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ELON — Before the Elon team could find its footing, it was already deep in a 21-0 hole against William & Mary in the Colonial Athletic Association opener on Saturday afternoon.
Missed opportunities and Tribe receivers running free put the Phoenix in an unpromising position, and by the time Elon fought it’s way back those mistakes would loom large, while penalties on important plays did little to help their position.
Despite out-gaining William & Mary in total yards, 480-399, and winning the turnover battle with three takeaways compared to the Pride’s one, the Phoenix fell to visiting William & Mary 34-31 in front of a crowd of 11,897 at Rhodes Stadium, the fourth largest crowd in stadium history.
Elon receiver Bryson Daughtry takes off for extra yardage after making a catch against William & Mary on Saturday afternoon.
Times-News
Courtesy of Elon Athletics
“It was a football game where when you look at the stat sheet, it's hard to figure out how how we lost the football game,” Elon coach Tony Trisciani said. “Real tough way to start the game — seven plays, 14 points (allowed). Guys showed a lot of resolve a lot of resiliency, got us back in the game. When we go back and we watch the film, we're gonna say there was some some untimely penalties and some untimely mistakes. And, unfortunately, at the end of the day, that puts us three points behind in football game.”
A pair of rushing touchdowns, one from running back Donavyn Lester of the short-yardage variety, and a 46-yard scamper by quarterback Darius Wilson, put William & Mary in front 14-0 less than five minutes into the contest. A touchdown pass from Wilson to Lachlan Pitts only made things worse, early in the second quarter.
“We played our defens and there were a couple of adjustments in the first half and a couple of mistakes where we got to be able to protect the top of our defense,” Trisciani said. “We can't let things get over the top. You got to stop the run and make people earn the field. When we make them earn the field, typically we get a stop or we hold them to three and that's how you play winning defense. So, when that breaks down and you get the explosive plays, it's hard. We did a better job in the second half, certainly.”
The Phoenix (1-3 overall, 0-1 CAA) put together two long drives down the field in the first half, one of 15 plays and another of 14 plays, but came up empty both times. A 52-yard field goal attempt by Skyler Davis was no good on the first of those drives, then the Phoenix turned it over on downs on the second.
“Any time you have a chance to get points, you got to get them,” Trisciani said. “Whether you're in the red (zone) area and we want to get seven, but we got to get (at least) three, so those opportunities missed opportunities, when you look back, there were chances for us to win the football game.”
Wilson finished 11-for-19 passing for 178 yards and three touchdowns with 95 yards and another touchdown added on the ground for the Tribe (3-1, 1-0). Pitts hauled in four receptions for 70 yards and two touchdowns and Cole Blackman caught four passes for 78 yards and a score.
Elon quarterback Davis Cheek went 36-for-54 passing for three touchdowns and a career-high 384 yards. But the milestone was no consolation for the gun-slinger after the game.
“The only stat I care about is the win,” Cheek said. “That’s the most important thing.”
Elon committed 10 penalties for 96 yards, often happening at inopportune times, with nine of them coming after the Phoenix already found itself in a 21-0 hole, not doing itself any favors in an attempt for a comeback.
“We got to learn from penalties,” Trisciani said. “There was some significant ones there. … Those are some real untimely penalties that were significant chunk plays that affect that football game.”
Elon receiver Kortez Weeks fights through traffic in a loss to William & Mary on Saturday afternoon.
Times-News
Courtesy of Elon Athletics
Elon junior defensive back Cole Coleman led the turnaround for the Elon defense in the second half. He finished the game with a team-best 10 tackles, one forced fumble and one interception. But a penalty for roughing the punter on a fourth-and-long gave William & Mary a fresh set of downs, instead of getting the ball back to the Elon offense.
Coleman said the last time he had a forced fumble, an interception and a blocked punt in a game was, “in my dream last night.”
Davis made a 43-yard field goal, then Cheek hit Bryson Daughtry for a 19-yard score to rattle off 10 straight Phoenix points to cut the William & Mary lead to 27-24 with 9:46 remaining in the contest.
“At the end of the day, like Coach said, we can’t have those kind of drives (in the firs half) and not end up with (points),” Cheek said. “That was the difference in the game.”
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William & Mary responded with a 29-yard pass from DreSean Kendrick to Blackman on a 29-yard halfback pass for a touchdown.
Jaylan Thomas would catch a 20-yard touchdown reception from Cheek with 4:38 remaining to cut the deficit to just three once again, but by the time the Elon defense could get off the field, Cheek and the offense were left with only 15 second and no timeouts from the Elon 8 to try to mount a score.
Thomas finished with 73 rushing yards and one touchdown on 17 carries and eight catches for 70 yards in the passing game. Jackson Parham reeled in 10 receptions for 106 yards, while Kortez Weeks also had a touchdown reception.
David Kehrli is a sports reporter at the Burlington Times-News and USA Today Network. You can reach him at david.kehrli@thetimesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @DavidKehrliTN. Subscribe to the Burlington Times-News here.
