Elon Knocks Off Concord To Give Swepson First Victory - WFMY News 2
ELON, N.C. - Elon head coach Jason Swepson got his first career victory on a beautiful night at Rhodes Stadium as the Phoenix posted a dominating 42-10 victory over the visiting Concord Mountain Lions on Saturday night. The Phoenix gained 400 yards of total offense and second-half scores included a blocked punt returned for a touchdown and a 99-yard interception return for another score.
Elon moves to 1-1 on the young season while Concord dropped to 0-2 overall.
The night featured many highlights including the retiring of former Phoenix quarterback Scott Riddle's number 16 jersey prior to kickoff. Elon also welcomed the 2011 Elon Sports Hall of Fame Class featuring Elliott Armstrong, Priscilla Awkard, Amy Williamson Harris and Mitch Rippy at halftime.
"Obviously I'm very excited about our first win," said Swepson. "We had a great week of practice to get this win. The kids new how important this game was. The good thing is, that when you can score on special teams and on defense, it's a good day. In the second half, our main focus was to run the ball on offense and stop the run on defense."
Elon received great field position when it received the opening kickoff as Andre Davis brought the kick back 26 yards to the Elon 38. The drive began with back-to-back eight-yard runs by Thomas Wilson and A.J. Harris to move into Concord territory. Elon picked up seven yards on its next three plays to face a fourth-and-three from the Concord 39 before Wilson dropped back and found Aaron Mellette for an eight-yard completion to keep the drive alive. Wilson quickly found Mellette again, this time for a 29-yard strike to set up a first-and-goal at the two. Two plays later, Wilson connected with Matt Eastman in the front left portion of the end zone as the Phoenix took a 7-0 lead less than four minutes into the contest.
On the first play of the second quarter, Wilson fired a pass to Davis who grabbed it for the first touchdown of his career. It was a six-yard strike as the Phoenix built a 14-0 advantage just four seconds into the second period. The Elon drive started at its own 43 after a Mountain Lion punt. After a nine-yard run by Harris, Wilson found Christian Dennis over the middle for another 16 yards to the Concord 32. The Phoenix moved the ball to the eight a few plays later when Wilson ran for seven yards on second-and-six. Two plays later Wilson found Davis for the score. The drive went 57 yards on eight plays and took 2:47 off the clock.
The next Phoenix possession started at its own 48-yard line. On the first play, Wilson went back to Davis who grabbed the pass for a 25-yard gain to the Concord 27. Mellette took a handoff on a reverse and raced for another Elon first down as he gained 12 yards. On third-and-five from the Mountain Lion 10, Wilson connected with Darrius McQueen for a first down at the five. On third-and-goal Wilson lobbed a pass into the back left corner of the end zone where Mellette leaped and came down with his second touchdown reception of the year as Elon's lead stretched to 21-0 with 9:35 left in the first half.
Andrew Gondor returned the ensuing kickoff 67 yards before Chandler Wrightenberry shoved him out at the Elon 22-yard line. The Mountain Lions got on the board with an 11-yard run by Kennedy with just under 9:00 to play in the half. The PAT made it a 21-7 game.
Dontay Taylor barreled through multiple Mountain Lion tacklers for Elon's fourth touchdown of the first half, this one a 21-yard run that capped a seven-play, 59-yard drive gave the Phoenix a 28-7 lead.
Concord was forced to punt on the opening drive of the second half after being pinned back at its own 17-yard line. Elon's Quinton Lightfoot knifed in through the protection to block the punt. Harris then snared the punt out of midair at the 11-yard line and brought it back for a touchdown to increase the Phoenix edge to 35-7.
A promising late third quarter drive for Concord began at its own 43. The Mountain Lions drove to the Elon nine before Olufemi Lamikanra's fourth-down sack stopped the drive.
After forcing the Phoenix to punt, Concord took possession at its own 10 yard line with 12:52 remaining in the game. On first-and-five after an Elon offside penalty, Kennedy ran for 17 yards out to the Mountain Lions' 32. Grossi connected with Randall Hawkins for a 37-yard strike on the next play to move all the way to the Elon 31. On third-and-three from the Elon 24, Grossi hit Hawkins for four yards to sustain the drive. On second-and-11, Jonathan Conner stepped in front of a Grossi pass and brought it back 99 yards for the touchdown. The return was the second-longest interception return in school history, falling one yard shy of the 100-yard return by Roosevelt Brooks against Mars Hill in 1991.
Concord tacked on its final three points with just 1:34 left in the game on John Scritchfield's 36-yard field goal.
Wilson finished the game with 22 completions on 27 pass attempts for 201 yards and three touchdowns. For the second consecutive game Taylor led the Phoenix in rushing. He rumbled for 75 yards and one score on 12 carries. All told, Elon rushed 39 times for 199 yards.
Grossi passed for 99 yards while completing 11 of his 25 passes. Kennedy toted the ball 22 times for 129 yards and a touchdown.
On defense, Elon's Gary Coates amassed eight total tackles, including six solo stops. He also had 1.5 tackles for a loss, forced a fumble and tallied one quarterback hurry. Lamikanra had two of the three Phoenix sacks with Tony Thompson claiming the other.
Elon will make the short trek down Interstate 40 next weekend to take on North Carolina Central in Durham, N.C. on Saturday night. Kick is set for 6 p.m.
Elon/WFMY News 2 Sports
11 Sep, 2011--
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