ELON – The Elon University football team did not back down in its contest against the top-10 ranked Rhode Island Rams. Despite coming up short against the conference leaders, the Phoenix has a lot to hang its hat on as the team moves into the final stretch of the season.
Within the program, head coach Tony Trisciani and the coaching staff have placed an emphasis on the impact of "wefense," or special teams. Against Rhode Island, every group seemed to step up to the plate and knock their assignments out of the park.
Sophomore kicker Luke Barnes was first in the batting order. After the offense drove the ball down the field on its opening series, Barnes put the Phoenix on the board first with a 50-yard field goal, the longest of his career, with plenty of room to spare. Late in the game, he had his number called again for a crucial 41-yard kick to cut into the deficit. He drilled that one too, leaving him perfect on the season from 40 or more yards away.
"Luke's a talented kicker, and he's young," Trisciani said. "He's worked really hard with coach Noll and our specialists to develop his skills. He's got a big leg, and he's got a really bright future. When we get inside the 37 yardline, we know that he can make it."
Barnes wasn't the only special teamer to put points on the board for Elon, though. The home run play of the day came courtesy of junior defensive back and punt returner DJ James-Hamilton, who a caught a punt midway through the third quarter, made a cut and outran the entire Rhode Island coverage team down the sideline for a punt return touchdown, the first by an Elon player since 2013.
"We had a lot of emphasis this week on our special teams unit," James-Hamilton said. "They told me one cut and go, and I trusted that and got loose."
The specialists also channeled some special plays to help out Elon's defense. Redshirt senior punter Jeff Yurk, who is second in the FCS in average yards per punt, rattled off four kicks over 50 yards, including a 60-yard boot and a ball he pinned on the sideline at the 4-yardline. Redshirt senior kicker Jake Marion showed off his precision as well from the tee, pinning Rhode Island inside their own 10 yard line on their opening possession after placing his kickoff in the coffin corner of the field.
"I feel like we put it together a little more this week," James-Hamilton said. "Today, it was pretty good."
Several defensive players, both stars and newcomers, also made their presence felt over the course of the game. Leading the charge was sophomore defensive end Kahmari Brown, whose two sacks came up in some of the game's biggest moments. On a third down late in the first half, Brown beat the offensive tackle to the quarterback, coming up with a crucial sack that forced a punt and a buzzer-beating touchdown by Elon as time expired.
"Getting the sack on that third down near the goal line brought the team out," Brown said. "We were hyped playing the next snap, getting the ball back. We made a big play. I just feel like getting that play right there and boosted the team morale and got everybody ready to play."
The next time the Rams touched the football, Brown chased down the quarterback again, forcing a fourth down deep in Elon territory that kept Rhode Island out of the endzone.
"I knew that I had to do my job so I could make the play, or anybody else on the team could make the play," Brown said. "That just so happened to be me, and I was in the right spot at the right time."
Another standout performer was graduate defensive back Jevean Brown. Brown is one of the newest players on the team yet has quickly elevated himself through the ranks from special teams to a contributor on defense. His physicality wreaked havoc on the Rams offense in the second half, blowing up a screen pass on their first drive out of the half that nearly turned into a takeaway.
On the next drive, Brown blew up the opposing quarterback on a cornerback blitz, recording a sack and punching the ball out to force a fumble. Brown finished his career outing with ten total tackles, two tackles for loss, a pass breakup, a sack and a forced fumble.
"Jevean is a warrior," Trisciani said. "We ask a lot of Jevean Brown on special teams. He's on every unit. He's in our third down package. He does a lot. He's a really good football player."
Although Elon couldn't pull off the win against the 10th ranked Rams, a well-rounded performance from the wefense and strong individual efforts from some key defensive players helped keep the game close until the very end.
With two games left in the regular season, the focus has turned to finishing the year strong. The Phoenix will go back on the road this week to take on the Campbell Camels on Saturday at 2 p.m.
"We're going to do everything we can to come out next week and play the best football that we can play," Trisciani said. "We've got to stick together, play for each other and put it together for next week and get win number five."
'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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