ELON, N.C. -- Elon will open its home portion of the 2011 football schedule on Saturday evening at 7 p.m. inside of Rhodes Stadium.  The Phoenix welcomes in the Mountain Lions of Concord University on Hall of Fame Weekend.  Elon will also retire the No. 16 jersey of former quarterback Scott Riddle prior to the game.

Site: Elon, N.C.
Stadium: Rhodes Stadium
Surface: Natural Grass
Capacity: 11,250
Radio: WPCM 920 AM – David Hibbard (play-by-play) and Taylor Durham (color)
TV: None
Series: Elon leads 7-1

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Game Notes

Did you Know?
• Elon has won its last two home openers, but is just 4-6 in its first game of the year in Rhodes Stadium.
• Wide receiver Aaron Mellette now has three consecutive 100-yard receiving games.
• Three of Elon’s meetings with Concord came in the NAIA playoffs, including maroon and gold victories in the program’s national championship seasons (1980 and 1981).
• Elon has had four consecutive winning seasons, a first for the program since a stretch of nine straight winning years from 1980-88.

Connections
• The Mountain Lions have eight players from North Carolina on their roster. Of the eight, two are from both Charlotte and Winston-Salem while one more is from High Point.
• Two Concord players are familiar with the Southern Conference. Receivers Dequan Coles (The Citadel) and Colton Cox (Western Carolina) are transfers from SoCon programs.

The Coaches
• Elon’s Jason Swepson is in his first season as a collegiate head coach. He is 0-1 for both his career and in his tenure with the Phoenix.
• Concord’s Garin Justice is also a first-year head coach. Justice is 0-1 in his career.

No. 16
Prior to the contest against Concord, the athletic department will retire the No. 16 jersey of former Phoenix quarterback Scott Riddle.

In his four seasons in the maroon and gold, Riddle passed for a SoCon record 13,264 yards and 105 touchdowns. The 2007 National Freshman of the Year concluded his career in 2010 as the holder of 41 NCAA, SoCon or Elon records. He notched three 400-plus yard passing games, including a SoCon-record 534-yard performance at Furman in 2007. Among his other league records are completions in a season (346 in 2007), consecutive games with a TD pass (22) and consecutive pass attempts without an interception (218).

Four Inducted Into Elon Sports Hall of Fame
Elon inducted four members into the Elon Sports Hall of Fame on Sept. 10. The 41st class included football player Elliott Armstrong, volleyball standout Priscilla Awkard, football player Mitch Rippy and women’s soccer player Amy Williamson.

Armstrong won all-league honors three times and was a team MVP between 1990-93. He rushed for 3,015 yards and 29 touchdowns. He also lettered in track three times.

Awkard helped Elon to a 117-29 overall record and a league mark of 30-5 from 1991-94. She holds Elon’s career record in both assists (3,939) and assists per game (8.6)

Rippy was a three-year letter-winner for Elon (1976-78) and left the program as the school’s holder of the record for career PATs (102). His 52-yard field goal against Gardner-Webb in 1977 is still the longest in school history.

Williamson lettered for Elon in 1992 and 1993, earning all-tournament, all-region and All-America honors in both seasons. In 43 career contests, she scored 35 goals and passed for 11 assists.

Notable Numbers From Vanderbilt
4 - Third-down conversions in 13 attempts allowed by Elon.

6 - Tackles for a loss by the Phoenix defense.

31 - Pass attempts for Elon which gained 240 yards.

37 - Rushing attempts for the Phoenix which gained a total of 83 net yards.

323 - Total offensive yards by the Phoenix, 14 yards more than the Vanderbilt offense.

With a Win...
...Elon would win its home opener for the third consecutive season.
...Elon would claim its 478th victory in program history.
...Elon would earn its 30th win in Rhodes Stadium.

Oh Captain, My Captain
At the start of preseason camp, the Elon players, coaches and support staff voted on the 2011 team captains. Selected were senior offensive linemen Rodney Austin and Ned Cuthbertson, senior linebacker Joshua Jones and junior defensive back Blake Thompson.

Rookie Coach
New Elon head coach Jason Swepson is the 20th coach in the history of the program. It is Swepson’s first head coaching job. Now in his 20th season as a collegiate coach, Swepson spent the previous four seasons as the running backs coach at North Carolina State.

Here is a look at how the 20 Elon coaches fared in their first campaigns at the helm of the maroon and gold:

Coach (Season) Record
Reddie Rowe (1909) 4-1
Jack Johnson (1919) 1-2
Frank Corboy (1920) 3-4
A.R. VanCleave (1926) 0-10
D.C. “Peahead” Walker (1927) 3-4-1
Horace Hendrickson (1937) 7-1
Hap Perry (1946) 4-5-1
James Mallory (1948) 4-5-1
Sid Varney (1953) 1-6-1
George Tucker (1960) 4-6
Gary Mattocks (1965) 2-8
“Red” Wilson (1967) 5-3-1
Jerry Tolley (1977) 9-2
Wright Anderson (1982) 7-3
Mackey Carden (1984) 7-3
Leon Hart (1989) 1-9
Al Seagraves (1996) 4-7
Paul Hamilton (2004) 3-8
Pete Lembo (2006) 5-6
Jason Swepson (2011) 0-1

Elon in Home Openers
Elon program has put together a record of 54-27 in games that are known to be home openers. Since moving to NCAA Division I play for the 1999 campaign, the maroon and gold has posted a 6-6 record in games to start the year.

Elon Against West Virginia
Elon has compiled a 12-1 record all-time against opponents from West Virginia. The maroon and gold is 7-1 against Concord, 2-0 when taking on Davis & Elkins and 1-0 against Shepherd, West Virginia State and West Virginia Wesleyan.

Opening Statement
A year ago Elon was definitely a first half team as the Phoenix outscored its opponents by a margin of 197-139, including 83-38 in the first quarter. Elon headed into halftime trailing in just three games in 2010.

A Tough Start
In 11 games in 2010, Elon allowed an opponent to score on its opening drive on just three occasions. The teams to accomplish it were Duke, Appalachian State and Chattanooga.

Mellette Catches Passes, Hauls in Honors
Junior wide receiver Aaron Mellette had a stellar performance against Vanderbilt. The Sanford, N.C. native caught 11 passes for 180 yards and a touchdown. He also carried twice for another 12 yards. For his efforts, Mellette was recognized as the co-National Wide Receiver of the Week by College Football Performance Awards.

Solid O
The Elon offense had a solid night in the opener at Vanderbilt. The Phoenix compiled 323 yards of total offense, besting the Commodores by 14 yards. Elon also held an edge in time of possession (35:30-24:30) on the night.

Elon converted five of its 16 third downs while Vanderbilt was just 4-or-13 on its third down tries.

Return to the End Zone
Senior running back Dontay Taylor scored the first touchdown of the season for the Phoenix, a one-yard plunge at Vanderbilt. The score ended a drought for Taylor who had last run into the end zone in a two-touchdown performance against Presbyterian on Sept. 13, 2008.

Home Cooking
In 2010, the Phoenix went 4-1 at Rhodes Stadium, outscoring its home foes 175-112 (35.0-22.4). Elon averaged 478.6 yards per game in Rhodes Stadium and allowed an average of 331.4 yards per game.

Since 2007, Elon has gone 17-5 (.773) in the confines of Rhodes Stadium.