GREENVILLE, S.C. — Skyler Davis made a pair of 50-plus-yard field goals – including one on the first drive of the game – but No. 12/15 Elon couldn't find the end zone and ultimately fell 31-6 to No. 11 Furman Saturday in the first round of the FCS playoffs.
 
With the loss, the Phoenix finishes the year with an 8-4 record. The Paladins, now 10-2, advance to face seventh-seeded Incarnate Word in the second round next Saturday.
 
THE RUNDOWN
 

• Elon received the opening kickoff and looked like it might go three-and-out after picking up just nine yards on its first three plays, but on fourth-and-1 at its own 34, the Phoenix executed a fake punt with a 2-yard run by the upback, Torrence Williams. McKay later scrambled for 24 yards on third-and-7, setting the stage for Davis to eventually make a 52-yard field for the first points of the game.
• After both teams traded three-and-outs on the next two possessions, Furman quickly marched down the field, seizing a 7-3 lead on a 30-yard touchdown pass by Tyler Huff to Ryan Miller. The six-play, 68-yard drive lasted just under two minutes.
• Looking to respond, the Phoenix used a 15-yard scramble by McKay and a 19-yard catch by Jordan Bonner to drive into Paladin territory. The promising drive, however, came to a disappointing end when McKay was stuffed for a 1-yard loss on fourth-and-1 at the Furman 26.
• The Paladins capitalized on the stop a few minutes later when Devin Abrams capped a 73-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown run, giving Furman a 14-3 lead with 14:33 left in the second quarter.
• Elon appeared set to cut into the Paladins' lead late in the second period, driving all the way down the Furman 8 thanks in large part to a 40-yard reception by Bryson Daughtry. But on fourth-and-3 at the 8, the Paladins snuffed out a fake field goal, tackling Davis as soon as he caught a lateral from the holder. That proved to be the last scoring chance for either team in the first half, and Furman entered halftime up 14-3.
• After both teams combined for 39 yards over the first four possessions of the second half, the Paladins looked like they might make it a three-score game as they drove all the way down to the Phoenix 5-yard line. The Elon defense buckled down, though, limiting Furman to a 24-yard field goal to stay within two touchdowns.
• On Elon's first play of the ensuing drive, McKay completed a 45-yard pass to Chandler Brayboy for what proved to be the Phoenix's longest play of the game. Any momentum it had was quickly lost, though, as the Paladins recovered a fumble on the next play.
• Still down 17-3, Elon trimmed the deficit to 11 points with a 51-yard field goal by Davis 21 seconds into the fourth quarter. The Phoenix, however, didn't get any closer, as Huff capped a 16-play, 75-yard drive that lasted 9:39 with a 9-yard rushing touchdown and Furman tacked on another touchdown late to put the game away.

 
NOTES AND STATS
 

• With his two makes Saturday, Davis finished the season with seven field goals of 51 yards or more.
• Davis' seven field goals of 50 yards or more tied the FCS single-season record, a record that had not been touched since 1987, when Western Carolina's Kirk Roach went 7-of-12 from distance. ULM's Jesse Garcia established the record by going 7-of-12 from 50-plus yards in 1983. Davis was 7-of-8 on the season.
• The Paladins held Elon to 77 rushing yards, tied for its fewest this season. Towson also limited the Phoenix to 77 yards on the ground on Oct. 8. It was only the second time Elon was below 120 yards in 2022.
• Furman's 251 rushing yards, meanwhile, were the most allowed by Elon this season.
• The Phoenix entered Saturday having allowed just 40 second-half points against FCS teams this season, but it surrendered 17 to the Paladins.
• Furman improves its all-time record against Elon to 13-8, including 2-0 in the FCS playoffs.
• Marcus Hillman had 10 tackles, including 2.0 for loss. That total gives him 18.5 tackles for loss on the season, the most since Chad Nkang also had 18.5 in 2005.
• Jalen Hampton finished his redshirt freshman season with 1,053 rushing yards; the most since John Taylor ran for 1,069 in 2004.
• Jeff Yurk averaged 49.2 yards on four punts and had one downed at the one-yard line. He finished the year with a school-record 44.1 average in 2022.
• Jamarian Hawkins had a career-best 11 tackles and Bryce Graves added nine.