ELON – The Elon University football team fought hard in its Homecoming clash against Villanova. The Phoenix traded blows with the Wildcats all game, with the lead changing hands three times in the second half alone. While Elon couldn't prevail in the ranked matchup, the maroon and gold has a lot to build off of as the team continues to move through conference play.
Coming into the week, Elon knew it needed to come out swinging against its consensus top-20 opponent. The Phoenix did that in just four plays, spurred by a 62-yard connection from redshirt freshman quarterback Landen Clark to sophomore wide receiver Isaiah Fuhrmann on third down. Sophomore running back TJ Thomas Jr. finished the drive off, bursting up the middle for an 8-yard touchdown run.
Elon controlled the first half, limiting Villanova to only a field goal as the Phoenix jumped out to a 14-3 lead. The defense came into the game on a 14-drive streak of keeping its opponent out of the endzone, and that unit, which has been the anchor of the team, played strong again. Their standout performer was sophomore cornerback Brycen Scott, who made an impressive pass breakup on fourth down on his first series and followed that up with several strong defensive plays on deep balls into the endzone. He also wasn't afraid to come up and match Villanova's physical run game, responding with several tackles and a bone crushing hit.
"Brycen Scott is a really good football player," head coach Tony Trisciani said. "I was impressed with him, especially early in the game, for the way he came downhill and wrapped up and tackled with physicality. He was making big boy tackles."
Elon's biggest emphasis on the defensive side was stopping the Wildcats rushing attack, and the Phoenix succeeded by limiting Villanova to only 3.5 yards per carry on the ground. The secondary stepped up by recording 44 of the team's 70 total tackles, with junior safety DJ James-Hamilton tying his career-high with a team-leading 13 total tackles.
"I think we did a good job stopping the run," Trisciani said. "When it comes to stopping the run, we're going to put as many players in the box as we can, and we're going to ask our back end to stand tall against the vertical passing game."
In the second half, Villanova picked up steam on both sides of the football, rattling off a couple touchdowns to take the lead 20-14. That was when the Phoenix returned to its roots on offense, relying on the backfield to move the football during one of the most important drives of the entire game. Clark connected with both Thomas Jr. and junior running back Jimmyll Williams on checkdowns that turned into explosive big plays, flipping the field and setting up the team in scoring position. Thomas Jr. then retook the lead, spinning off a defender and taking the ball into the endzone from two yards out for his second rushing touchdown of the day.
"Their defense started dropping a lot of people back to cover the top," Thomas Jr. said. "So it was taking what they were giving us underneath and making plays."
Even after surrendering the lead on a kickoff return touchdown the next series, the defense kept Elon in the game until the final whistle. James-Hamilton picked off the football on the two point conversion attempt, which allowed the defense to keep it within one score even after allowing a field goal on the following series. While Elon was able to move the ball downfield on its last drive with the clock ticking down, the Phoenix came up just short of a massive upset and come-from-behind victory.
Despite the loss, Trisciani felt optimistic about the rest of the team's schedule after seeing the way his team competed throughout the ballgame.
"We totally proved in those moments that we can play with anybody," Trisciani said. "Those were some big stops that kept it a one score game down in the red area. We've proven that we can make stops and sustain drives against a really good football team."
Elon's next test will be on the road this Saturday against William & Mary at 3:30 p.m.
'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 Sydney Spencer at sspencer9@elon.edu.
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