Elon Beats North Carolina A&T For Fourth Straight Win
from www.elonphoenix.com
Greensboro, N.C. – The Elon University Football team closed the 2024 season with a 31-21 win at North Carolina A&T Saturday. The Phoenix won for the fourth straight game and finished 2024 with a record of 6-6 overall, including 5-3 in CAA play.
Elon never trailed in the contest and led by as many as 24 points at 31-7 before a pair of Aggies touchdowns late. North Carolina A&T closed the year with a record of 1-11 overall and 0-8 in the CAA.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Elon and North Carolina A&T traded punts on their opening possessions and Elon then took over with 8:50 to go in the first quarter at their own 20. In five plays, Elon went 50 yards to the A&T 30. Matthew Downing found Jamarian Dalton on a crossing route for the 30-yard score and the 7-0 lead.
North Carolina A&T tied the score by converting on a fourth down try for a touchdown, but Elon answered back.
Defensive lineman Josh Johnson recovered a bad snap to give the Phoenix possession inside the A&T red zone. Luke Barnes connected on a 38-yard field goal for the 10-7 lead.
Elon closed the half with a 53-yard drive that resulted in a touchdown. Taking over with 3:25 to play in the second quarter, Chandler Brayboy kickstarted the drive with a 26-yard reception. The Elon offense chewed up clock by handing off to Rushawn Baker on five straight plays before Downing rushed up the middle from a yard out for the 17-7 halftime lead.
Elon went 10 plays for 78 yards and a touchdown on its first possession of the second half. The Phoenix had five plays of at least 10 yards and Julian Bumper punched it in for his first career touchdown as the Phoenix went ahead 24-7.
On North Carolina A&T’s next possession, the Aggies again had a bad snap, which was recovered by Asher Cunningham. Elon turned that turnover into more points when Downing found Brayboy for a five-yard touchdown and a 31-7 lead.
North Carolina A&T scored a late third quarter touchdown and added another with just 1:05 to play for the final 31-21 score.
NOTES AND STATS
Rushawn Baker surpassed 100 yards rushing for the fourth straight game. He carried the ball 23 times for 106 yards
Matthew Downing was 16-of-21 passing for 203 yards and two touchdowns
Chandler Brayboy had a career-high 12 catches for 118 yards and a touchdown. The 12 receptions were the most for an Elon player since Kortez Weeks had 14 against New Hampshire in 2018
Cazeem Moore had two sacks, a forced fumble and a quarterback hurry. He ended the season with a school-record 10 quarterback hurries
Khalil Baker had team-highs with five tackles and two pass break-ups
Elon was a +3 on turnover margin
Elon tied the program’s FCS record with 22 conference wins over a four-year stretch. The Phoenix has ended above .500 in CAA Football play in each of those seasons
Elon won its fourth straight regular season finale and fifth straight final game during a fall season (not including the spring 2021 COVID campaign)
Elon scored 152 points in its four-game win streak, an average of 38.0 points per game.
The Phoenix won for the second straight game against North Carolina A&T but the Aggies still lead the all-time series 8-6
With the win, Elon has four straight seasons with at least six regular season wins and five conference victories
Tony Trisciani’s career record improves to 32-31 all-time at Elon