Newark, Del. – It only took one play from an unlikely source. Kickoff specialist Jake Marion set the tone for Saturday's football game against No. 5 Delaware on the opening kickoff, forcing a fumble that was recovered by teammate Cornell Hendrick Jr. For most of the rest of the game, Elon stayed a step ahead of the Blue Hens in a 33-27 victory that sent the top of the CAA Football standings in turmoil.
 
Elon moves into a tie with Delaware and three other teams atop the league standings. Along with Richmond, UAlbany and Villanova, the Phoenix sit in a five-way tie with just two games remaining in the regular season. Now 5-4 overall and 5-1 in CAA Football play, Elon will play at Richmond in a week. Delaware falls to 7-2 overall and now 5-1 in the league standings.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• After Marion's forced fumble, Jack Berkowitz kicked the first of his four field goals to give Elon an early 3-0 lead.
• Delaware took a short-lived 7-3 lead on a touchdown midway through the first quarter but Matthew Downing hit Chandler Brayboy on a 65-yard strike late in the stanza for a 10-7 lead.
• The Blue Hens then went ahead early in the second quarter on a touchdown but missed the extra point for a 13-10 advantage. Downing then had his second long touchdown pass of the game, a 70-yarder to Johncarlos Miller II, for a 17-13 lead.
• Berkowitz made a 42-yard field goal with 1:07 left in the half for a 20-13 halftime lead.
• Elon built a 27-13 lead on the first drive of the second half as Downing found Jordan Bonner on a 29-yard touchdown.
• Delaware got back within a score on a touchdown midway through the third, but Berkowitz hit a 37-yard field goal early in the fourth for a 30-20 lead.
• Berkowitz then connected on a career-long 44-yard field goal for a 33-20 advantage with 10:27 to go.
• As time ran thin, Delaware scored with 3:27 to go to get to within six at 33-27.
• The Blue Hens forced a three-and-out and got the ball back with 2:55 left. Delaware drove into the Elon red zone, but the Blue Hens put the ball on the turf and Marco Patierno recovered the ball. Elon went into victory formation to seal the game.

 
NOTES AND STATS

• Following the Jake Marion forced fumble on the opening play of the game, Onuma Dieke had a career-long 30-yard reception on the next play. Dieke had just 16 yards receiving entering the game.
• After going 4-for-4 on field goals, true freshman kicker Jack Berkowitz is now 10-for-13 for the year.
• Johncarlos Miller II had five catches for 101 yards and a touchdown. The 101 yards receiving is the most in the program's FCS history by a tight end. His 382 receiving yards this season are also the most in a single-season by a tight end.
• Elon had four quarterback sacks in the contest. The Phoenix is 11-1 in the Tony Trisciani era when recording 4+ sacks in a game.
• The Elon defense held Delaware to 71 yards rushing. The Phoenix improved to 11-1 in the Tony Trisciani era when holding an opponent to 100 yards rushing or fewer.
• Chandler Brayboy had a career-high 121 yards receiving on three catches. He also had 137 yards on four kick returns (34.3 per return) and 11 rushing yards. That total of 269 all-purpose yards was a career-high.
• Matthew Downing finished with a career-high 352 yards passing. He averaged 20.7 yards per completion.
• Caleb Curtain had a team-high nine tackles. He added a sack as well.
• Jaidyn Denis picked up his third interception of the season. He also had two pass break-ups.
• Cazeem Moore and Jake Marion both had forced fumbles, and Cornell Hendrick Jr. and Marco Patierno both earned fumble recoveries.
• Elon has now won three straight in the all-time series to even the team's record with Delaware at 3-3. It was Elon's first win at Delaware in three tries.
• Elon improved to 3-0 under Head Coach Tony Trisciani with two weeks to prepare for a regular season opponent. The Phoenix has won five straight overall on a bye week.
• Elon improved to 9-1 in its last 10 CAA Football games.
• The Phoenix is 5-1 in CAA Football play for the first time since 2017.
• The win is Elon's second over a ranked opponent this year (added to a win over then-No. 5 William & Mary). The Phoenix has beaten at least two ranked teams in each of the four fall seasons under Tony Trisciani. The victory marks Elon's ninth over a ranked opponent under Trisciani.
• Elon earned its third win over a top five FCS team in its program history. Two of those victories have come this year.

 
UP NEXT

• Elon will play at Richmond Saturday at 2 p.m. Both teams enter the contest at 5-1 in conference play, part of a five-way tie at the top of the conference standings.