ELON, N.C. -- The second of six Elon football home games during the 2012 season will take place this Saturday when the Phoenix plays host to the West Virginia State Yellow Jackets in a 3 p.m. contest.  The first 1,000 students to enter through the student entrance will be given a pair of Elon sunglasses.

Elon will be holding Military Appreciation Day sponsored by Kangaroo Express and those showing a military ID can purchase tickets for $5 for them and their immediate family.

The radio broadcast will air live on WPCM 920 AM and at elonphoenix.com and the contest will also be streamed for free at elonphoenix.com.

Site: Elon, N.C.
Stadium: Rhodes Stadium
Surface: Natural Grass
Capacity: 11,250
Radio: WPCM 920 AM – David Hibbard (play-by-play) and Taylor Durham (color)
TV: None
Series: Elon leads 1-0

Gameday Central
Parking/Tailgate Information
Live Audio
Live Stats
Live Video
Game Notes

The Matchup
Elon and West Virginia State are meeting for just the second time ever.  The only other meeting was a 60-13 maroon and gold victory on Sept. 11, 1993 that was played at Burlington Memorial Stadium.

The Phoenix enters this game with a 1-1 record after cruising to a 34-14 victory over North Carolina Central a week ago.  The Yellow Jackets are also 1-1 after suffering a 77-0 defeat at the hands of North Carolina A&T last Saturday.

The Coaches
Elon: Jason Swepson (Boston College ‘92) is 6-7 and is in his second year as a head coach, both with the Phoenix.  Prior to becoming Elon’s head coach, Swepson spent 12 years as an assistant with Tom O’Brien at both Boston College and NC State.

West Virginia State: Earl Monroe (Miami) owns a 24-39 record in his seventh season as a collegiate head coach, all with the Yellow Jackets.

A Numbers Game
• 5 - Number of players who scored for the Phoenix in its 34-14 victory over North Carolina Central.  Aaron Mellette, Tracey Coppedge, Karl Bostick and Kierre Brown all scored TDs while Adam Shreiner had two field goals and four PATs.
• 18 - Pass attempts by Thomas Wilson, the fewest number of passing attempts for the QB in any of his 14 career starts.
• 95 - Receiving yards needed by senior Aaron Mellette to reach 3,000 yards for his career; Mellette led all of FCS with 1,639 receiving yards and 149.0 receiving yards per game in 2011.

It Happened on September 15
Elon Football: On Sept. 15, 1962, Elon claimed a 20-0 decision on the road over the Apprentice School to open the season.  The maroon and gold would finish the year with a 7-3 mark.

World Events: On Sept. 15, 1620, the Mayflower departed from Plymouth, England with 102 pilgrims.

Ties With This Week’s Opponent
• Both Elon offensive lineman Dennis Wagner and West Virginia State linebacker T.J. Austin attended Chancellor High in Fredericksburg, Va.

Elon vs. the WVIAC
Over the course of its 90+ football seasons, the maroon and gold has faced off with four current members of the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletics Conference.  Elon has gone 11-1 in those contests.  Elon is 8-1 vs. Concord and 1-0 against Shepherd, West Virginia State and West Virginia Wesleyan.

Firsts
In Elon’s 34-14 victory over North Carolina Central, both Tracey Coppedge and Karl Bostick scored the first touchdowns of their Elon career.  Defensively, David Wood and Akeem Langham both picked off the first passes of their careers.

No Need to Throw
Quarterback Thomas Wilson attempted all 18 of Elon’s passes in the win over North Carolina Central.  It was the fewest pass attempts for Wilson in his 14 career starts to that point.  The last time an Elon team attempted fewer than 18 passes in a game was Nov. 19, 2005, in a loss against Appalachian State.  In that game, the maroon and gold attempted just 14 passes and completed six.

Nesting at Home
Now in the 91st year of Elon’s program history, the Phoenix owns an all-time record of 483-399-18 (.547) – including a sizzling 176-84-3 (.674) in 52 seasons of home games at Burlington Memorial Stadium and a mark of 32-30 (.516) in its current home at Rhodes Stadium.  Since 2007, Elon has gone 20-8 (.714) in the confines of Rhodes Stadium.

Payton Watch
Senior wide out Aaron Mellette is one of the 20 FCS players on the initial watch list for the Walter Payton Award which is presented annually to the top player in the division.  Following a junior year in which he set a new Elon and Southern Conference record with 1,639 receiving yards, Mellette placed fifth in the voting for the Payton in 2011.  The maroon and gold has now had a player finish in the top 20 in the balloting for five consecutive seasons.

Mellette in SoCon Top 10
Now in his senior campaign, wide receiver Aaron Mellette ranks among the SoCon’s all-time career leaders in receptions, touchdown grabs and 100-yard receiving games.  Mellette currently sits fourth with 213 catches, fifth with 27 TD receptions, fifth with 15 100-yard receiving games and 10th with 2,905 receiving yards.

Sit Tight
Elon has been in a number of tightly contested games since 2010.  In fact, of the last 22 tilts, 10 have been decided by seven points or fewer.  The Phoenix has gone 6-4 in those games.

Air Attack
Over the past few years Elon has been known for its passing attack.  The Phoenix has ranked no lower than 23rd nationally in passing yards per game in each of the past six seasons and twice the maroon and gold was second nationally.  In that span, an Elon quarterback has thrown for 3,000 or more yards on four occasions.