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DURHAM, N.C. – Facing off with the North Carolina Central Eagles for the first time since 1996, the Elon Phoenix football team racked up 525 yards of total offense and overcame five turnovers on its way to a 23-22 victory at O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium on Saturday night. 

Coming up big for the Phoenix (2-1) was quarterback Thomas Wilson and wide receiver Aaron Mellette.  Wilson completed 34 of his 48 pass attempts for three touchdowns and a career-high 416 yards.  The 416 passing yards rank in a tie for 19th in Southern Conference history.  Mellette snared 16 passes for a career-best 237 yards and one score.

A great kickoff return of 60 yards by Andre Davis set Elon up in prime position on the opening drive of the game as the Phoenix started at the Central 30-yard line.  The Phoenix moved down to the Eagle 18 before the drive stalled with two incomplete passes forcing Adam Shreiner to come on for the 35-yard field goal for the lead.

Jonathan Nicely picked off a Wilson pass and brought it back to the Elon 15 to put the Eagles in prime position to take the lead.  The Phoenix defense stepped up and, after Chandler Wrightenberry broke up a third-down pass in the end zone, held Central (1-2) to a field goal from 30 yards out to tie the game with 5:02 left in the first quarter.

Elon’s first possession in the second quarter was a short one as the Phoenix went 83 yards on just three plays before scoring to take a 10-3 advantage with 11:08 to play in the first half.  The Phoenix started at its own 17 before #A.J. Harris# rushed for five yards.  A holding penalty on the next play moved Elon back to its own 12 before Wilson found Darrius McQueen on a crossing route.  The receiver turned on the jets to gain 23 yards to the Elon 35 before being brought down.  Wilson dropped back and went deep to Mellette on the next play.  The wide out stepped in front of a defensive back and made the grab, taking it to the house for a 65-yard TD.

The Eagles started the ensuing drive at its own 26 and marched 74 yards on eight plays to tie the score at 10.  Michael Johnson hit Geovonie Irvine for a 33-yard completion on the first play, moving into Elon territory at the 41.  On third-and-one Andre Clarke rushed for nine yards to the Elon 23 to keep the drive going.  Elon had Central in a third-and-15 before a defensive holding call gave the Eagles a first down at the Elon 18.  Two plays later, Johnson lofted a pass to the back left of the end zone where Demario Lackey made a diving grab to even the score.

Wilson tossed his second touchdown pass on the night on the next drive.  The quarterback rolled to his right to keep the play alive before firing a laser into the back of the end zone to Christian Dennis for a six-yard score, the first TD grab of Dennis’ Elon career.

The ensuing kickoff was returned 87 yards by Arthur Goforth to the Elon 12.  Elon stopped the first down rush for a loss of a yard before a false start penalty put the Eagles in a second-and-16 situation.  After a dropped pass in the end zone, Johnson found Irvine for an 18-yard score through the Elon defense.  Oleg Parent missed the PAT and the Phoenix maintained a one-point lead, 17-16, with 3:44 to play in the half.

Offensively, Elon dominated the first 30 minutes of play, amassing 308 total yards of offense compared to just 125 yards for the Eagles.  Wilson threw for 224 yards in the half, completing 17 of his 24 attempts while Mellette caught five balls for 138 yards.  Wilson has thrown for 200+ yards in the first half in back-to-back games and has three 200-yard games in his career.  Mellette’s 100-yard performance was his second this year and eighth of his career.

Clinging to a one-point lead mid-way through the fourth quarter, Wilson dropped back to throw on third-and-five from the Central 26.  The pass was high and tipped up in the air by McQueen before Tiron Guion intercepted the pass at the 25-yard line and brought it back 75 yards for the score.  The two-point try failed and the Eagles held a 22-17 lead with 7:17 to play.  It was the first time that the Eagles took the lead in the game.

Elon got the ball back at its own 36 and marched downfield on seven plays to reclaim its lead at 23-22 as Wilson hit Dennis for the second time in the game, this time from 27-yards out.  On the drive, Wilson found Mellette four times for a total of 23 yards on three completions.

N.C. Central returned the kick 28 yards and started at its own 47 with just over 4:30 left in the game.  The Eagles faced a fourth-and-three from the Elon 46 before Johnson ran for seven yards.  Central moved down to the Elon 36 where it faced a fourth-and-seven.  Johnson kept the Eagle hopes alive thanks to a 14-yard completion to Lackey at the Elon 22.  Three incomplete passes brought the kicker out for the field goal, but the snap was bobbled and the Phoenix took over on downs, sealing the victory.

Dennis concluded the game with six catches for 64 yards while McQueen grabbed six balls for 81 yards.

The Elon defense was led by Wrightenberry who totaled seven tackles (six solo) and broke up two passes.  Blake Thompson had six stops, including a sack and 1.5 tackles for a loss.  The Phoenix finished with three sacks and five quarterback hurries on the night.

Elon's five turnovers were the most by the maroon and gold since a six turnover game on October 9, 2004.

Central Johnson completed just 13-of-40 pass attempts for 153 yards and two scores.  Clarke ran 10 times for 30 yards.

The Phoenix returns home to Rhodes Stadium to begin Southern Conference play next weekend as Elon will play host to The Citadel for Family Weekend.  Kickoff is slated for 1:30 p.m.