Spain conquering Elon all-time tackles list
Jonathan Spain is confident when it comes to sports.
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Jonathan Spain is confident when it comes to sports.
After picking up its first win of the season Sept. 20 against the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, the Elon University football team will head to South Carolina Sept. 27 to face No. 3 Coastal Carolina University.
While far from perfect, the Elon University football team showed a shifted mindset from past years in its 20-13 win against the University of North Carolina at Charlotte Sept. 20 at Rhodes Stadium. In past years, Elon would have found a way to lose but against the 49ers, the Phoenix instead found a way to win. The victory marked the first of the season for Elon and for head coach Rich Skrosky, who said after the game that this was a big one for his team. “[The players] needed that validation,” Skrosky said. “I think that’s the biggest thing, especially when you’re starting new, and you’re a new staff, and they’re under a new coach. You keep sending that same message, and sometimes if you don’t get that validation for a while with a ‘W,’ it starts to show.” On Sept. 13, Elon lost 17-12 to North Carolina A&T State University, squandering multiple opportunities to take control of the game. The Phoenix left the door open against the 49ers as well — throwing an interception and missing three field goals — but was able to lean on its defense to hold Charlotte’s final push and win the game. “Losing maximizes mistakes sometimes,” Skrosky said. “After last week’s game, everybody was like, ‘That might be the worst red-zone offense in the world.’ Winning minimizes mistakes, and we can’t let that be a problem with us. We have to make sure that we’re critiquing ourselves just as hard as we did last Sunday after a tough loss to [NC A&T].” Coming up big for the Phoenix were senior wide receiver Kierre Brown and senior linebacker Odell Benton. Brown hauled in 13 passes for 81 yards and two touchdowns while Benton had five tackles, a forced fumble and recovery, as well as an interception. “[Brown and Benton] were a big part of the leadership element, which is so important when you get into games like that — there’s going to be trust, there’s going to be confidence in that, ‘Hey, we’ve worked our tails off,’” Skrosky said. For veterans Brown and Benton, this win was one of, if not the most, rewarding of their careers. “That’s probably one of the best moments of my whole career,” Benton said. “Being out there on the field and seeing all 80-some guys running onto the field and seeing the happiness in everybody’s face. That was just a really great feeling, and I’ll never forget it. It was beautiful.” Winning is something that hasn’t been associated with Elon football in recent years, as the Phoenix was 5-18 over the past two seasons under head coach Jason Swepson. “It was great seeing the entire team show some type of enthusiasm and finally have that winning feeling,” Brown said, “Some guys haven’t come from winning programs in high school. They don’t really know how it feels to win. And to actually get that feeling for everybody is great.” Under Skrosky’s leadership, players who have played under both coaches have a different mentality. “Something that Coach Skrosky has come in and really instilled in us is we play for the community, and that’s something that we really haven’t — I personally haven’t — thought about, that is playing for something bigger than us,” Benton said. “We know that this is the foundation we’re setting. It definitely feels good for sure.” As with any football game, Skrosky said there are certain areas the Phoenix will need to examine and improve before Elon’s Sept. 27 game at Coastal Carolina University. But there is more to this season than wins and losses — it’s about building for the future. “It feels pretty good,” Brown said. “We got the win for Elon and for the program. With this win, I feel like it’s going to help change things around here and get on the right track.” Following the win, Skrosky mentioned many times how excited he was for the players. It was the definition of a team win, and he leaned on one of his common sayings to express it. “I’m so confident each and every day the program’s moving in the right direction,” he said. No matter the struggles a team goes through during a season or even in the years prior, there is nothing that winning can’t solve. “It’s a great feeling,” Brown said. “Winning is always the best feeling in the world, honestly.” And it’s a feeling that the Phoenix is trying to experience a little more often under Skrosky.
On Sept. 13 against North Carolina A&T State University, the Elon University football team found itself looking back on the mistakes it made in a 17-12 loss.
The Elon University football team, still seeking its first win of the 2014 campaign, will host the University of North Carolina at Charlotte Sept. 20 at Rhodes Stadium for Family Weekend.
Generally, if the kicker is the most impressive player on your football team in a game, it means something went wrong in the other offensive phases. That was the case Sept. 13 at Rhodes Stadium, where the Elon University football team took on North Carolina A&T State University. The Phoenix had multiple drives that stalled out deep in Aggie territory, leading to sophomore kicker John Gallagher booting a career-high four field goals in Elon’s 17-12 loss. The game was reminiscent of Elon’s season opener at Duke University Aug. 30, when the Phoenix had many of the same issues on offense. “One thing for us was trying to score,” said junior wide receiver Andre Davis heading into Saturday’s game. “It was a lot of times we had drives that ended up stalling because of a drop, or someone didn’t execute a block, so just trying to execute and score more points can take a lot of pressure off the defense.” After the game, Davis noted the similarities between the team’s performances in the two games. “We just didn’t execute the way that I think we should or could have been able to execute,” Davis said. “Pretty much the same thing, just execution.” Against Duke, the Elon offense looked serviceable and was able to finish a drive with a touchdown, scoring 13 points on the Blue Devils. The drive-killers on that night were usually drops, but against the Aggies, basic execution was the issue. “To me, there are five elements of winning football, and it’s turnovers, big plays, first down, third down and red zone,” said Elon head coach Rich Skrosky. “And that’s a probability that I’ve been studying for a long time. If you hold a team to field goals, you’re going to be in the game. And credit to A&T. They did a good job in the red zone.” Skrosky added he met with his captains on Friday night before the N.C. A&T game to discuss these five elements. But on the field, problems persisted. Senior quarterback Mike Quinn threw two interceptions, the Phoenix were 3-of-16 on third down, and the offense failed to score a touchdown despite consistently threatening to score in the red zone. “[We] just didn’t get the ball where it needed to go,” Quinn said. “We didn’t establish the run game as [well] as we should’ve, and once you do that it opens up the passing lanes, and we’re off to the races, as you can see with our yards after catch. It literally all comes back to execution. There were more opportunities this game to actually score, and we just have to capitalize.” In all, the Phoenix had the ball inside N.C. A&T’s 20-yard line five different times. Four of those drives ended in field goals, while one attempt was blocked. “On offense, the obvious thing that sticks out is the red-zone productivity, or lack thereof — being held to four field goals and then having the one blocked,” Skrosky said. “That has an effect on the rest of our team, when the defense sees the offense not getting in the end zone.” Once deep in Aggie territory, the Phoenix tried a variety of different plays to punch it in for a touchdown. But everything from a run to a corner fade to a slant route was snuffed out by the Aggie defense. “There were more opportunities, and I give them credit because they played man coverage down there, and we got the one-on-one battle for the most part,” Skrosky said. Despite Elon’s inefficiency in the red zone, Skrosky was pleased overall with the progress he saw from his players, namely Quinn and Davis. “You move ahead,” Skrosky said. “That’s what gets you excited. When you see a kid reach his potential and keep getting better on a daily basis, it validates what you tell him. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t believe we’re going to go on the field and do it consistently. You just have to keep working at it.”
If one thing was known about the Aggies of North Carolina A&T State University heading into its Sept. 13 game against Elon University, it was this: they like to run.
The 2014 season has been a season of firsts for the Elon University football team. Elon is in its first year of competition in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Phoenix is led by first-year head coach and lost its first game of the season, 52-13, to Duke University Aug. 30.
DURHAM — The struggles of the Elon University football team were obvious Aug. 30, as Duke University shredded the Phoenix defense to the tune of 567 yards of total offense, the third-highest total in Duke head coach David Cutcliffe’s tenure. Massive holes were eroded at times, giving Duke rushers space to run, and pass coverage was subpar. It was a balanced offensive attack — 292 passing yards, 275 rushing — that led the Blue Devils to a 52-13 rout of the Phoenix. “There’s going be a lot of good things we’re going to be able to take from it,” said Elon head coach Rich Skrosky. “But we’re in a result-oriented deal now. Our execution level needs to get amped up very high to make sure the result doesn’t end up like it did tonight.” Elon’s struggles in the secondary were obvious during Duke’s first two scores of the game. On the Blue Devils’ opening possession, senior quarterback Anthony Boone found senior wide receiver Issac Blakeney in the far corner of the end zone. Boone lofted the pass high in the air, and it appeared as though Elon junior cornerback Jeremy Gloston, a converted safety who was in coverage on the play, could have made a play on the ball but misjudged the coverage. Blakeney, listed at 6-foot-6, had a considerable size advantage over the 6-foot-1 Gloston, the tallest defensive back on the Elon roster, which presented problems for the Elon defensive backs. “I think [my height] is something different that I can bring to the team,” Blakeney said. “Boone likes it a lot, just throwing the ball up. Getting up to the goal line, instead of having the lineman trying to push and shove, we just make it easy. Throw the ball up in the air, and I can go up and get it over a smaller cornerback.” Gloston was exploited once again early in the second quarter when Boone connected with senior wide receiver Jamison Crowder for a 46-yard touchdown, one of his two touchdown receptions of the night. Gloston was in good position on the play but took a misstep that ultimately left him out of position. “I stopped my feet which is bad on my part fundamentally, but he’s a great receiver,” Gloston said. “He did [well] on that play to get it deep. I just stopped my feet.” While the secondary gave up a total of four touchdowns, Gloston said he believes there are positives that can be drawn from the game. “[The experience] is going to help us out a lot because the [Colonial Athletic Conference] has predominantly passing teams, and it’s great to get our secondary a lot of work against bigger receivers, faster receivers, receivers who have played in the big games,” Gloston said. “The more experience we have with the best, the better we’ll be.” Elon was already at a disadvantage going into the game, as Akeem Langham missed the game because of a stomach virus. Langham, a senior from High Point, is one of the most experienced defensive players on the roster, having appeared in 30 games over the past three years. As for when Langham will be back on the field, Skrosky said he hopes to have him back “soon.” It was a revolving door of sorts in the secondary, with many players getting a chance to showcase their skills. Gloston and sophomore defensive back Adrian McClendon got the start at cornerback, while juniors Miles Williams and Julius Moore started at safety. A host of other defensive backs made appearances in the game, including true freshman Malcolm Galloway, redshirt freshmen Chris Blair and Anthony Hambright, sophomores Asunji Maddox and Adrian Williams and junior Bo Hartman. As for the immediate future, Skrosky said many players will see time, but Blair (six tackles) and Moore (team-high 10 tackles) will get the majority of the playing time at safety. “We’re going to find the best rotation,” Skrosky said. “All those guys are good players. Moore and [Miles Williams] are going to get the bulk of the work, but Blair is one of our better guys and Maddox just needs more reps, but he’s going to be a good player for us.” Skrosky was especially impressed with Adrian Williams, who, according to Skrosky, didn’t have a great week of practice leading up to the game. On a play in the second half, Williams was matched up against Blakeney, who scored two touchdowns in the first half. Boone lofted the ball high in air for Blakeney, but Williams timed his jump well and knocked the ball away to prevent a touchdown. “That’s a big play for that kid,” Skrosky said. “A big, big play.” All in all, Skrosky had mixed feelings after the game, noting that while he saw some good things, the final score was a bit unsettling. “52-13 is 52-13, and that needs to get corrected,” Skrosky said. “But there was good that came of it. We’ll watch the tape, we’ll meet as a team and we’ll point out the highlights of the game that we had from an effort standpoint and an execution standpoint, and we’ll continue to move forward with the bye week.”
As football teams gear up for the start of the regular season and players jockey for spots, position battles are inevitable. This is no different for the Elon University football team, which has seen many position battles over the weeks of preseason camp. At the running back position, it was a three-way battle for the top spot between senior Karl Bostick, junior Tracey Coppedge and sophomore B.J. Bennett. But what was once thought to be a platoon position for the Phoenix has now turned into a need for bodies on the field. “You always need three,” said Elon coach Rich Skrosky. “It’s not a matter of, ‘do you want to have three?’ You always need three during the season.” Heading into preseason camp, running back was a position of strength for Elon after the trio of running backs combined for a solid 2013 campaign. In fact, the similarities between the three players’ 2013 stat lines are eerie. Bennett led the team with 477 yards rushing on 123 carries as a redshirt freshman, plus four touchdowns. Bostick, who transferred from the University of Akron, rushed for 443 yards in his second year with the Phoenix, also scoring four times on the season. Coppedge finished 2013 second on the team with 447 rushing yards on just 90 carries, good for a 4.8-yard average, which was the best on the team. “I don’t think one guy right now stands himself out,” Skrosky said. “Competition is good and we want competition.” After the first scrimmage of camp Aug. 11, Skrosky still viewed the running back position as one that is up for grabs. But they now may need more than three in the competition. Coppedge got the majority of the carries in the first scrimmage, but has dealt with an injury more recently that has kept him off the field. Bennett was also sidelined with a hand injury, which left the door open for Bostick. “Karl is running more powerfully than he did in the spring,” Skrosky told elonphoenix.com. “That’s probably because he’s more confident in the scheme and what we’re asking him to do.” But Bostick’s solid camp was derailed as well when the senior suffered a leg injury in the team’s third scrimmage Aug. 20 and was carted off of the field. Skrosky later said that Bostick is expected to be out until at least late October with a broken leg. The serious injury to Bostick, as well as the minor ones to Coppedge and Bennett, is a big blow to an Elon offense that relied heavily on the run game last season. In talking to some of Elon’s defensive players that line up against the running backs every day in practice, it’s obvious how highly they think of them. On Coppedge, senior linebacker Jonathan Spain said, “He’s got the moves. I like how he plays because he’s elusive and makes people miss. He’s the hardest person that I’ve had to tackle in a couple years.” Senior linebacker Odell Benton said, “Bostick is a veteran and he knows what he’s doing, so he’s in the room coaching up [Coppedge] and coaching up [Bennett]. I think we have a good mix too between speed, power and having veteran experience.” Sophomore linebacker John Silas said Bennett “is like a wildcard. He has a nose for the end zone.” No matter who is on the field at the running back position, something different will be brought to the table. If it’s Coppedge, elusiveness will be on display. If it’s Bostick or Bennett, it will be more of a smash-mouth style of football. But with all three off of the field, the offense is losing some firepower. All three backs are all friends off of the field, and they know what’s at stake on the field: playing time. “Since the first day of college, it’s always been a competition,” said Coppedge, who described his relationship with Bostick and Bennett as a “brotherhood.” “Your spot is never guaranteed so you always have to work harder than you worked the day before.” Bostick agreed, saying, “You always have to compete and push the other guy to be better and in turn, you’re pushing yourself to be the best that you can be. If there’s ever a point where you’re not competing, then you’re not helping the person in front of you or the person behind you to get better.” The chemistry within the group is palpable, each willing to push the other to be his best. Now, it will be up to each one of them to push each other to get back on the field.
DURHAM — For the third year in a row, the Elon University football team played an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent in its opening game of the season and for the third straight year, the Phoenix was blown out.
As Sept. 1 approaches every year, sports fans around the world are reminded of what took place on that fateful day in 2007, when Appalachian State University rolled into the Big House and stunned the fifth-ranked Wolverines of the University of Michigan, 24-22.
When the Elon University football team takes the field at Duke University’s Wallace Wade Stadium on Aug. 30, it will mark a new era in the history of Elon athletics.
When the Elon University football team last traveled to Durham in 2010 to take on Duke University, the Phoenix faced a struggling program that was coming off a 5-7 season, which at the time was its highest win total since 1994.
With less than a week until the first game of the season, the Elon University football team wrapped up its final scrimmage of preseason camp Aug. 23.
It’s never easy to leave home.
The 2014 NBA playoffs came to a close June 15 when the San Antonio Spurs finished off their dismantling of the two-time defending champion Miami Heat.
The Elon University women’s tennis team’s 2014 season came to a close May 9 after a 4-0 loss to No. 1 overall seed University of Georgia in the first round of the NCAA Women’s Tennis Championship at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga.
As the clear-cut favorite in the Southern Conference heading into the 2014 spring season, the Elon University women’s tennis team had high expectations after falling just short of a conference title in 2013.
Senior Elon University women’s tennis player Frida Jansaker added to her list of accolades for the 2014 season May 6, as the Southern Conference announced that she was named Player of Month for the month of April.