ELON, NC – True freshman quarterback Anthony Crews scored his first two college touchdowns as Elon downed East Tennessee State 14-0 Saturday afternoon in the first official Southern Conference football game ever held at Rhodes Stadium.
For the Phoenix (2-2, 1-1), the contest marked the first league victory since joining the Southern Conference this year and the second win overall in as many weeks. It also represented the 800th game in Elon’s 82-year-old football history.
Elon improved its record to an all-time 436-346-18 (.556) ledger in front of a Family Weekend crowd of 8,353 fans. The Phoenix football program – best known for back-to-back NAIA Division I national titles in 1980 and 1981 – has a 24-24 mark during its five NCAA-IAA seasons so far.
“We’re proud of our university and very proud of our football tradition here,” said Phoenix coach Al Seagraves. “We wanted to win this one for everyone who attends Elon and for everyone who has ever attended Elon.”
The defensive battle saw East Tennessee State (2-2, 0-1) muster 246 net yards of total offense (102 rushing, 144 passing) while Elon tallied 227 net yards (182 rushing, 45 passing). Each team booted eight punts to tie the Rhodes Stadium single-game record set by Johnson C. Smith last season.
The Phoenix received key defensive performances from linebackers Eddie Bell (game-high 10 tackles, blocked punt) and Calvin Sutton (eight tackles, three TFL, pass deflection) and cornerback Jacobi Jones (eight tackles). The Elon offense was paced by halfback Rashaud Palmer (75 net rushing yards on 26 carries) and fullback Chad Nkang (54 net rushing yards on 10 carries).
The Buccaneer offense was led by quarterback Carl Meadows (38-14-0 passing for 144 yards) and tailback Gaven Varner (102 net rushing yards on 18 carries). The ETSU defense was keyed by linebackers Matt Palmer (nine tackles) and Mike Cornegay (seven tackles) and end Travis Williams (seven tackles).
“I give credit to their coaches,” said East Tennessee State coach Paul Hamilton. “They did a great job preparing their team for this game. You just can’t leave your defense on the field as long as we did (referring to Elon’s 32:54-27:06 edge in possession time).”
Midway through the second quarter, Bell blocked an Aaron Bass punt on the ETSU 25-yard-line that Elon’s Quinton Cox recovered on the ETSU four-yard-line. Crews put the Phoenix on the scoreboard via a one-yard quarterback keeper with 6:48 to play before halftime.
Crews scored again with 10:10 left in the third quarter. The Phoenix signal caller broke free for a 37-yard touchdown run that would eventually determine the game’s final score.
For the second-straight week, the Phoenix beat an opponent for the first time. Prior to this season, Elon was 0-4 against Hofstra – which the Phoenix defeated 25-23 on the road last week – and 0-2 versus the Buccaneers. Elon hosts North Carolina A&T at 6 p.m. next Saturday while ETSU hosts Western Carolina at 1 p.m.
— ELON — Game Box Score
