ELON, N.C. – With :11 seconds remaining on the game clock on Saturday afternoon, senior wide receiver
Onuma Dieke lined up on the left of the line of scrimmage at the 10-yard line with William & Mary clinging to a 36-33 lead. As head coach
Tony Trisciani drew up the deep ball, there was just enough time to run one last game-winning play before the Phoenix would have to attempt a field goal in an effort to force overtime.
Redshirt senior quarterback Matthew Downing caught the snap and dropped back, immediately looking left in the direction of Dieke streaking down the sideline. Dieke blew past the first Tribe defender with a double move and found open grass. Downing fired toward the 6'5" senior, and the William & Mary safety scrambled over as the football whizzed towards the back corner of the endzone.
"It was like a movie," Dieke said. "The ball was in the air for so long. It was like I was moving in slow motion. But what was really just going through my head was, 'Just make a play.'
"I've been practicing since spring ball and fall camp," Dieke added. "I was getting ready for these moments. Now when the ball was up there, I knew it was my time to make the play."
Dieke, recognizing the pigskin beelining towards him, sprang off two feet, went airborne and raised his hands to make the most important play of the game. As the football finally reached him, the senior wideout comfortably trapped it with both hands and then twisted his body to face the ground as he fell, dragging all 10 toes in the field of play.
"I've been praying to make that play for my team," Dieke said. "Just being able to be put in that position at that time, it was incredible."
Dieke, who transferred after his sophomore year from the University of Massachusetts, has hit his stride with the Phoenix. Saturday's game-winner was the first touchdown of his Elon career, and a premier moment in his football journey.
"Number one," Dieke said of where Saturday's game-winning touchdown ranks all-time for him. "Just with my whole college football journey, being at UMass, transferring here, just being in that position and being able to make that play for your team is not something a lot of people are able to talk about.
"Being in that position to actually come up clutch for my team, it's all God, and I just have to give Him praise just because I've been through a lot in my college journey," Dieke added.
The Phoenix will host Maine Saturday, Nov. 16 at 2 p.m. for the last home game of 2024. The final contest at Rhodes Stadium will also be its Senior Day when 21 players will be honored.
'Rising Phoenix' is a 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 X (@EURisingPhoenix) and Instagram (@elonrisingphoenix). Interested in joining this initiative as a content creator (video, graphics, writing, storytelling, or more)? Contact Chase Strawser at cstrawser@elon.edu.
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