CONWAY, S.C. – A strong defensive effort by the Elon Phoenix kept the maroon and gold nearly even with third-ranked Coastal Carolina on Saturday night, but the Chanticleers were able to pull away late in a 31-3 contest.

Elon (1-3) saw its defense force three turnovers as Chris Blair, Akeem Langham and Odell Benton all forced fumbles.

"We played a good football team," said Elon head coach Rich Skrosky. "They're the third-ranked team in the country for a reason. The thing that impresses me about them is they hit adversity, but they don't flinch. The effort of those guys (the defense) was very good."

Coastal Carolina (5-0) was first to score when De'Angelo Henderson ran it in from nine yards out midway through the first quarter. The Chants would tack on a field goal late in the first half and led 10-0 at the break.

The Phoenix pulled within a touchdown at 10-3 after John Gallagher's 19-yard field goal capped an eight-play, 32-yard drive early in the third quarter. 

It remained a 10-3 game until 2:24 left in the third period. At that point, Alex Ross lofted a 10-yard touchdown pass into the back corner of the end zone to Bruce Mapp to make it a 17-3 contest.

Coastal added two fourth-quarter scores to provide the final margin.

In the first half, the Phoenix defense forced the Chants into four punts and forced two fumbles on nine drives.

Jonathan Spain lead the maroon and gold with 10 total tackles, all solo stops. Blair added six tackles.

Offensively, Kierre Brown set a new career high with 125 receiving yards on five catches. Demitri Allison added five grabs for 76 yards. Mike Quinn threw for 232 yards while completing 20 of 37 pass attempts.

The Phoenix will return home to Rhodes Stadium next Saturday for its first-ever CAA Football game as the maroon and gold will welcome in fourth-ranked New Hampshire. Game time is set for 1:30 p.m. and it is Community Day.