ELON, N.C. – Scott Riddle threw for 291 yards and two touchdowns and Andrew Wilcox converted three field goals as No. 8 Elon held off Samford – in its first Southern Conference football appearance – for a 23-17 victory Saturday afternoon in front of 11,149 fans – the second-largest crowd ever at Rhodes Stadium – during the Phoenix’s Family Weekend.
In a matchup of the league’s two newest members, Elon (4-1 overall, 2-0 SoCon) received a game-high 14 tackles and a pass breakup from Walker White and nine tackles, one sack, one TFL, one forced fumble and one interception for a 68-yard return from Terell Wilson – who now has four interceptions in his last four games – en route to fashioning its best start in nine seasons. The Phoenix opened the 1999 campaign at 5-0.
Wilson’s four picks on the season equal Elon’s best since officially joining the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision for the 1999 campaign. Dwayne Ijames (2003 and 2004), Anthony Harris (2004) and Chris Bland (2006) have each hauled in four interceptions in a season during the Phoenix’s FCS membership.
The FCS leader with 2.2 field goals made per contest, Wilcox put the Phoenix – winner of seven of its last nine home games – on the scoreboard first, sinking a 27-yard field goal in the first quarter. Jonathan Lowery hauled in a 16-yard touchdown pass from Dustin Taliaferro to give the Bulldogs (2-2, 0-1) the early 7-3 edge in the second stanza.
Elon regained the lead at 10-7 in the second period when Lance Camp pulled down a six-yard TD toss from Scott Riddle for his first career touchdown. The Phoenix stretched its advantage to 17-7 when Riddle connected with A.J. Harris on a 91-yard pass play for a touchdown – the second longest such play in the 87-year history of Elon football, just shy of the 96-yard pass play for a touchdown to Jessie Jones from Sam Fromhart in a 38-7 victory at Guilford on Sept. 17, 1983.
With two seconds to play in the second quarter, J.P. Fraites drilled a 33-yard field goal to draw the Bulldogs to within 17-10 at halftime. Samford went on to tie the score at 17-17 in the third period when Chris Evans punched in a touchdown on a two-yard run. A 35-yard field goal by Wilcox gave the Phoenix the lead for good in the third quarter and his 45-yard field goal in the fourth stanza determined the final margin.
“I never really felt like we got in sync,” Elon coach Pete Lembo said. “It seemed like it was two steps forward and one step back. The turnovers and some of the dropped balls and those things were frustrating. It seemed like everybody took their turn making a miscue or losing focus. It was just one of those days.”
Despite surrendering three interceptions, the Phoenix amassed 409 yards of total offense – 291 in the air and 118 on the ground – while holding the Bulldogs to 357 net yards – 183 in the air and 174 on the ground.
“First of all, Elon has a good football team,” Samford coach Pat Sullivan said. “I was proud of our guys. We had chances to make some plays, but we made too many mistakes we can't afford to make.”
Harris made three catches for a career-high and game-high 106 yards and one touchdown while Terrell Hudgins – the nation's second-leading receiver with 9.0 receptions per game – pulled down five receptions for 75 yards and Sean Jeffcoat snagged five catches for 74 yards for the Phoenix. Elon's Brandon Newsome rushed for 97 yards on 18 carries. Wilcox finished 3-for-4 in the field goal department and is 11-for-12 on the season. He also averaged 61.5 yards for his six kickoffs.
Taliaferro connected on 18 of his 29 passes with one interception for 183 yards and one touchdown while Riddle completed 18 of his 33 throws with three picks for 291 yards and two scores. Evans rushed for a game-high 118 yards and one touchdown. Bryce Smith led the Samford defense with 13 tackles.
Riddle has now successfully passed for over 200 yards in all 16 of his games throughout his career as the Phoenix signal caller, ranking him 10th among all-time SoCon leaders in that category. He has also thrown for over 300 yards in 11 contests during his career, ranking him second among all-time league leaders in that chart. His Elon-record 41 career touchdown passes rank him 11th in SoCon history. At 3,071 career receiving yards, Hudgins currently ranks fourth among the conference's all-time leaders.
Wilcox now ranks among the SoCon's all-time leaders in career points scored by kicking (sixth with 257), field goals attempted (tied for sixth with 69) and field goals made (tied for seventh with 48). Wilcox is the all-time Elon leader in field goals made in a game (five versus Georgia Southern last year and five at Georgia Southern this year), field goals made in a career (48), PAT kicks made in a game (tied with nine versus Presbyterian this year) and PAT kicks made in a season (50 last year).
Riddle is the all-time Elon and SoCon leader in passes attempted in a season (508 last year), passes completed in a game (41 at Wofford last year), passes completed in a season (346 last year), passing yards in a game (534 at Furman last year), passing yards in a season (3,817 total and 347.0 per game last year – also NCAA freshman records), touchdown passes in a season (31 last year – also an NCAA freshman record), touchdowns responsible for in a season (40 last year) and total offensive plays in a season (622 last year).
Riddle is the all-time Elon leader in passes completed in a career (463), touchdown passes in a career (41), touchdowns responsible for in a game (six versus Liberty and at Furman last year), total offense in a game (516 at Furman last year), total offense in a season (3,738 net yards and 339.8 per game last year – also NCAA freshman records) and total offensive plays in a game (67 versus Georgia Southern last year).
Riddle is also the all-time SoCon leader in pass completion percentage in a season (68.1 last year), overall games and consecutive games passing for at least 200 yards in a season (11 last year) and overall games and consecutive games passing for at least 300 yards in a season (nine last year), touchdown passes in a quarter (three versus Chattanooga last year), consecutive games throwing a touchdown pass in a season (11 last year) and consecutive games throwing a touchdown pass in a career (16).
Hudgins is the all-time Elon and SoCon leader in receptions for both a season (117 last year) and a career (231). He is the all-time Elon leader in receptions in a game (16 versus Liberty and at Furman last year), receiving yards in season (1,474 last year), touchdown receptions in a game (four versus Liberty last year) and touchdown receptions in a season (18 last year).
Hudgins is also the all-time SoCon leader in touchdown receptions in a career (29), games receiving for at least 100 yards in a season (seven last year) and consecutive games receiving for at least 100 yards in a season (five last year). Last season, Hudgins and former teammate Michael Mayers set the NCAA single-season record for the most receptions by two teammates (207) as well as the SoCon single-season record for the most receiving yards by two teammates (2,538).
No. 16 Furman visits Rhodes Stadium for a 1:30 p.m. meeting with the Phoenix next Saturday. The Bulldogs visit Western Carolina at 1 p.m. that same day.
–ELON–
