ELON, N.C. – After seeing visiting Fayetteville State take advantage of a fumble to take a 3-0 lead, the Elon University football team reeled off 26 consecutive points to defeat the Broncos 26-3 at Rhodes Stadium on Saturday night.
With the victory, Elon improved to 1-2 on the season. FSU fell to 0-3. The three points surrendered by the Phoenix were the fewest allowed by Elon since a 56-0 win over Davidson to open the 2009 campaign.
Quotable: “It’s great to get a win, get these guys the validation of the hard work we’ve been putting in and get a fairly comfortable win. The miscues on the special teams… were obviously a concern. Great job by our defense to be able to hold that to three points. I wish we were a little bit more consistent on the offensive side, but to be able to get over 20 first downs again and stay on the field pretty good.” – Elon head coach Rich Skrosky
How it happened: After forcing Fayetteville State to punt on its first drive, the Phoenix was unable to secure the kick and the Broncos’ Eric Henderson recovered the muffed punt at the Elon 21-yard line. After moving to the Elon 16, FSU took a 3-0 lead as David Lamb’s 33-yard field goal sailed through the uprights with 8:01 to go in the first quarter.
The Phoenix answered with a 15-play drive that ate up 7:29 of game time to take a 7-3 edge on a Brandon Gentry two-yard rush. The drive started at the Elon 29 with Daniel Thompson connecting with Malcolm Summers for 11 yards. Summers would pick up another 14 yards on two carries before three consecutive totes by De’Sean McNair advanced the ball to the Broncos’ 37. Elon would face a fourth-and-four at the FSU 29 when Thompson induced the defense to jump offside to move the chains. An eight-yard pass to Demetrius Oliver set the Phoenix up at the one before Gentry plunged in two plays later to put the maroon and gold on top.
Two John Gallagher field goals, from 38 and 43 yards out, extended Elon’s lead to 13-3 at halftime. The drive that produced Gallagher’s first field goal was set up by the first career interception by Jack Williams. The defensive lineman dropped in to coverage and picked off the DeMarius Davis pass and brought it back 21 yards to the Elon 49-yard line. The drive for the second field goal started at the Elon 28 after Malcolm Galloway recorded his first career interception.
After forcing a three-and-out to start the second half, Elon got the ball back at its own 44-yard line for its first drive of the third quarter. The Phoenix needed six plays to go the 56 yards to score its second touchdown of the game. The first five plays of the drive were all runs, including dashes of 15 yards from Summers and 11 by Thompson. The lone pass was a 17-yard connection from Thompson to Jeremiah Bridges who was wide open in the end zone for his first collegiate score.
Gallagher added field goals of 44 and 29 yards in the final 15 minutes to complete the scoring.
Stat Leaders:
Rushing
Elon – Malcolm Summers (17 carries, 81 yards)
Fayetteville State – Stevie Green (16 carries, 45 yards)
Passing
Elon – Daniel Thompson (14-27, 173 yards, 1 TD)
Fayetteville State – DeMarius Davis (10-19, 59 yards)
Receiving
Elon – Brandon Gentry (4 receptions, 70 yards)
Fayetteville State – Gedari Liverman (4 receptions, 26 yards)
Defense
Elon – John Silas (9 total tackles)
Fayetteville State – Seth Johnson (11 total tackles, 2.0 TFL)
Noteworthy: Elon played 81 games in between the shutout of Davidson and Saturday’s bout with Fayetteville State… Gallagher matched his career high with four field goals made… John Silas’ nine tackles upped his career total to 301, the fifth-most in program history… Daniel Everett and Antwain Terry each recorded a sack for the maroon and gold… For the second straight week, Elon did not allow a first down in the first quarter.
Up Next: Elon opens CAA Football play at William & Mary next Saturday night. Game time is set for 7 p.m. in Williamsburg, Va. The contest will be televised on Comcast SportsNet.