WOFFORD 28, THE CITADEL 7
Hear the calls:
Josh Collier’s Pass Intercepted by Dwight House for a Citadel Touchdown
Dane Romero’s 38-yard Touchdown Run
Ronald Flott’s Third-Quarter Fumble Recovery
Josh Collier’s Touchdown Run in Fourth Quarter
Michael Hobbs’ 11-yard Touchdown Run
CHARLESTON, S.C. ? The No. 8 Wofford defense stole the show in a Southern Conference showdown as they held No. 25 The Citadel offense to 336 total yards and the Terriers stayed undefeated in SoCon play with a 28-7 victory over the Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon at Johnson Hagood Stadium.
Senior quarterback Duran Lawson went 26-43 for 222 yards to lead the Bulldogs (3-2, 1-1 SoCon). Sophomore wide receiver Andre Roberts caught 12 passes for 123 yards. Halfback Kevious Johnson carried the ball 12 times for 81 yards to lead Wofford (5-1, 3-0 SoCon).
After forcing a three-and-out on the first Bulldogs’ possession, Wofford drove 73 yards in seven plays to put it in the endzone on their first offensive possession. A 25-yard run by Johnson put the Terriers at the Bulldog 37-yard line, and a 28-yard gallop by fullback Adrian Young placed Wofford at the three-yard line. Wide receiver Justice Joslin took a hand off on an end around and dove in to the endzone on the next play. The extra-point by Patrick Mugan made it 7-0 Wofford with 10:19 left in the opening quarter.
The Bulldogs threatened twice in the first quarter as they drove deep into Wofford territory on their next offensive possession. The drive stalled on the Wofford 13-yard line, however, after Lawson’s pass intended for senior running back Tory Cooper was incomplete. Senior Mike Adams then hooked a 25-yard field goal attempt wide to the left. After forcing the Terriers to punt, the Cadets again drove into Wofford territory. They got to the 20-yard line, but Lawson’s pass attempt for junior wide receiver Joshua Haney was incomplete and third-and-four. Adams missed his second consecutive field goal as he again hooked it wide left, this time from 36 yards out. Despite the missed opportunities, The Citadel evened the score with a defensive touchdown three plays later. Quarterback Josh Collier threw to tight end Fenn Allen, but the ball bounced off his hands and into the arms of junior safety Dwight House, who returned it 42 yards for a Bulldog touchdown. It marked the second interception return of the season for the Bulldog defense, as sophomore cornerback Ryan Jones had an 18- yard return for a score against Webber International. Adams knocked the extra-point through to tie the score at 7 with 23 seconds left in the first quarter.
The Terriers threatened to score before the half as they drove to The Citadel 32-yard line with one second left, but Mugan pushed a 49-yard field goal attempt to the right and the teams went into the locker room tied a seven after a scoreless second quarter. The Bulldogs accumulated 162 total yards of offense in the first half compared to 147 for Wofford, led by Lawson who went 9-18 for 87 yards.
Wofford took the lead on their second offensive possession of the second half as they drove 91 yards in 10 plays. Using a potent rushing attack featuring backup quarterback Ben Widmyer and fullback Michael Hobbs, the Terriers drove to the 38-yard line of the Bulldogs. On a third-and-eight play, halfback Dane Romero took an end-around hand off and raced 38 yards for a touchdown. Mugan added the point after to give Wofford a 14-7 lead with 5:06 remaining in the third quarter. The Terriers put the game away with two more touchdowns in the final quarter.
After the Bulldogs forced Wofford to punt at the end of the third quarter, Chris Tommie’s kick was fumbled by freshman Biron Nabritt at the Bulldog 26-yard line. Defensive back Ronald Flottt recovered for the Terriers and they punched it into the endzone four plays later. Collier extended the Wofford advantage with a one-yard plunge for the score, and Mugan added the extra-point for a 21-7 lead with 14:41 left in the fourth quarter.
Wofford put the game away with a five-play, 84-yard drive on their next possession. A 28-yard run by halfback Jeremy Marshall and a 31-yard pass from Collier to Allen put the Terriers at The Citadel 11-yard line. Hobbs then ran it in on the next play from 11 yards out for the touchdown. Mugan nailed the point after, and Wofford had a comfortable 28-7 advantage with 6:24 left in the contest. Duran Lawson’s 11 yard pass to Josh Haney in the Bulldogs’ second possession of the game gave him 4,471 all time passing yards.
The most by any Bulldog quarterback. The previous record was held by Robert Hill 4,468. Lawson finished the game with 222 yards passing for an all-time of 4,638. The Bulldogs remain at home next Saturday as they host Furman in another Southern Conference match-up. Kickoff is at 2 p.m. at Johnson Hagood Stadium.
GEORGIA SOUTHERN 41, SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 38
LISTEN to the Call: Jesse Hartley’s 54-yard field goal to win
STATESBORO, Ga. ? Jesse Hartley’s 54-yard field goal as time expired capped Georgia Southern’s thrilling 41-38 win over South Dakota State, Saturday afternoon (Oct. 6) at Paulson Stadium. Hartley set a record in the process.
Hartley’s kick was the longest ever by an Eagle to win a game on the final play. It marked the first time since Jonathan Dudley’s 24-yard FG that the Eagles (4-1 overall) won a game on the final play (overtime at Northeastern in 2005 season-opener). Hartley’s career-best 54-yarder was the longest since Chris Chambers nailed a 57-yard attempt at the end of the first half at Oregon State on September 18, 1999.
Some dramatic plays set the stage for the exciting win. With the game tied and GS facing 4th-and-1 from the 50, South Dakota State (2-4) stopped Jayson Foster for no gain and took over on downs. The Jackrabbits drove down to the Eagles’ 21 with 2:23 left and Parker Douglass came on to try a 38-yard FG.
The senior kicker, who was perfect on the year (11-of-11), sailed it wide right and the Eagles took over. GS drove to its 37 but had to punt. Daniel Jordan pinned the Jackrabbits to their own 30. On the first play of the drive, Ryan Berry dropped back to pass but sophomore Carson Hill stepped in front of the pass and recorded the first interception of his career.
Foster scrambled for six yards and hit Lamar Lewis for 11, which put the Eagles on the SDSU 37 with seven seconds left. Head coach Chris Hatcher sent Hartley out for the kick, which easily covered the distance for the win.
The Eagles built a 24-point halftime lead thanks to stellar defense play during the first 30 minutes.
Georgia Southern’s defense held the Jackrabbits on the opening drive of the game and the offense took over on its own four. The Eagles staged a 13-play drive and took a 7-0 lead thanks to Lewis’ 1-yard plunge and Hartley’s extra point.
On the Jackrabbits’ next drive, Cory Koenig fumbled the ball. Chris Rogers picked up the loose ball and raced 46 yards to the endzone with 6:58 left in the first quarter.
Later in the quarter Foster hit the right corner but when he was tackled he fumbled. SDSU recovered and would eventually put points on the scoreboard. Berry found JaRon Harris for a 30-yard touchdown pass two minutes into the second quarter cutting the Eagles’ lead to 14-7.
Larry Beard tied a Georgia Southern record when he scooped up Kyle Minett’s fumble forced by Damon Suggs and raced 29 yards for a touchdown. A 2001 playoff win over Florida A&M was the only other time that the Eagles scored twice in the same game off a fumble return.
Hartley converted a 24-yard field goal with 1:27 left in the half. The opportunistic defense came through again when Rogers forced a fumble after Berry completed a pass to Chris Doblar and E.J. Webb pounced on the loose ball. Facing 3rd-and-goal from the seven, Foster hit Irving Campbell in the back of the end zone and the Eagles took a 31-7 lead into the locker room.
In the first half alone Foster set a career-high throwing for 164 yards on 14-of-16 passing. Campbell also set career-highs with six receptions and 117 receiving yards. In fact the senior wide receiver had only 146 reception yards to that point in his two-year career.
Douglass hit a 32-yard attempt with 10 minutes left in the third making it 31-10 Eagles.
Foster threw just his fourth interception of the year on the ensuring drive. Tyler Koch picked it off at the Jackrabbits’ 29 and raced 71 yards for a touchdown. Later, Berry hit Chris Wagner on a 14-yard scoring strike to cap a 9-play, 64-yard drive with 3:14 left in the third quarter to make it 31-24 Georgia Southern.
The Eagles were driving and facing 3rd-and-long. Foster could have ran for a first down but tried hitting a wide open Raja Andrews and just overthrew him. Jordan went back to punt but SDSU was called for roughing the kicker and the drive stayed alive.
Four plays later Foster kept his streak alive as the Eagles added to their lead early in the fourth quarter, a streak in which he has registered a rushing TD in every game as the team’s starting quarterback. His keeper up the middle from 14 yards out was his first rushing TD of the game but more importantly gave GS a 38-24 lead.
SDSU went for it on 4th-and-goal from the two. Berry found Wagner in the right corner for a touchdown, making it 38-31 Eagles with 10:12 remaining in the game. They tied the game with 6:28 when Minett scored from seven yards out.
Hatcher stated how big of a win that was for his Georgia Southern team.
“Of course we came out and played great on defense early on. Offensively we struggled all night. I know we were able to punch a couple in there late in the half, but they pretty much had our number. They were more physical up front, but again, when it’s all said and done, we made one more play than they did. That’s all that matters. We’ll take them anyway we can get them,” said Hatcher. “We came out firing on all cylinders. We had a great first drive and got a touchdown. The defense scooped-and-scored and we’re up 14-0. We have a great drive going again, but we fumbled the ball. I knew all game long, I just didn’t feel comfortable today and I was afraid that one was going to come back and get us. But then the defense scored again and we were able to get a field goal. And then at the end half it was a good throw to Irving Campbell - who normally doesn’t play on that side.
“We were complacent ? I was concerned about that. If we don’t force the two turnovers and scoop-and-score, that’s a whole different ball game. We had not consistently moved the ball the whole day. They were taking away what we do the best and that’s why we had to throw a little bit more. But we knew we had some deep passes that they had shown us early in the game that we could come back to. There in the second half we had a drop over the middle, we overthrew Raja (Andrews) twice and if we’re just able to complete just one of those, we may not have needed to go down to the last second.”
Foster set career-highs of 23-of-31 passing for 225 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for 92 yards on 25 carries. The 225 passing yards are the 11th-most in Eagle history and third-highest total since 1998.
Campbell’s career-high numbers included seven catches for 122 yards and a touchdown. It marked the first time this year an Eagle registered 100-plus receiving yards. Andrews recorded six receptions for 26 yards and Joe Haynie had five catches for 48 yards, the first receptions of his career.
Chris Covington recorded a career- and team season-high 11 tackles. Hill added nine stops to go with his interception and two pass break-ups. Rogers had two tackles to go with his forced fumble and TD fumble recovery ? the first touchdown of his career.
Berry finished 25-of-47 for 335 yards and three scores. Harris caught six passes for 122 yards and Koenig recorded 87 net rushing yards. Total offense for both teams was nearly equal: 451 for the Eagles and 450 for SDSU.
Andy Hoogeveen had 11 tackles and a fumble recovery for the Jackrabbits.
Georgia Southern returns to Southern Conference play next Saturday (Oct. 13), traveling to Elon. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. and will be televised live on SportSouth.
APPALACHIAN STATE 45, GARDNER-WEBB 7
Listen to Appalachian State Highlights
BOONE, N.C. - Led by Walter Payton Award candidate Kevin Richardson's (Elizabethtown, N.C/East Bladen) four second-quarter touchdowns, No. 5 Appalachian State University rattled off 38 unanswered points to defeat Gardner-Webb, 45-7, on Saturday afternoon at sold-out Kidd Brewer Stadium.
In front of an Appalachian homecoming-record crowd of 27,428, Appalachian (5-1) out-gained Gardner-Webb (2-3), 466-211, to extend its home winning streak to 30 games. The home winning streak, which dates back to the beginning of the 2003 season, is the nation's longest in NCAA Division I FCS (Football Championship Subdivision - formerly Division I-AA) and the second-longest in all of Division I, behind only USC's 35-game winning streak at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
The Mountaineers' offensive attack was potent from the get-go, as quarterback Trey Elder (Duncan, S.C./Byrnes) found Hans Batichon (Miami, Fla./North Miami) for a 67- yard touchdown pass on the game's opening play.
After a muffed punt set up the Bulldogs' only touchdown and sent the ballgame into the second quarter tied at 7-7, Richardson took over. The senior scored all four of his touchdowns in the second period, carrying the ball to paydirt from three, five, six and three yards to give the Apps a commanding 35-7 halftime lead. The four-touchdown effort was the fourth of Richardson's career and marked his 18th multi-touchdown performance.
With most of ASU's starters out of the game following halftime, redshirt freshman wide receiver CoCo Hillary (Edgefield, S.C./Strom Thurmond) took over the reins at quarterback for the first time in his collegiate career. Hillary was impressive in his debut behind center, completing 3-of-3 passes for 67 yards and rushing three times for 20 yards to lead ASU to a touchdown on his first series. He went on to lead Appalachian to a field goal on his only other drive and finished the afternoon with 83 yards on 4-of-5 passing and 35 more on nine carries.
The nation's fifth-rated passer coming in, Elder had another strong performance, going 14-for-18 for 229 yards and a touchdown to move to 7-1 in his career as a starter. Batichon caught six passes for a career-high 132 yards while Richardson finished with 80 yards on 17 carries. All three stars' totals came in the first half.
Defensively, Tim Washington (Sugar Land, Texas/Dulles) and Gary Tharrington (Spring Hope, N.C./Southern Nash) led a revamped Mountaineer defensive front with a combined 14 tackles, including two and two-and-a-half, respectively, behind the line of - more- scrimmage. Justin Woazeah (Winston-Salem, N.C./R.J. Reynolds) broke up five passes to help limit GWU to just 107 yards on 11-of-32 passing.
Following its final non-conference match-up of the regular season, Appalachian enjoys a much-needed bye week before returning to Southern Conference action on Oct. 20 versus Georgia Southern. The Black Saturday showdown at The Rock is set for 3:30 p.m. and will be televised regionally on the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN).
FURMAN 27, COASTAL CAROLINA 17
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Renaldo Gray connected with Larry Hedden on a 5-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to break a tie game and help propel Furman to a 27-17 win over Coastal Carolina in football action Saturday afternoon at Paladin Stadium.
Gray’s go-ahead strike to Hedden with 10:30 remaining came two plays after the Paladins’ R.J. Webb recovered a fumble by Paladin tailback Cedrick Gipson following a 37-yard run to the Coastal Carolina 6 yard line.
Scott Beckler added a 42-yard field goal with 6:35 left to stretch the advantage to 27-17, which Furman preserved with a strong pass rush over the Chanticleers’ final two possessions.
The victory snapped a three-game losing skid for Furman (2-3) ? it’s longest since 1998. The loss was the third straight for Coastal Carolina (1-4).
“I was very proud of the way we fought back in the second half and won the game despite kicking ourselves in the foot with turnovers,” said Furman head coach Bobby Lamb. “Our defense kept stopping them and giving our offense opportunities, and we finally managed to cash in on a couple. We also got a good lift from our special teams with a punt return for a touchdown, a blocked punt, and a long field goal.”
“Furman is a very good football team,” said Coastal Carolina head coach David Bennett. “I voted them in the Top 25 again this week because I knew who they had lost to and knew they were still a very good football team.
We had some opportunities today. We created some turnovers, but we didn’t capitalize on them and you can’t afford to not take advantage of opportunities against a team like Furman.”
Furman forged a slim 244-227 advantage in total offense in a contest that included six turnovers, including four by the Paladins. Furman, however, racked up five sacks in the game and was credited with two interceptions and seven pass deflections.
Solid special teams play set the table early for Furman, which grabbed a quick 7-0 lead on a 63-yard punt return for a touchdown by R.J. Webb midway through the first period.
After stopping Coastal Carolina in three plays on its next possession, the Paladins’ Mike Brown blocked a punt by the Chanticleers’ Ben Erdman at the Coastal 18. Three plays later Beckler connected on a 29-yard field goal to give Furman a 10-0 advantage.
Coastal Carolina rebounded with a pair of William Richardson touchdown strikes on its next two possessions to take a 14-10 lead.
Richardson’s 14-yard touchdown pass to Santini Washington early in the second quarter got the Chanticleers on the board, and after Marrio Norman intercepted a Gray pass the Paladin 43, Richardson capped the drive with a 17-yard scoring toss to Jerome Simpson with 7:33 to go in the first half.
Furman regained in the lead in the third quarter on a 1-yard touchdown run by fullback Jerome Felton ? the 54th of his career, a new school record.
A Paladin fumble at its own 29 led to a Justin Durham 42-yard field goal that knotted the game at 17-17 with 12:52 to go, but Furman quickly answered, using a 14-yard pass from Gray to Patrick Sprague and fumble recovery by Webb at the Chanticleer 6 following a 37-yard by Gipson. Two plays later Gray connected with Hedden in the end zone for the go-ahead score.
Beckler provided Furman with its final 10-point margin with a 42-yard field goal with 6:35 remaining.
Thomas Twitty led the paladins defense with a career high 17 tackles. Furman’s five sacks gave it 16 on the season, two more than the Paladins recorded in 12 games a year ago.
The Paladins take on arch-rival The Citadel next Saturday in Charleston in a 3:00 p.m. game while Coastal Carolina entertains Chowan in Conway next Saturday beginning at 7:00 p.m.
ARKANSAS 34, CHATTANOOGA 15
LITTLE ROCK, ARK. - The Arkansas running back tandem of Darren McFadden and Felix Jones combined to rush for 263 yards Saturday to lead the Razorbacks to a 34-15 victory over Chattanooga in a game played in Little Rock, Ark.
McFadden, who needed 153 yards to become the school’s all-time leading rusher, was held to a season low by the Mocs, 122 yards on 25 carries. Jones ended up with the better total with 141 yards on 13 carries while scoring two touchdowns.
UTC back Bryan Fitzgerald beat McFadden’s total by one yard. The second-string tailback earned his first career 100-yard game with 123 yards on 14 rushes. He scored on an exciting 65-yard touchdown run right up the middle of the Arkansas defense.
Fitzgerald’s scoring run came at 1:49 of the third quarter and sliced Arkansas’ lead to 24-15. The Mocs went for the two-point conversion, but the pass play failed.
“We’ve tried to get him in there,” UTC Head Coach Rodney Allison said of Fitzgerald. “He is a quality back. I thought it was a great run he made. Erroll (Wynn) is good too. Maybe we could have a mini version of what Arkansas has. I like to have two good backs. Both of our two are unselfish, just like the Arkansas backs. Our hope is as we go through the next six games we can get production out of both of them.”
Arkansas, now 3-2, added a one-yard Jones touchdown run with 13:43 to play and a 32-yard Alex Tejada field goal at the 10:39 mark of the fourth quarter for the final margin.
The Mocs, 1-4, enjoyed a short-lived lead in the first quarter. Arkansas snapped the ball over the quarterback’s head on the first play of the game and fell on it in the end zone for a safety and a 2-0 UTC lead. It was the second safety for the Mocs in as many weeks.
McFadden gave the Razorbacks the lead, 7-0, on a two-yard touchdown run with 8:43 left in the first quarter. Fullback Peyton Hillis hauled in a 24-yard pass from Casey Dick to push the margin to 14-2 at 1:40 of the opening period.
The Mocs cut the deficit to 14-9 at 7:28 of the second quarter as quarterback Antonio Miller hit fullback Brent Hayes with a three-yard touchdown pass. It was Miller’s sixth TD toss in the last three games.
Arkansas tacked on a 47-yard Tejada field goal right before the half, and the Razorbacks owned a 17-9 halftime lead.
Miller finished the game completing 4-of-22 pass attempts for 11 yards. He threw one interception while also gaining 32 yards on five rushes. Back Erroll Wynn picked up 32 yards on 19 carries.
McFadden and Jones ran for over 100 yards in the same game for the eighth time. Quarterback Casie Dick was 12-for-22 passing for 116 yards and one touchdown. UTC linebacker Joseph Thornton picked off a Dick pass.
“I thought our defense was the difference and kept us in the game,” Allison said. “We held our ground there for a little bit. I thought our kids played hard and competed as hard as they could. We had a very upbeat, positive approach. Our guys understand that they played well against a very physical team.”
UTC safety Chris Camacho set a career high with 18 tackles on the night. Linebacker Chris Johnson added 14, and Steven Mills compiled seven.
The Mocs return home next Saturday, hosting Southern Conference foe Western Carolina at 6 p.m. at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga for Homecoming.
ELON 38, WESTERN CAROLINA 36
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Western Carolina red-shirt freshman quarterback Adam Hearns threw for a career-best 310 yards and three touchdowns, adding 73 yards and his first career rushing score Saturday night as the Elon Phoenix held off the Catamounts, 38-36, in Southern Conference action at E.J. Whitmire Stadium.
The loss snapped Western's unbeaten mark against Elon at Whitmire Stadium (7-1) and relegated the Catamounts to their 10th-straight defeat in SoCon play.
Hearns, who was making his first collegiate start, helped the Catamounts out gain Elon, 462-to-404 in total offense, including a 152-to-28 yard edge in the rushing game. Senior Eddie Cohen was the rookie's favorite passing target on the night, hauling in a career-high 12 passes for 177 yards and a touchdown.
"I am hurting for the team. Everybody went out there and fought hard - we believed in each other all game long. We made some mistakes along the way and that's something we need to work on, but they played with a lot of effort out there and you can't be too down on them for that," said WCU head coach Kent Briggs. "(Adam) Hearns did a nice job for us and he fought hard all game long. He brought a lot of explosiveness to the offensive line and he avoided the pass rush well and made some key plays that were determining factors in the game."
In what started out as a high-scoring track meet with both teams combining for 51 first half points, it was the play of the respective defenses in the closing quarter that proved to be the difference in the outcome.
After staking itself to a two-point, 23-21, lead with 2:13 to play in the second quarter, Western witnessed the Phoenix post three-consecutive unanswered scores - including one with just 16 seconds on the clock before intermission - to surge in front by 15, 38-23, midway through the third quarter. A second lost Catamount fumble at the 8:15 mark gave Elon the ball with a chance to cement its lead. But the WCU defense rallied, allowing just one first down in forcing an Elon punt.
Six plays and 68 yards later, Hearns found senior Mike Malone on a 17-yard touchdown reception to shrink the deficit to eight, 38-30. On the ensuing Elon possession, back-to-back sacks by sophomore Kadeem Morgan and a combined sack by junior Jeff Bradley and senior Levander Thomas helped get Western the ball back as the third quarter closed. Four plays into the final 15-minute session, Hearns found Cohen from 10-yards out to pull WCU to within two, 38-36, but the two-point conversion attempt failed.
Over the remainder of the fourth quarter, the Catamounts had the ball four more times but were never able to cross midfield. Conversely, Western's defense did its part forcing two, three-and-outs by the Phoenix defense and forcing four punts.
"I wanted to go out and win, and fight as hard as I could," said Hearns on making his first collegiate start. "It is always hard making your first start, but coach (Briggs) put the game on my shoulders and I had to be the leader tonight. I didn't feel any pressure and I wasn't as nervous. I just wanted to go out and play my best tonight."
Last week's SoCon Defensive Player of the Week, Western's Quinton Phillips, again led the Catamounts, posting 10 tackles, including five solo stops, with one pass break up. Morgan, who was forced to play more snaps after first half injuries to starting linebackers Michael Shaw and Mordy Ornguze, finished with eight tackles including a pair of sacks and three total tackles for loss.
Additionally for the Catamount defense, junior rush end Brandon Drumgoole posted eight tackles, while his front line classmate Jeff Bradley recorded seven tackles including four tackles for loss, three quarterback hurries and 1.5 sacks.
Receiving the opening kickoff, Western Carolina opened the high-scoring first half as the Catamounts drove 57 yards in just five plays. The drive was sparked by a 38-yard hook-up from Hearns to Cohen, with sophomore tailback Willie Harper finishing off the drive with his first career TD run from two yards out. It marked just the second time this season - both coming at home - that WCU had scratched the scoreboard on its opening possession.
Elon and its frosh signal caller, Scott Riddle, answered on its first possession, knotting the game at seven with a seven-play, 59-yard drive.
However, in the simmering back-and-forth, see-saw slugfest, it was Western which first flinched. Leading by six, 13-7, after Hearns connected with sophomore Marcus Brown for his second career TD reception, the WCU defense forced a Phoenix punt setting up the offense with good field position. Yet, four plays later, a fumble cost the Catamounts a chance to extend its lead.
Capitalizing on the turnover, Elon opened the second quarter with a 25-yard touchdown strike from Riddle to Terrell Hudgins to push the Phoenix ahead, 14-13. Western fumbled the ensuing kickoff setting up the Phoenix with perfect field position which Riddle exploited with a 24-yard pass to Hudgins and later plunging in from one-yard out on a third and goal situation for the 21-13 lead.
But as was the case all night long, the Catamounts did not quit, answering with an 11-play, 50 yard drive keyed by an 11-yard pass to Cohen and an 11-yard slicing rush by Malone. Junior Jonathan Parsons finished off the possession with a 42-yard field goal that split the uprights to close the gap to five, 21-16.
After forcing a three-and-out by the Elon offense, Western Carolina took its final lead of the night on Hearns' first career scoring run, a slippery 11-yard scramble that was concluded with a head-first flip into the end zone as to allude several Phoenix defenders that put the Catamounts on-top, 23-21, before Elon tallied its three-straight scores.
For Elon, Riddle finished the night 30-for-45 for 354 yards with four passing touchdowns through the air. Hudgins and Michael Mayers each caught eight passes for 103 and 84 yards, respectively, with Hudgins tallying a pair of scores.
Western Carolina hits the road next Saturday as it travels to Chattanooga to face the Mocs at 6:00 pm at Finley Stadium.