Orono, Maine - With a 2-1 record on the road, Elon makes the long trip to Orono, Maine to face the Maine Black Bears Saturday at 12:00 p.m. The game can be seen on FloSports, while the audio broadcast from Taylor Durham and Matt Krause is available for free via The Varsity Network app.

Elon earned its 10th victory over a ranked opponent since 2016 with a 20-7 win at No. 22 Richmond Saturday. The victory gave the Phoenix a record of 2-3 overall and 1-1 in CAA play. Maine had the week off after falling to 1-3 overall (0-2 CAA) with a 41-14 loss to FBS Northern Illinois.

Following the win over Richmond, Elon earned three votes in the AFCA FCS Coaches' Top 25 poll. In total, eight CAA Football teams earned votes in the poll.

Elon and Maine have only played four times previously but the Black Bears have three victories, including a 31-17 win during the 2019 season. Elon's lone victory was a 27-22 win in 2015 in Orono.

Elon has trailed in all five contests this year but has recovered to win twice. A two-point loss to Wofford and a three-point defeat against William & Mary are keeping the Phoenix from a 4-1 start to the season.

TONY TRISCIANI IN YEAR THREE LEADING THE PHOENIX
• On Dec. 17, 2018, Tony Trisciani was named the 23rd head football coach in Elon history. In the fall of 2021, he is in his third season at the helm.
• While it is his third season as head coach, he is in his sixth year overall with the Phoenix, serving as the defensive coordinator in 2017 and 2018 before his elevation to the lead chair. In 2006, Trisciani coached the defensive backs and ran the special teams for Elon.

BUILDING STAFF CONSISTENCY
• While Tony Trisciani is in his third year leading the Elon football program, he is building consistency in the staff surrounding him.
• Associate Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator Drew Folmar begins his fifth consecutive season at Elon in the fall of 2021. Recruiting Coordinator/Running Backs Coach Clay Browning and Special Teams Coordinator/Outside Linebackers Coach Dillon Lucas also start their fifth seasons at Elon.
• Defensive Coordinator Billy Crocker, Offensive Line Coach Andy Marino and Defensive Line Coach Seth Payne have all been on Trisciani's staff throughout his head coaching tenure, beginning their third seasons. Wide Receivers Coach Chris Young and Special Teams Assistant Mike Nall are doing the same.
• The newest member of the coaching staff is former Elon All-American Warren Messer, who was hired just prior to the start of the season and will coach the cornerbacks.Tight Ends Coach Arketa Banks and Defensive Pass Game Coordinator/Safeties Coach Dovonte Edwards were hired during the summer following the 2021 spring campaign. Banks is a 2003 Elon graduate.

THE WEEK GONE BY: ELON DEFEATS NO. 22 RICHMOND ON THE ROAD
• Elon beat a ranked opponent for the tenth time since 2016, shutting out Richmond over the final 50+ minutes in a 20-7 road victory.
• After Richmond jumped out to a 7-0 lead, Elon scored the final 20 points and held the Spiders scoreless on three second-half drives inside the Elon five-yard line.
• Elon was +2 on turnovers, picking up a fumble (on a backwards pass) and getting an interception in the end zone. The Phoenix have now forced 12 turnovers on the season -- at least two in each of the first five games.

#AED, BUT ALSO R
• Coach Tony Trisciani's program is built on attitude, effort and discipline (#AED) but he may think about adding an R for resiliency after the start of the 2021 season.
• Elon has trailed in every game this year, falling behind by double digits in four of the five contests. Three times Elon has battled back from a deficit to take the lead, winning twice.
• In the season opener, Elon trailed 21-10 late in the second quarter and 21-13 at the break against Wofford. The Phoenix eventually took a 22-21 lead before losing to Wofford 24-22.
• In week two, Elon was behind 10-7 at the half and 17-7 in the third quarter. The Phoenix, though, scored 17 straight and held on for the 24-23 victory over Campbell.
• In week four, Elon was down 21-0 early to William & Mary but scored two late first-half touchdowns to get back within a score. The Tribe built the lead back to 27-14 but Elon closed to within three points twice in the fourth quarter before eventually succumbing 34-31.
• In week five, Richmond led 7-0 after the first quarter but Elon scored the final 20 points of the contest for a 20-7 win.

ELON VS. RANKED TEAMS
• Elon earned its tenth win against ranked teams since 2016 with Saturday's 20-7 win at No. 22 Richmond.
• In the spring, Elon dropped decisions against No. 1 James Madison 20-17 and No. 20 Richmond 31-17.
• Prior to the spring season, Elon closed the 2019 campaign with a 25-23 win at No. 19 Towson and went 2-2 against Top 25 teams that year.
• Elon has defeated at least one ranked team in five straight fall seasons and is 10-13 against ranked teams since 2016 (including the 2020-21 spring year). In fact, the team has won three of its last five games against ranked competition.

ELON RECEIVING VOTES
• For the first time in 2021, Elon is receiving votes in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25. The Phoenix earned three votes, the same number as the team it beat a week ago, Richmond.
• Elon reached as high as No. 24 in the rankings after winning the spring opener against Davidson. After a loss to Gardner-Webb in week two, the Phoenix did not return to the top 25.

CHEEK BACK TO LEAD THE OFFENSE
• After missing the 2020 season (spring of 2021), senior quarterback Davis Cheek has returned to the starting lineup for the 2021 season and is off to one of the best starts in the country.
• Cheek ranks 11th in the nation in passing yardage this year and 15th in passing yards per game.
• In the season opener, Cheek recorded his fourth career 300-yard passing game with 312 yards against Wofford. It was the first time he surpassed 300 yards since his freshman season in 2017. His 29 completions and 51 attempts were career highs.
• In the CAA Football opener against William & Mary, Cheek set a new career-high with 384 yards passing, tying for the 10th most in a single game in program history. He also moved into second place in career passing yards at Elon with the performance.
• Cheek now has 34 career starts, helped the Phoenix to FCS Playoff appearances in 2017 and 2018, and is ninth among active FCS quarterbacks with 7,011 career passing yards.
• Following a 197-yard effort in a win over Richmond, Cheek became just the second quarterback in program history with at least 7,000 career passing yards. He is also third in career touchdown passes (42), third in career passing attempts (960) and second in career completions (575). Cheek's 59.9 career completion percentage ranks third as well, as does his 131.9 career passing efficiency.

ALL HE DOES IS WIN, WIN, WIN
• Since stepping foot on campus in time for the 2017 season, quarterback Davis Cheek has made a huge impact on the Elon program.
• Elon went 2-9 in 2016 and immediately turned things around with an 8-4 season in 2017 that included a trip to the FCS Playoffs. Cheek started all 12 games during that freshman campaign.
• Starting with that 2017 season, Elon is 19-15 when Cheek is in the starting lineup but just 3-8 when he is not.

CHEEK EARNS HONORS
• Davis Cheek was named one of 26 quarterbacks in the country, at all levels, to begin the year on the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl preseason Big Board. He is one of just three non-FBS quarterbacks to join the elite group.
• Cheek is also a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy, given annually to one football player who combines academics, community service and on-field performance.

NO DOUBTING THOMAS
• Over the course of his four seasons at Elon, junior Jaylan Thomas has been a reliable and steady running back. But over the past two weeks, Thomas has become even more versatile and dynamic, posting at least 100 all-purpose yards in back-to-back contests.
• Thomas had a historic day two weeks ago against William & Mary. With 73 yards rushing and 70 yards receiving, he had the first 70/70 game in Elon's NCAA Division I history. He added a career-high eight catches and touchdowns both through the air and on the ground.
• Thomas followed that up with 53 yards rushing and 47 yards receiving Saturday in the win at Richmond. His most explosive play was a 43-yard screen pass that flipped the field.
• Thomas ranks sixth in Elon's FCS history with 1,759 career rushing yards, needing 154 more to pass De'Sean McNair (2016-19) to break into the top five. He is also seventh in career carries with 374.
• Thomas also has a penchant for finding paydirt, posting ten career rushing touchdowns. He is tied for tenth in the school's FCS history.
• In the win over Campbell, Thomas had a team-high 19 carries and added four receptions, just one shy of his career-high. Combined he had 93 yards on those 23 touches.
• Although he had just seven carries against App State, Thomas averaged 5.6 yards per carry, bolstered by a 28-yard scamper, the longest Elon rush of the day.

THE NO FLY ZONE
• Since moving into the starting lineup in week two, Shamari Wingard has been breaking up passes with regularity.
• Wingard has seven passes defended in the last four weeks, including an interception against William & Mary. He had three pass break-ups against Appalachian State.
• Wingard ranks 19th nationally and fourth in the CAA with 1.4 passes defended per contest this year.
• Elon's school record for pass break-ups in a season since moving to FCS is 11, accomplished three times. With one more PBU, Wingard would move into the top 10 in program history in a single season.

YOU WANT OFFENSE? YOU GOT IT
• Elon is averaging 376.6 yards of offense per game in 2021. If that holds up, it would be the most potent offense since the 2012 team averaged 382.9 yards of offense per contest.
• Elon set a season-high with 480 yards of offense against William & Mary. That was the highest single-game total for the Phoenix since compiling 481 against The Citadel on Sept. 7, 2019.
• The team had 426 yards of total offense in the week one game against Wofford, the best offensive output for Elon in a season opener since a 56-0 win over Davidson to kick off the 2009 campaign.

FOUR IS THE MAGIC NUMBER
• Elon averaged 4.1 yards per carry in the season opener against Wofford, going over the 4.0 yard average for the first time since the team's 26-23 win over Davidson in the 2021 spring opener. The Phoenix followed that up with a 4.4 yard per carry average against William & Mary.
• Elon averaged 6.9 yards per carry in that win a season ago (222 yards on 32 carries) and the squad has only won four times since 2018 when averaging less than 4.0 yards per rush.
• In total, Elon averaged 4.0 yards per carry or better in 11 of the team's last 15 wins.

GO-TO GUY
• Junior wide receiver Jackson Parham is having a break-out season, leading Elon in receiving and ranking in the top 30 in the country in receiving yards per game and receptions per game. He ranks in the top three in CAA Football in both as well.
• Parham had 147 yards receiving in 2019 and improved to 197 in six games during the spring campaign. But he has 414 yards receiving in just five games in 2021.
• Parham has had at least three catches and 57 yards receiving in each game this year. He had a career-best 10 receptions and 106 yards against William & Mary in the CAA opener.

NO WEEKS OFF
• Senior Kortez Weeks played in just three of Elon's six spring games but he has been impactful since being named third team All-CAA as a freshman in 2017.
• Weeks has had at least three receptions in every game this year, catching a season-high six passes against both Wofford and William & Mary.
• Weeks led the Phoenix with 60 catches for 709 yards as a freshman in 2017 and followed that up with 36 catches for 484 yards in 2018.
• In 2019, he again led the team with 43 receptions, totalling 412 yards. He had eight more catches in limited action in the spring.
• With 1,914 career receiving yards, Weeks has moved into sixth in school history, needing 63 more yards to pass Kierre Brown (2010-14) for fifth.
• Weeks' nine career receiving touchdowns ranks eighth in Elon's FCS history as well.

TURNING THEM OVER
• Elon continues to be one of the best teams in the country in forcing turnovers, dating back to the start of the 2019 season.
• In the first five weeks of the season, Elon has generated 12 turnovers, sixth-best in the country, and holds a +7 turnover margin, 12th nationally.
• The Phoenix is one of just four FCS teams to have generated at least two turnovers in every game this year. The other three -- Missouri State, Chattanooga, and Montana -- have only played four games.
• In 2019, Crocker's defense forced 21 turnovers and Elon was a CAA best +9 during the regular season.
• In 2020 (spring 2021), the defense again caused havoc, ranking in the top 10 nationally in fumbles recovered (7) and top 30 in total turnovers forced (11).
• Since Crocker began at Elon (the 2019-21 seasons together), the Phoenix lead CAA Football in turnover margin (+17, ahead of both James Madison and Delaware at +15) and are second in turnovers forced (44, behind only James Madison at 47).
• Tre'Von Jones has two fumble recoveries on the season and is one of 13 players nationwide to have done that. Omar Rogers and Jones have a team-high two interceptions as well, while Marcus Hillman and Cole Coleman each have two forced fumbles.

CAA FOOTBALL'S BEST
• Elon has earned two CAA Football Players of the Week during the fall of 2021.
• Tre'Von Jones was named Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 13 after recording nine tackles, an interception, a fumble recovery and a quarterback sack in a 24-23 win over Campbell.
• Cole Coleman picked up Defensive Player of the Week honors on Oct. 4 as he had eight tackles, a tackle for loss, and a pass break-up in Elon's 20-7 win at No. 22 Richmond.

ENOUGH FOOTBALLS FOR EVERYONE?
• On Saturday against Richmond, Davis Cheek connected with seven different receivers in the contest. Twelve different players have caught at least one pass through the first four weeks of the season, while five have caught at least ten passes.
• In 2021, Cheek has hit at least seven receivers in each of the five contests, and has reached as many as nine different receivers in a game.

THE 'SKY'LER IS THE LIMIT
• Junior kicker Skyler Davis has been one of the most consistent and reliable kickers in FCS football since starting his career at Elon in 2018.
• In the season opener, Davis made three field goals -- from distances of 39, 41 and 23 yards. He added a season-long 48-yarder at Richmond.
• Davis has made 42-of-59 field goals attempts in his career. He ranks fourth among all active FCS kickers in career field goals made.
• Prior to an uncharacteristic day in the CAA opener against William & Mary, Davis had connected on his last 13 attempts inside of 40 yards.
• In 2021, Davis is a perfect 8-for-8 on extra points and is 82-of-83 during his career.
• With 208 career points scored, Davis ranks sixth in Elon's FCS history in scoring.

YURK FILLING BIG SHOES
• True freshman Jeff Yurk is replacing one of the top punters in program history in Hunter Stephenson. Stephenson ranked second in program history with a 40.9 career punting average.
• In six punts against Wofford, Yurk made the most of his debut with a 42.2 yard per punt average.
• Yurk had a busy day at Appalachian State, punting eight times. He averaged 40.5 yards per punt and put all of his first four inside the 20 yard line. He added a 52-yarder later in the game.
• In Saturday's win at Richmond, Yurk averaged 41.2 yards on six punts, with a long of 48.
• For the season, Yurk is averaging 39.4 yards per punt, an average that would place him eighth in program history.

FIRST TIME STARTERS
• With 20 starters returning from the spring campaign, it was a virtual certainty that most of Elon's starting 22 would be veterans. However, five players have cracked the starting lineup for the first time in their careers.
• Freshman Nick Veloz earned his first career start in the season opener and also started in week two.
• Against Campbell, Elon opened in a two-running back set and freshman Malik Griffin picked up his first career start because of it.
• On the defensive line, freshman Josh Johnson picked up the first start of his young career as well.
• Against Appalachian State, true freshman offensive lineman Kevin Burkett and second-year freshman defensive back Jaidyn Denis both earned their first starts.
• Four of the five first-time starters are second-year freshmen, having played in the 2021 spring campaign without using a year of eligibility. Burkett is the only true freshman to get a start this year.

RESTING THE DEFENSE
• Elon has played complementary football through the first five weeks of the season, allowing the Phoenix defense to stay fresh throughout the game.
• Elon's average time of possession is 31:14 and the Phoenix have won the time of possession battle four times, holding onto the football for a season-best 32:53 against Appalachian State.
• In week one, Elon ran 17 more plays than Wofford, 79-62. In week two, the Phoenix ran 14 more plays than Campbell, 76-62. App State did run four more plays than Elon, but the Phoenix still had the time of possession advantage. In the CAA opener, Elon ran 17 more plays than William & Mary. Saturday, Richmond ran 15 more plays than Elon but the Phoenix still had the time of possession edge with 30:14.
• Elon held the time of possession advantage just one time in the abbreviated six-game spring campaign.
• The last time Elon held the ball for more than the 32:53 it did against App State came when the team had 36:11 in TOP against William & Mary on Nov. 2, 2019.

TO BE THE BEST, YOU'VE GOT TO BEAT THE BEST
• Elon's schedule is littered with teams recognized in the Stats Perform top 25 poll.
• The team's first ranked team came this past weekend when the Phoenix beat then-No. 22 Richmond for the program's tenth win over a ranked team since 2016.
• The team's first ranked team came this past weekend when the Phoenix beat then-No. 22 Richmond for the program's tenth win over a ranked team since 2016.
• New Hampshire, the current No. 22 team, will be in Rhodes Stadium Oct. 23, just a week before Elon plays at No. 3 James Madison.
• No. 11 Villanova visits Rhodes Stadium for Homecoming on Nov. 6 and Elon finishes the season by hosting No. 18 Rhode Island for Senior Day.

VERSATILE ATTACK
• Elon is the only team in FCS that returned a player in 2021 with 5,000 career passing yards, a player with 1,600 career receiving yards, and a player with 1,400 career rushing yards.
• Quarterback Davis Cheek entered the season with 5,624 career passing yards, wide receiver Kortez Weeks has 1,671 career receiving yards, and running back Jaylan Thomas has 1,483 career rushing yards.

BACK TO ONE DIVISION
• CAA Football returns to a one divisional lineup for the fall 2021 season.
• Due to COVID-19, the CAA had split the league into two divisions for the 2020 (spring 2021) season. Elon played in the four-team South Division in the spring, along with James Madison, Richmond, and William & Mary.