ELON, N.C. – Elon University football hosted its final scrimmage of the spring on Saturday, April 28, inside Rhodes Stadium. The scrimmage was open to the public and gave Phoenix fans a final chance to get an early look at the 2018 team in action.
 
The Phoenix played one half of football with two 15-minute quarters, which was then concluded with two drives of two-minute drills.
 
"I thought there was good competition out there and pretty good energy," said head coach Curt Cignetti. "The defense came out strong today. I thought defensively we played better than we did last scrimmage. I think there were too many penalties and missed opportunities on offense. Overall, I thought this was a good spring for us."
 
Owen Johnson scored the first points of the afternoon, nailing a 33-yard field goal to cap off a 64-yard drive on team's second possession of the day led by Jalen Greene. On the very next drive, Greene made a 16-yard completion to Corey Joyner, but Matt Baker came up with a stop on 3rd-and-1 to force a punt.
 
Davis Cheek came up with a 22-yard completion to Kortez Weeks on the next drive, but the defense came up big again to force another punt as Tristen Cox sacked Cheek for an 8-yard loss.
 
Early in the second quarter, T.J. Speight's sack on the second drive put the offense in a 3rd-and-long situation, which forced another call to special teams. On the next possession, Cole Coleman forced the first turnover of the day with an interception on a deep pass attempt.
 
On the ensuing drive, Cheek connected with Cole Taylor for a 36-yard completion to the 19-yard line, which set up Brelynd Cyphers' two-yard plunge for the first touchdown of the day.
 
The highlight of the afternoon was the defense coming up with a goal-line stop midway through the second quarter. During the stand, the defense got stops from Stephen Copeland and Chandler Estep, as well as Greg Liggs Jr.'s tackle to stop De'Sean McNair on fourth down.
 
Cyphers would cap off the day with a one-yard touchdown run during the final two-minute drill of the day.
 
"I think most guys improved, which is what you want from the spring," added Cignetti. "Schematically, we were able to look at a couple of things that will help us in the fall. So now we'll get ready to plug in the new faces in August, there will be more competition, we'll be a deeper football team, and that ought to make us a better team."