ELON, N.C. – Courage defined the play on both sides of the ball for the Elon University football team on Saturday as the Phoenix combined a calculated offensive game plan and strong defensive effort to secure a 14-6 upset win over No. 5/4 William & Mary.

"Our players, our coaches, we played to win it," head coach Tony Trisciani said. "I am really proud of the courage that we had and the way we stepped up."

In front of 12,705 fans, the third-most in Rhodes Stadium history, Elon secured its second win in program history against a top-five ranked opponent and did so in comeback fashion. 

???????? ???????? ?????? ?????? ???? ?????????? ???? ?????????????? ??????????????
2018 - 27-24, at #2 James Madison
??Today - 14-3, vs. #5 William & Mary??
2017 - 36-33, at #6 Richmond
2007 - 24-13, at #6 Wofford
2016 - 27-10, at #8 William & Mary#AED

— Elon Football (@ElonFootball) September 30, 2023

The Tribe had begun the season at an incredible pace, entering the afternoon as the only 4-0 team left in the FCS. The William & Mary defense had not allowed an offensive touchdown in three straight outings.

"There was a lot of adversity out there," Trisciani said. "There wasn't a lot going our way, and our guys just kept playing and overcoming it."

After going scoreless through the first three quarters, the Elon offense came together at the perfect time. Two minutes into the fourth quarter, quarterback Matthew Downing found receiver Chandler Brayboy in the corner of the endzone to take the lead for the Phoenix.

??TOUCHDOWN??

The Phoenix take the lead in the 4th!#AED pic.twitter.com/TsXVvqtwsr

— Elon Football (@ElonFootball) September 30, 2023

Following another defensive stop, Downing found Brayboy again on the next drive for a 76-yard completion. Dowing would seal the drive with another passing touchdown, finding Jamerian Dalton to put Elon up 14-6.

"Chandler, he's been here a while. He's a big-time player, he's really fast," Downing said. "We saw an opportunity where we might be able to get them on third and short. Coach trusted us, he called it and we executed."

On a critical fourth down later in the quarter, William & Mary was 12 yards away from potentially tying the contest with a little over a minute remaining. Jaidyn Denis, who hauled in an interception earlier, became the game's hero when he took flight to bring down the Tribe's quarterback short of the first down marker and force a turnover on downs.

"You've got to fight to keep them out of the endzone," Denis said. "Every player who's out there, I was telling… give it your all. Eventually, they're going to lay down, and that's exactly what they did."

?? THAT'S GAME ??#AED pic.twitter.com/VjmNEW4gFD

— Elon Football (@ElonFootball) September 30, 2023

Elon's bravery in the face of adversity has helped the Phoenix climb back from starting the season at 0-2 to now sitting alone atop the CAA standings.

"These guys believe in each other and the game was not an accident today," Trisciani said. "They prepared for it every day of the week. It was all about today."

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'Rising Phoenix' is a new student-led initiative to cover Elon Athletics. Through innovative content creation and storytelling, Elon University students will have the opportunity to highlight the moments, people and events that make an impact, leveraging the athletic department's various web and social media platforms for distribution. Follow Rising Phoenix on Twitter (@EURisingPhoenix) and Instagram (@elonrisingphoenix). Interested in joining this initiative as a content creator (video, graphics, writing, storytelling, or more)? Contact Jacob Kisamore at jkisamore@elon.edu.

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