts in the first period and failed to gain a first down in the quarter.

On the first Charlotte drive of the second quarter, the 49ers started at their own 15 and marched 85 yards in 11 plays to tie the game on a Kevin Olsen 12-yard pass to T.L. Ford II. The key play of the drive came when Olsen hit Austin Duke for a gain of 19 on a third-and-16 to move the chains.

Elon’s ensuing drive came to an end on the fourth play when Kendrick Davis intercepted a Daniel Thompsonpass. Six plays later, Charlotte grabbed the lead for good as Olsen lofted a one-yard pass to Kyle Hoffman. The PAT failed and the 49ers led 13-7 with just over 4:30 left in the first half. Charlotte would tack on one final first-half touchdown to take a 20-7 lead in to halftime.

The final Phoenix score capped a seven-play, 68-yard drive as Thompson ran it in from six yards out with 6:53 to play.

Stat Leaders:
Rushing
Elon – Brandon Gentry (9 carries, 56 yards, 1 TD)
Charlotte – Ben Lemay (5 carries, 79 yards)

Passing
Elon – Daniel Thompson (29-50, 322 yards)
Charlotte – Kevin Olsen (19-25, 155 yards, 3 TD)

Receiving
Elon – Cole Taylor (6 receptions, 67 yards)
Charlotte – T.L. Ford II (6 receptions, 64 yards, 1 TD)

Defense
Elon – Khalil Moore (7 total tackles)
Charlotte – Nick Cook (12 total tackles)

Noteworthy: Thompson set career highs with 29 completions, 50 passing attempts and 322 passing yards… It marked the first 300-yard passing game of Thompson’s career… The true freshman trio of Taylor, Jeremiah Bridges and De’Sean McNair combined to catch 16 passes for 222 yards… Elon is now 1-1 all-time against Charlotte.

Up Next: Elon will return to Rhodes Stadium to host Fayetteville State in a 6 p.m. game next Saturday. At halftime, Elon will recognize its newest members of the Elon Sports Hall of Fame.