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.”