#9 Elon Phoenix (2-1, 0-0) vs. New Hampshire Wildcats (0-3, 0-1)

Date | Time	Saturday, Sept. 29 | 1:30 p.m.
Location	Rhodes Stadium (Elon, N.C.)
Series Record	New Hampshire leads 4-0
Tickets	Buy Now
TV Coverage	Phoenix All-Access
Video Coverage	Watch Live
Live Stats	Live Stats
Radio Coverage	Phoenix All-Access | TuneIn App
Digital Game Program	Click Here
Game Notes	Elon Game Notes | UNH Game Notes | CAA Football Notes
Twitter	@ElonFootball | @ElonPhoenix

 

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ELON, N.C. – Fresh off jumping into the Top 10 this week, No. 9 Elon University football will welcome CAA Football-foe New Hampshire on Saturday, Sept. 29, for a 1:30 p.m. game inside Rhodes Stadium on Family Weekend for the university.

Fans can watch the game live on Phoenix All-Access with Taylor Durham and Brian Morris on the call. Phoenix fans can also listen to the game exclusively through Phoenix All-Access and on the TuneIn app. Links to listen live can be found by visiting elonphoenix.com/Live. Pregame coverage of Elon-New Hampshire is set to start at 12:30 p.m.

SATURDAY'S GAME IS...
-...the 970th in program history.
-...the 219th as a FCS program.
-...the fifth between Elon and New Hampshire.
-...the 98th home game for Elon inside Rhodes Stadium.

AN ELON WIN WOULD BE...
-...Elon's 505th in program history.
-...Elon's 93rd as a FCS program. 
-...Elon's first all-time over New Hampshire.
-...Curt Cignetti's 11th at Elon and 64th as head coach.
-...Elon's third-straight victory.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
8:30 a.m. – Parking lots open
11:00 a.m. – Phoenix Walk
12:00 p.m. – Ticket windows, bag check and gates open
12:00 p.m. – Phun Zone opens
1:15 p.m. – Fire of the Carolinas performs / National anthem
1:15 p.m. – Letterwinner's Lounge opens in the Walker Room of Alumni Field House
1:31 p.m. – Elon takes the field
1:35 p.m. – Kickoff of Elon vs. New Hampshire

BAG POLICY AT RHODES STADIUM    
Elon University has implemented a policy for bags entering Rhodes Stadium. All bags entering the stadium will be checked before fans reach the ticket booths at the facility. Multiple lines will be available and there will be specific lines for fans entering with no bags.

The following items will be prohibited from Rhodes Stadium:
-Weapons
-Explosives
-Alcoholic beverages
-Artificial noise makers
-Outside food and beverages
-Smoking and tobacco products
-E-cigarettes
-Umbrellas
-Containers or coolers
-Flags on poles
-Bicycles, skateboards or rollerblades
-Pets (except service animals with proper documentation)

FOOTBALL GAME DAY
-For more information on ticketing, parking and directions to Rhodes Stadium, please visit the Football Game Day web page.

GAME DAY PROGRAMS
-For the third-straight year, Elon will offer a digital game program that includes rosters, stats and video features. Make sure you are prepared for the game by utilizing the digital program.

WILL CALL TICKETS
-Fans who have already purchased tickets and are picked them up at Will Call can visit the Elon Ticket Office in Alumni Gym this weekend only to pick up tickets before the normally-scheduled pickup 90 minutes before kickoff. The ticket office will be in Alumni Gym on:
   -Friday, Sept. 28 from 2-6 p.m.
   -Saturday, Sept. 29 from 8-11 a.m.

SERIES HISTORY
-The Phoenix and Wildcats have met four times with each meeting coming over the course of Elon's tenure in the CAA going back to 2014.
-New Hampshire owns a 4-0 lead in the all-time series, but each of Elon's last two meetings with the Wildcats have been tight affairs. In 2016, New Hampshire won a 13-10 game at Rhodes Stadium on a Friday night after the game was forced to be altered with Hurricane Matthew approaching the state. In 2017, seventh-ranked Elon fell 16-6 to 16th-ranked New Hampshire in Durham, N.H.

NATIONAL RANKINGS
-Elon is No. 9 in this week's AFCA Coaches Poll and checks in at No. 11 in the STATS FCS Poll.
-Seven of the 12 CAA Football teams are ranked in the AFCA poll this week. 
-Entering this weekend's game Elon has now been ranked for 13 consecutive games going back to Sept. 30, 2017, when Elon hosted Albany at Rhodes Stadium.

LAST TIME OUT
-Davis Cheek threw two third-quarter touchdown passes and De'Sean McNair plunged two touchdown carries into the end zone Saturday night, Sept. 22, to help Elon rally from a 12-point deficit to win 31-22 at Charleston Southern.
-After allowing the Buccaneers 221 yards of offense in the first half, the Phoenix gave up just 43 yards in the second half. 
-Elon's third-quarter comeback started with Shamari Wingard returning a kickoff 39 yards to setup a 16-yard touchdown pass from Cheek to Malcolm Summers. On the ensuing kickoff, McNair stripped CSU's returner and Zack Monson jumped on the loose ball to set the Phoenix up with a drive McNair would cap with a three-yard touchdown run. To extend the lead, Cheek hit Corey Joyner in the end zone from 12 yards out to make it a nine-point advantage.
-All of Elon's second-half points came in a span of 6:47 after CSU took a 22-10 lead. 

ONE CAROLINA
-This weekend, Elon will be wearing One Carolina stickers on the back of its helmets.
-The helmet stickers are a symbol of solidarity and strength for North and South Carolina as the two states recover from damages caused by Hurricane Florence. 
-More than 20 college football programs across the two states wore the stickers last weekend and 10 more are scheduled to don them this weekend.

SUMMERS DAY AT THE BEACH
-Malcolm Summers 150 yards on 29 carries at Charleston Southern made him Elon's first 100-yard rusher of the season. 
-His 150 yards also marks the third-best total by a CAA Football ball carries to date this season. 

NO SOPHOMORE SLUMP HERE
-Davis Cheek has put together an impressive run in completing 31 of his last 41 passes over the course of Elon's last two games for 393 yards and two touchdowns with no turnovers. 
-In all, Cheek has completed 75.6 percent of his passes against FCS competition this season.

CAA HONORS
-After coming up with 11 tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and a pass breakup in the win over Furman, McAllister Ingram was named CAA Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 10.
-The 11 tackles set a new career high for the sophomore.
-On the second play of the game, Ingram stripped Furman quarterback Darren Grainger and Greg Liggs, Jr. recovered the fumble and took it 22 yards for the game-opening score.

DON'T MESS WITH MESSER
-Presented annually to the top defensive player at the FCS level, Warren Messer was named one of 25 players nationwide to the Buck Buchanan Watch List on Aug. 2.
-Messer was also named to a trio of All-America teams, earning first-team recognition from STATS, Athlon Sports and HERO Sports.
-In the season opener at USF, Messer had nine tackles - all solo - to lead the Phoenix defense. He also led the team with 11 tackles against Furman. 

PRESEASON SELECTIONS
-Linebacker Warren Messer and offensive lineman CJ Toogood were picked to the 2018 CAA Football Preseason All-Conference team in July.
-Messer was named First Team All-CAA Football after the 2018 season while picking up a pair of Second Team All-America honors after recording 114 tackles, including 11.0 for loss and 5.5 sacks.
-Toogood, a Second Team All-CAA Football selection a season ago, helped Elon's rushing attack finish fourth in the league and 56th in the nation with 164.5 rushing yards per game. Overall, Elon's O-line group helped the Phoenix rank fourth in the league with 23 sacks allowed.
-In the preseason poll, Elon was picked fifth and received one first-place vote. A year ago, the Phoenix was picked 11th and closed the season third while playing for a share of the CAA regular-season title on the final day of the regular campaign against No. 1 James Madison.

WATCH QB1
-Sophomore quarterback Davis Cheek was named to the CFPA FCS National Player of the Year Trophy Watch List on Aug. 20.
-The Matthews, N.C., native closed his 2017 rookie campaign as the CAA Football Offensive Rookie of the Year and was picked fifth in voting for the Jerry Rice Award, which is given annually to the top freshman at the FCS level. 

HEAD COACH CURT CIGNETTI
-Elon is under the leadership of Curt Cignetti who was named the program's 22nd head football coach on Dec. 31, 2016.
-The assistant coach/recruiting coordinator on Nick Saban's undefeated 2009 National Championship team at Alabama, Cignetti previously spent six seasons as the head coach at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, amassing a record of 53-17.
-Cignetti is the sixth man to guide the Phoenix since the program moved to Division I play for the 1999 season.

THE FAMILY BUSINESS
-Elon's second-year head coach Curt Cignetti grew up around football. His father Frank compiled a career 199-77-1 record as a collegiate head coach at West Virginia and IUP and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2013. His brother, Frank Jr., is currently the quarterbacks coach for the Green Bay Packers.

UP NEXT
-Heading back out on the road, Elon will take on second-ranked James Madison inside Bridgeforth Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 6, at 1:30 p.m. The game marks Family Weekend for the Dukes. James Madison will take on in-state rival Richmond this weekend before welcoming the Phoenix. This season, JMU is 3-1 with wins over Norfolk State, Robert Morris and William & Mary. It also took NC State to the wire, but fell 24-13 on Sept. 1 in Raleigh.