The contest granted Pete Lembo his first victory as the head coach of the Phoenix (1-0) while snapping a 12-game winning streak at Brooks Stadium – dating back to the 2003 season – for the Chanticleers (0-1).
The victory marked Elon's first over a top-25 team since the Phoenix defeated No. 13 North Carolina A&T 13-0 on Sept. 23, 2000 at Aggie Stadium.
“I am really, really happy for our kids and for the entire Elon community right now,” Lembo said. “They deserve a night like this. They deserve to smile tonight and smile tomorrow and talk about it around the water cooler.”
Pope (pictered left) connected on 16 of his 27 passes with a pair of interceptions as the Phoenix amassed 331 yards of total offense, including 245 in the air. Coastal Carolina racked up 415 net yards, including 312 in the air.
On the Chanticleer 42-yard line with 11:54 to play in the first quarter, Elon freshman cornerback Karlos Sullivan intercepted a pass from Coastal Carolina senior quarterback Tyler Thigpen and returned it 23 yards to set up the game's first score.
Junior wide receiver Michael Mayers hauled in a 22-yard touchdown pass from Pope just 47 seconds later, putting the Phoenix (1-0) up 6-0.
A pair of field goals by Coastal Carolina senior kicker Josh Hoke knotted the score at 6-6 to close out the opening stanza. Hoke hit a 28-yarder at the 7:30 mark before converting a 33-yarder with 2:21 remaining.
Elon regained the advantage when sophomore wide receiver Bo Williamson took the ball and heaved it to red-shirt freshman wide receiver Terrell Hudgins for a 42-yard touchdown pass play and a 13-6 Phoenix edge with 14:51 to go in the second period.
With 4:49 left before halftime, sophomore kicker Andrew Wilcox capped an 11-play, 59-yard Phoenix drive with a 41-yard field goal to expand the Elon edge to 16-6. Hoke determined the 16-9 Phoenix halftime lead by making a 23-yard field goal with 2:50 remaining before the intermission.
After Phoenix sophomore tackle Tim Happer recovered a Thigpen fumble on the CCU 14-yard line, Elon began a drive that would fatten its lead to 23-9 on a one-yard touchdown run by Pope with 10:59 to play in the third quarter.
Hoke pulled the Chanticleers within 23-12 via his fourth field goal of the contest with 1:09 to go in the period. That 24-yarder concluded an eight-play, 73-yard Coastal Carolina drive.
In the fourth quarter, the Chanticleers drew within 23-20 when junior wide receiver Jerome Simpson snagged a five-yard throw from Thigpen with 6:45 left in the contest. Senior tight end Rodney Burgess grabbed a toss from Thigpen for the two-point conversion, ultimately determining the final score.
“It was exciting to see us overcome adversity,” Lembo said. “There were amazing highs and lows in this game. Our defense was very stingy in the red zone. We gave up some big plays, but we were able to hunker down and only give up some field goals. Those plays ended up being big.”
Phoenix senior All-American linebacker Chad Nkang paced all defenders with 13 total tackles, including 2.5 for a loss while Mayers led all receivers with 117 yards and a touchdown on eight catches. Last season, Mayers led the Southern Conference with 57.5 receiving yards per contest.
After hauling in 632 yards on 41 receptions last season, Mayers entered the contest needing just 68 more yards to become the 11th Elon player to reach 1,000 career receiving yards. For his career, Mayers has now hauled in 68 receptions for 1,059 yards – 15.6 yards per catch – and eight touchdowns.
Richard McGeorge (3,486 yards in 1966-69), Curtis Leary (1,707 yards in 1970-73), Rod Clark (1,535 yards in 1991-94), Arketa Banks (1,371 yards in 1999-2002), Steve Vargas (1,255 yards in 1979-1982), Joey Hackett (1,164 in 1979-1981), Jay Simmons (1,147 yards in 1981-84), Kelly Stanley (1,108 yards in 1981-83), Jessie Jones (1,107 yards in 1981-83) and Casey Beathard (1,080 yards in 1986-89) are the first 10 Elon players to reach 1,000 career receiving yards.
Thigpen finished with 312 aerial yards on 23-for-43 passing with a pair of interceptions and a touchdown toss. Burgess pulled down four receptions for 89 yards.
The Phoenix will take flight again at 6 p.m. next Saturday when Towson visits Rhodes Stadium for the Elon home opener. The Tigers (1-0) defeated visiting Morgan State by a 30-2 count Saturday evening at Unitas Stadium.
– ELON – Game Box Score
