ELON, N.C. –  The No. 25 Elon University football team had its eight-game home winning streak snapped Saturday as the Phoenix fell 34-23 against the No. 11/14 North Carolina Central Eagles. 

With the loss, Elon is now 3-3 on the season while NC Central improves to 5-1. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
 

• Elon scored the game's first 10 points in the opening quarter. Matthew Downing capped off Elon's opening drive with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Bonner, his third receiving score of the season. Jack Berkowitz tacked on a 43-yard field goal on the next Phoenix drive to make the score 10-0. 
• The Eagles roared back in the second quarter, scoring 21 unanswered points to take the halftime lead. NC Central scored a touchdown with 20 seconds left to take a 21-10 advantage to the locker room. 
• A Downing interception on the opening drive of the third quarter set the Eagles up in Elon territory. Five plays later, NC Central quarterback Davius Richard punched it in from 11 yards out after keeping the ball on a reed option to stretch the lead to 28-10. 
• William Lankford took over at quarterback for Elon late in the third quarter and led a 14-play, 58-yard touchdown drive, capped by Lankford's first-career touchdown on a one-yard run early in the fourth. 
• The Eagles responded just over two minutes later, scoring a touchdown to go ahead 34-17. Justin Allen found Wayne Dixie III for a touchdown later in the fourth quarter but Elon could not draw closer than 34-23. 

NOTES AND STATS
 

• Three different Elon quarterbacks recorded a touchdown, with Justin Allen and Matthew Downing both tossing a score and William Lankford rushing for one. 
• Nine different Elon players caught at least one pass. Landyn Backey hauled in the first pass of his career for 32 yards in the first quarter. 
• Johncarlos Miller II paced the Phoenix with five catches and 82 yards, both season highs.
• Elon threw for a season-high 282 yards.
• Reigning CAA Defensive Player of the Week Caleb Curtain led the Phoenix with seven tackles while Bo Sanders and Jesse Powell II both added six. The six tackles for Powell II were a career best. 
• Marvin Pearson tied Elon's FCS record for career quarterback hurries with his 16th against the Eagles. Pearson is now level with Marcus Willoughby (2016-19). 
• Elon extended its streak of keeping opponents out of the end zone at home to 16 quarters before surrendering three touchdowns in the second. 
• The Phoenix was held without a sack as a team for the first time this season. 
• The loss is Elon's first at Rhodes Stadium since Nov. 6, 2021 against No. 10/13 Villanova. The Phoenix had beaten four ranked teams during its eight-game home winning streak.

UP NEXT
 

• Elon returns to the road next Saturday for a 1 p.m. game against Villanova.