Box Score
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- The Elon Phoenix football team earned its fifth win in the last six seasons over the Furman Paladins, but not before holding off a late comeback attempt in a 28-25 contest at Paladin Stadium.

With Elon (2-4, 1-1 Southern Conference) leading 28-18 with 12:30 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Paladins (2-3, 1-1) took over at their own six-yard line thanks to a 54-yard punt by David Petroni.  Furman then put together an 11-play, 94-yard drive to pull within three.  Duncan Fletcher started it off with a five-yard completion to Gary Robinson before Hank McCloud's seven-yard run moved the ball to the 18-yard line.  Later in the drive, a holding penalty forced Furman into a first-and-20, but completions of seven and six yards were followed by an eight yard run which kept the chains moving.  The Paladins moved the ball to the Elon 29 where Fletcher found McCloud in the flat for a touchdown pitch and catch.  The PAT made it a 28-25 contest with just over seven minutes to play.

Furman would get one last shot, taking over at its own eight after a Petroni punt with 3:10 showing on the game clock.  Facing a fourth-and-one at its own 32, Furman's Fletcher dropped back to pass, but found the hands of John Silas who knocked the ball to the turf, sealing the Phoenix victory.

"The defense made two stops there at the end," said Elon head coach Jason Swepson.  "Silas, what a player.  He told me earlier in the week that he was going to be good in this one, and boy, did it come true.  On offense, we were trying to take what the defense would give us.  I'm happy to get a win.  Petroni's two punts at the end helped seal the game."

After forcing an Elon punt, Furman began its first drive at its own 46-yard line and drove for the game's first score.  The Paladins covered the 54 yards in five plays and grabbed a 7-0 lead when Terry Robinson ran it in from 11 yards out with just under 10 minutes to play in the first quarter.

The Phoenix offense answered with a scoring drive of its own and tied the game at seven thanks to a two-yard plunge from Karl Bostick.  The drive covered 69 yards that included a 31-yard dash by Tracey Coppedge that took the ball to the Furman 19-yard line on third-and-11.  On the next play, Mike Quinn threw in the direction of Ricky Brown in the end zone.  Brown was taken down on the play and the Phoenix earned a first-and-goal at the four thanks to the pass interference call.

On the ensuing Furman possession, the Paladins had a first-and-10 at their own 32 when Robinson's pass was picked off by Chandler Wrightenberry who shed potential tacklers to return the INT for a 33-yard touchdown.  John Gallagher's PAT put the maroon and gold in front 14-7 with 3:22 to play in the first quarter.  The last time that an Elon player returned an interception for a score came was Nov. 12, 2011 when linebacker Joshua Jones returned a pick 40 yards also at Furman.

After a Paladin field goal made it a 14-10 game, Elon faced a third-and-eight at its own 27 when Quinn scrambled to his right and lofted and pass deep down the Phoenix sideline where a wide open Rasaun Rorie hauled in the toss and took it in for a 73-yard touchdown and a 21-10 Elon lead.

Jay Brown intercepted the first pass of his career, as he picked off Fletcher to set Elon up at the Furman 35-yard line.  Three plays later, Elon found the end zone for the fourth time in the half as Bostick ran it in from eight yards out to make it a 28-10 contest, an edge that would carry into halftime.

Furman forced an Elon fumble and took over at its own 17-yard line and proceeded to drive 83 yards in 10 plays for a touchdown by McCloud.  The Paladins went for two and Fletcher was flushed from the pocket, but managed to just get the ball across the goal line to make it a 10-point games with just 51 seconds left in the third quarter.

Silas led all players with a career-best 12 total tackles (nine solo stops), 1.5 sacks and two pass breakups.  The Phoenix, which had recorded just two sacks on the season entering the day, brought down the Furman quarterback three times in the victory.  The defense also posted two interceptions, doubling its season total.

Offensively, Rorie notched the first 100-yard receiving game of his career, finishing with three receptions for 112 yards and a TD.  Bostick found the end zone twice during his 19-carry, 67-yard effort on the ground as the maroon and gold ran for 134 yards, the first time since Sept. 2011 that the program has rushed for over 100 yards in three consecutive outings.  Quinn completed 11 of his 17 passes for 175 yards and one score.

Elon will return to the Upstate of South Carolina again next weekend to take on the Wofford Terriers in a 1:30 p.m. contest.