Elon football hosted Wofford College on Homecoming Weekend Oct. 10 at Rhodes Stadium. The Phoenix were looking to get back into the winning column after a 30-23 loss to the University of New Hampshire the week prior.
As the game got underway, Wofford got an early first down on the Phoenix. On the next three plays, the Phoenix halted the Terriers. As fourth down approached, Wofford faked the punt and tried to get the first down, but Elon shut that down immediately.
Sophomore quarterback Brady Stober made his return after missing the past four games. The team couldn’t get anything going on offense to start, and an early attempt to go for it on fourth down was stopped.
As the first quarter continued, both teams were in a stalemate, and the defenses were playing strong.
Graduate student defensive end Dillion Pardue pressured the quarterback multiple times, closing the pocket instantly. Pardue finally got to Wofford’s quarterback and sacked him when.
Pardue said he was glad that he got the quarterback on the ground after many attempts.
“Finally being fast enough to get him on the ground, but also just the way the end plays,” Pardue said. “The linebacker helped fit up the run, which makes him passive but also hit up the pass and played sticky coverage just like the defensive back. So, it's really a testament to everybody else that I’m allowed to make this play.”
Elon’s offense took the field, and right after a catch-and-run, freshman running back Kamerin McDowell-Moore hobbled off the sidelines. In McDowell-Moore's absence, senior running back Jimmyll Williams fumbled the ball on his first carry in two weeks and gave the Terriers an opportunity to score.
As the first quarter came to a close, Wofford was driving into Phoenix territory.
Once the second quarter kicked off, redshirt freshman defensive end Doug Quarles III got to the Wofford quarterback for a sack. This made it impossible for the Terriers to connect on third down, giving the Phoenix a chance to strike first.
The Phoenix couldn’t capitalize. Both teams struggled to get into scoring position.
Late in the second quarter, Wofford was cruising. But a huge tackle by redshirt junior linebacker Brodie Carroll held the Terriers to only a field goal. The Terriers took the lead, 3-0.
Right after the two-minute timeout, the Phoenix looked to push down the field, but Stober threw the ball too high, leading to an interception.
Wofford fumbled the ball immediately after, and it was recovered by redshirt junior defensive back Eric Jones – or so the homecoming crowd thought. The referees reviewed the fumble and decided that the ball was an incomplete pass. This led to a successful Wofford field goal; the Terriers were now up 6-0.
The half didn’t go in the Phoenix's favor. They fumbled the ball with less than a minute left on the clock on Wofford’s kickoff. The Terriers made another field goal to go into halftime up 9-0.
Right after halftime, Elon couldn’t get their offense going and gave the ball right back to Wofford.
The Wofford quarterback threw a shot down the field, and it slipped through the defense to put the Terriers in position to score. Elon couldn’t stop them, leading to the first touchdown of the game. Wofford went up 16-0.
Elon started their drive with back-to-back first downs, including its first third-down conversion in two weeks. But Stober threw his second pick of the game. Elon stopped Wofford, and the Terriers kicker missed the field goal.
The rest of the half led to nothing for the Phoenix, and they went into the fourth quarter down by 16.
Right when the fourth quarter started, Elon was once again faced with a fourth down. But the Phoenix faked the punt, leading to a first down. Head coach Tony Trisciani said he hoped the play would give the Phoenix momentum to mount a comeback.
The next plays were stale, and the team went for it on fourth down again, but Stober’s ball was blocked by the outstretched arm of a defender.
The fourth quarter was full of multiple disconnected passes and the defense trying to keep the Phoenix within range of securing a comeback. Elon switched quarterbacks for a hopeful momentum change, and they looked to redshirt freshman Elijah Guttman.
McDowell-Moore had a few rushes to try to change the tide. This was his third straight game with 100-plus rushing yards. He has now set the Elon rookie record in rushing yards in only six weeks.
At first, the energy was different through a few big plays, but Guttman threw an interception, Elon’s third of the day on a third down. The team went 2-13 on third downs on the day overall after not converting a single time last week.
Trisciani believes that his team is slowly getting better on third-down possessions.
“If we’re looking at numbers, we got better than we were last week, but it’s not winning football,” Trisciani said. “We need to make sure we’re not in third and pass, but we want to be in situations where it can be run or pass.”
The Phoenix fell to the Terriers 16-0. It's the first time they have been shutout at home since 2021 against Villanova University. The team is currently on a two-game losing streak.
Trisciani believes that the team has some things they need to clean up before they play Stanford University.
“We have to learn from things that happened in this game. You won’t know what the conditions are going to be out there, really won’t factor too much into our game,” Trisciani said. “We’ve got to really look at ourselves and Stanford and figure out what we are doing well to come up with a good plan that will fit for Stanford.”
Elon next plays Oct. 17 against Stanford.