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ELON, N.C. -- Elon seniors Scott Riddle, Sean Jeffcoat and Brandon Newsome capped their careers in the maroon and gold with stellar performances to lead the Phoenix to a 45-14 Southern Conference football victory over the visiting Western Carolina Catamounts from Rhodes Stadium on Saturday. The win gave Elon (6-5, 5-3 SoCon) four consecutive winning seasons for the first time since the program ran off nine straight winning years from 1980-88. The Phoenix ended the year with a four-game winning streak. Western Carolina finishes the year at 2-9, 1-7.

During his final game, Riddle passed for 452 yards and a career-high five touchdowns. He finishes his career with 13,264 passing yards, the fourth-highest total ever by an FCS quarterback. He also established a new SoCon record by throwing a touchdown pass in 22 consecutive games. Riddle concluded the 2010 campaign with 3,231 passing yards and became the first quarterback in the storied history of the Southern Conference to lead the league in passing for four straight seasons. Riddle extended his FCS career record for completions to 1,168.

Jeffcoat ended the day with seven receptions for a career-best 161 yards and a touchdown while Newsome rushed 14 times for 128 yards and another score. Jeffcoat’s 100-yard receiving day was the sixth of his career while Newsome’s 100-yard rushing game was his first of the season and the sixth of his career.

"I can't tell you how satisfying it is to have a game like this today where we played well in all three phases and played hard for 60 minutes," said Elon head coach Pete Lembo.  "We came out in the second half with just as much killer instinct as we did in the first.  I'm very happy for our team.  It was a great way to finish the season."

Elon was the first to put points on the board when Riddle found Lance Camp in the front corner of the end zone on a seven-yard pass with 5:58 to play in the first period. The drive needed to go only 45 yards after Elon forced a Western Carolina punt from deep in Catamount territory. On second-and-10, #A.J. Harris# reeled off a 14-yard run. On the next play, Riddle found Matt Eastman for a gain of 23 yards to the Western Carolina eight. Three plays later, Riddle drilled Camp with the scoring pass.

Elon’s first drive of the second quarter began at its own 13-yard line following a Catamount punt. On second-and-one, Riddle found Aaron Mellette for a gain of 25 yards before throwing deep to Jeffcoat for another 46 yards down to the Western seven. Riddle went back to Jeffcoat on the next play for the score, capping a four-play, 87-yard drive as the Phoenix went up 14-0 with 13:21 left in the first half.

After starting at its own 40 on the ensuing drive, Western Carolina got on the board with a one-yard run around the right end by Michael Johnson with 8:57 remaining in the second quarter. Johnson began the drive with two carries for 13 yards. On third-and-six from the Eon 43, Brindise threw to Deja Alexander for a gain of 10 to the Phoenix 33. After a false start penalty put the Catamounts in a second-and-eight, Brindise found Josh Cockrell for a 28-yard completion down to the Elon three. Two plays later Johnson punched in the score.

The Phoenix responded with another touchdown drive, this one ending when Riddle threw a 20-yard TD strike to Eastman with 7:11 on the clock. The drive was five plays and went 71 yards. All five plays were Riddle completions – gains of 10, 11, 16, 14 and 20 yards – as the senior quarterback went over 200 yards passing in the game as Elon’s lead stretched to 21-7.

Over the first 30 minutes of play, Riddle completed 19 of his 29 passes for 282 yards. It marked the 40th 200-yard passing game of the senior’s stellar career.

Elon got a 36-yard kickoff return by Camp to begin the second half and the Phoenix started its possession at its own 40. Newsome took the handoff and bolted 54 yards down the Elon sideline to get to the Western six. On the next play Riddle found Mellette wide open in the left side of the end zone for his fourth touchdown toss of the game. With the successful PAT, the Phoenix led 28-7 just 40 seconds into the second half.

After forcing another Catamount punt, Elon took over at its own 17. Newsome quickly gained 25 yards with a run that started up the middle and then went to the right hash. The Phoenix picked up 56 yards on the next play as Riddle found an open Jeffcoat deep down the middle of the field. Two plays later, Newsome took it in from two yards out to give Elon a 35-7 advantage with 11:14 to play in the third quarter.

Elon tacked on three points when Kenton Beal booted home a 31-yard field goal with 4:50 left in the third period. The drive covered 39 yards on eight plays. The longest play of the drive was a 19-yard rush by Newsome.

As the game moved to the fourth quarter, the Phoenix faced a second-and-seven from its own six. Newsome rushed for 10 yards and an Elon first down before Riddle completed a 17-yard pass to Jeffcoat. On the next play, Riddle lofted a 67-yard touchdown pass to Mellette as the Phoenix took a 45-7 lead. The TD throw was Riddle’s fifth of the game and moved him over 400 yards passing on the day – the third 400-yard passing game of his career. The throw would be the last of his career.

Western Carolina would tack on a touchdown with 1:39 remaining in the game when Taylor Spangler completed a five-yard pass to Matt Wabby to complete a five-play, 79-yard drive.

Elon ended the day with a season-high 643 yards of total offense, including 482 yards through the air. Along with Jeffcoat, Mellette posted a 100-yard receiving day by snaring nine balls for 153 yards and two touchdowns. Both Jeffcoat (1,025 yards) and Mellette (1,100 yards) finished the season with over 1,000 receiving yards.

The Phoenix defense allowed 358 total yards and saw Dale Riley record nine tackles. Brandon Wiggins finished the day with six tackles, including a sack, to conclude his career with 350 total tackles, the fourth-highest total in program history.

Western’s offense saw Brindise complete 15 passes for 168 yards. Cockrell led the Catamounts with six catches for 66 yards.