Behind 278 passing yards from junior quarterback Mike Quinn, the Elon University football team defeated West Virginia Wesleyan College 49-7 on Saturday night Sept. 7 in Rhodes Stadium.
Quinn’s strong effort was part of a 538-yard night from the Elon offense, which was looking to rebound from a tough performance against Georgia Tech Aug. 31 in which the Phoenix did not score in a 70-0 loss.
The scoring drought ended on Elon’s first drive, courtesy of a two-yard run from redshirt freshman running back B.J. Bennett.
“We needed to go down there and score first,” Elon head coach Jason Swepson said. “The last thing I wanted to have happen was to let them go down and score first and be down 77-0 going into the season.”
Bennett’s quick strike was set up by a 4-for-5 drive from Quinn, including a 27-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Andre Davis. Quinn believes the first drive set the tone for the remainder of the game.
“I think we knew by then that we needed to take control of this game as fast as we can,” Quinn said. “(We needed) to use every opportunity to get in the end zone.”
The visiting Bobcats countered quickly with a score of their own, a 35-yard bubble screen from senior quarterback Jeremy Musselman to senior wide receiver Lavaughn Hughes.
“They caught us with our pants down,” junior linebacker Jonathan Spain said.
After a missed Elon field goal, a West Virginia Wesleyan fumble allowed the Phoenix to gain all the momentum they would need.
“One thing I really enjoyed to see was the response of the entire team,” Swepson said. “There was no finger pointing. We stayed positive, we handled adversity and then we went out and scored a bunch of points.”
Bennett scored two more times in the game, including a three-yard pass in the second quarter from and a seven-yard run in the third. He called his success and ability to score “a big confidence booster” for the offense.
Although the redshirt freshman from West Columbia, S.C. found the end zone three times, his 44 rushing yards was third best on the team. Sophomore Tracey Coppedge scampered for 105 yards on 15 carries, his first 100-yard game of his career. Junior Karl Bostick also carried the ball 11 times for 48 yards and a touchdown.
Swepson compared his running back rotation to a hockey line shift.
“I know it is early in the season, but we’re sticking to what we wanted to do as a staff,” Swepson said. “If we can continue to rotate guys and treat it like a hockey game, that’s what we’re going to do at Elon.”
In addition to the rushing success, Quinn’s effort through the air provided a bounce back from his three-interception performance at Georgia Tech.
“I’d like to put that one in the books,” Quinn said. “I’m happy that I can throw to a lot of receivers and I’m happy with my O-line blocking for me.”
Quinn finished the day 29-of-39 with three touchdowns, two of which were more than 15 yards — a 16-yard strike to senior wide receiver Rasaun Rorie and a 20-yard toss to Davis.
While the offense was scoring in droves, the Elon defense shut down the Bobcats after the game’s first five minutes. Spain was pleased with his unit’s performance against West Virginia Wesleyan.
“They’re a well-coached Division II team,” Spain said. “They’re going to win some ballgames.”
One sequence the Phoenix defense can hang their hats on was a set of plays in the second quarter when West Virginia Wesleyan had seven attempts to score with the ball on the Elon two-yard line or closer. Even with a pass interference penalty, the Phoenix forced a turnover on downs.
“Everyone was doing great at that time,” Spain said. “You just don’t see that.”
Elon improves to 1-1 with the win, while West Virginia Wesleyan falls to 0-1.
Next week, Elon heads to North Carolina A&T State University for a 6:00 p.m. game against the Aggies. The Aggies knocked off Appalachian State University on the road Saturday, setting up a pivotal showdown in Greensboro next week.