CULLOWHEE, N.C. -- Elon's Terrell Hudgins became the FCS career leader in receiving yards on a 44-yard grab on the first play from scrimmage and teammate
Brandon Newsome scored four touchdowns as the Phoenix knocked off the Western Carolina Catamounts 42-17 in Southern Conference football action on Saturday. With its victory, Elon improved to 8-1 for the first time since 1986 and to 6-0 in the SoCon for the first time ever. The Cats fell to 1-8, 1-6.
On Elon's first play of the game,
Scott Riddle found Hudgins for 44 yards to move the receiver past the legendary Jerry Rice as the FCS all-time leader in receiving yards. Rice racked up 4,693 yards while playing at Mississippi Valley State from 1981-84. Hudgins entered the day needing 34 yards to tie Rice's mark and finished the game with 153 yard receiving. The senior now has 4,812 receiving yards.
Newsome's four touchdown performance was a career-best and matched his career total entering the season. The junior finished with 159 all-purpose yards, 133 of those coming on the ground.
Head coach
Pete Lembo said of Western, "They've played every team in the league close so it's not like anybody thought they wouldn't come in here and compete."
On its second drive of the day, Elon marched 80 yards for a touchdown. The score came on a 26-yard run by Newsome and capped a nine-play drive that lasted 3:31. During the drive,
Jamal Shuman accounted for 43 yards, including a 19-yard dash on the first play of the drive.
Western Carolina responded with a seven-play, 72-yard drive to even the score at seven. The game-tying TD was a nine-yard pass from Zach Jaynes to Chris Everett. It was the first first quarter touchdown scored by the Catamounts this season. Of the 72 yards, 42 came on the ground against a Phoenix defense which came into the contest allowing just 74.0 yards per game on the ground.
Elon was forced to punt on its next drive, but Western's Josh Cockrell muffed the catch and the Phoenix's
Jordan Daniel recovered the ball at the Catamount 18. On second down, Newsome raced to the end zone for an 18-yard score to put Elon back on top, 14-7.
The Catamounts answered back yet again, driving 67 yards in just four plays and tied the game on a 35-yard pass from Jaynes to Marquel Pittman.
A 48-yard hookup from Riddle to Hudgins moved the Phoenix to the Catamount six yard line. Facing fourth and goal from the two, Elon went for it and Riddle found Hudgins in the corner of the end zone for the score, the 50th career TD grab for the senior. The score also gave Hudgins a touchdown reception in 32 games, equaling the mark set by Cal Poly's Ramses Barden (2005-08). The drive took 2:43 off the clock and covered 71 yards on seven plays.
The Elon defense came out fired up on the first series of the second half, forcing a three-and-out before the Phoenix offense drove 45 yards to move ahead 28-14 on a Shuman three-yard plunge.
After yet another Catamount three and out, Elon drove down for another TD by Newsome. This one came on a 35-yard scamper, Newsome's longest run of the season. The drive was just four plays, but took 2:05 off the clock.
Western added a 39-yard field goal from Blake Bostic to pull within 35-17 after the Cats drove 33 yards in 3:01.
Newsome found the end zone for the fourth time on the day when he raced in from 13 yards out to cap a 10-play, 62-yard Phoenix drive which upped Elon's edge to 42-17.
Along with Newsome and Hudgins, Elon received solid offensive performances from Riddle (20-of-26, 228 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions) and Shuman (15 carries for 87 yards and one touchdown). Hudgins tied his own SoCon record with his seventh 100-yard receiving game of the season while Newsome eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark for the fifth time in his career. The Phoenix offense converted seven of 15 third downs and was a perfect 3-for-3 on fourth down attempts.
Said Lembo, "I felt like there were times that we needed to take a few more risks and go for the reward."
Four Catamounts finished the day with double figure tackle totals led by Adrian McLeod's 16 stops and Chaz Jackson's 12 takedowns.
Jaynes ended the day with 140 passing yards and two scores while Michael Johnson ran for 116 yards on 16 carries to become the first 100-yard rusher allowed by Elon this season.
The Phoenix returns to Rhodes Stadium for its final home game of the regular season as Appalachian State visits for a 3 p.m. contest in a showdown of the league's two 6-0 teams.
-- ELON --