ELON, N.C. – The Elon University football team saw its upset bid versus No. 1 James Madison fall short on Saturday afternoon, March 6, as the Dukes scored 17 unanswered points in the second half to pull away with a 20-17 victory at Rhodes Stadium.
 
The Dukes improved to 3-0 overall and 1-0 in the conference standings as both teams opened CAA Football play. The Phoenix fell to 1-2 overall and 0-1 in league play.

"Close will never be good enough around here, but I am proud of the courage and effort  from our guys," said Elon head coach Tony Trisciani. "We had a good plan and put ourselves in position to win the football game. Our guys played with passion and went toe to toe with the No. 1 team in the country. When we watch the film, there will be a hand full of plays we will want back that could have changed the outcome of that football game. We needed to sustain drives in the second half and finish the game in all three phases."
 
The Rundown
Elon tacked on the first points of the game in the opening period as Skyler Davis connected on a 30-yard field goal with 8:22 left in the quarter.
 
The Phoenix expanded its lead to 10-0 with 12:38 left in the second quarter. JR Martin found Bryson Daughtry on a 31-yard pass in which the Charlotte, N.C., was able to extend to the pylon to give the Phoenix a double-digit lead.
 
After JMU narrowed the gap to 10-3 with a 34-yard field goal with 6:28 left in the half, Elon answered just before the end of the quarter to go back ahead by 14. McKinley Witherspoon found the endzone on a one-yard rushing touchdown with six seconds left in the half as Elon went into intermission with a 17-3 advantage.
 
The Dukes came out in the second half with a 35-yard field goal at the 5:06 mark in the third to trim its deficit to 17-6. Elon continued to hold the Dukes without a touchdown until the 12:22 mark in the fourth quarter when JMU's Antwane Well caught an 18-yard touchdown pass from Gage Moloney to cut the score to 17-13.
 
JMU took the lead nearly five minutes later in the fourth. The Dukes capitalized off a blocked punt before scoring on an eight-yard touchdown run by Percy Agyei-Obese with 7:34 left in the game.
 
Elon had the ball for one drive in the final seven minutes of action, but was forced into a three-and-out at the 5:59 mark. The Dukes took over on its own 48-yard line and ran out the clock to hold on for the 20-17 victory.
 
Notes
• Martin threw for 129 yards with a touchdown and an interception in his first career start. The true freshman was 12-for-26 in the game.
• The Phoenix scored its most point against the Dukes at Elon (17), then in its previous three games combined at Rhodes Stadium (13).
• Omar Rogers had his second interception of the season in the third quarter around the 12:35 mark.
• Hunter Stephenson had three punts downed inside the 20 in the game and had a 48.1 average on his seven kicks.
• Jalen Greene had three pass breakups and a forced fumble in the contest.
 
Up Next
The Phoenix welcomes Richmond to Rhodes Stadium next Saturday, March 13, for its second CAA Football contest. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.