No. 1 Appalachian State 44, North Carolina Central 16

BOONE, N.C. - Top-ranked Appalachian State University jumped out to a 24-0 lead less than three minutes into the second quarter and cruised to a 44-16 win over visiting North Carolina Central on Saturday afternoon at Kidd Brewer Stadium.

With the victory, Appalachian moved to 3-0 for only the second time in 12 seasons and claimed its 28th-straight triumph over an in-state opponent at home. ASU's last home loss to an in-state foe came on Oct. 6, 1984 when it dropped a 34-7 decision to Western Carolina at then-Conrad Stadium.

The Mountaineers, who struggled early in each of their first two games of the season, burst out of the gates on Saturday, scoring on each of their first four possessions to grab a commanding 24-0 lead. Travaris Cadet capped the early outburst with a career-long 52-yard touchdown run just 2:28 into the second period.

ASU dominated the action en route to the 24-point advantage, racking up 234 yards on its first four drives (10.6 yards per play), 197 of which came on 15 rushes (13.1 yards per carry).

The shutout bid came to an end when N.C. Central's Arthur Goforth returned the ensuing kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown but Jason Vitaris added his second field goal of the afternoon two series later to give ASU a 27-7 halftime lead.

Quarterback DeAndre Presley and many of the rest of Appalachian's offensive starters wrapped up their day by marching 66 yards in five plays on the first possession of the second half, culminating the drive with a two-yard touchdown run by Presley that stretched the advantage to 34-7.

Led by backup signal-caller Jamal Jackson, the Mountaineer reserves added two more scores - a 35-yard touchdown pass from Jackson to Tony Washington and Vitaris' third field goal of the day from 29 yards out - to cap the 44-point effort. For the first time in the school's 81-year football history, Appalachian has scored 40 or more points in each of the first three games of the season.

In all, the Apps totaled 524 yards of offense, including 328 on the ground. Cadet led the onslaught with a career-high 149 yards on just eight carries, good for an astounding 18.6-yard average. In just over one half of action, Presley completed 7-of-12 passes for 95 yards and ran six times for 57 yards (9.5 avg.) and a touchdown. Jackson was also impressive in the most extensive playing time of his career, completing 5-of-9 passes for 101 yards and a touchdown and running five times for 23 yards.

Wideout Matt Cline and tight end Ben Jorden led the Mountaineers receiving-wise with three catches apiece for 46 and 44 yards, respectively.

Defensively, ASU turned in another solid performance, limiting NCCU to 330 yards and just one offensive touchdown. Cornerback Troy Sanders and linebacker D.J. Smith paced the Apps with 10 tackles apiece and defensive end Jabari Fletcher added nine stops, including 1.5 for loss, a half-sack and his first career interception on a pass deflected by Sanders.

In all, the Mountaineers averaged nearly twice as many yards per play (8.5) as the Eagles (4.3).

A crowd of 29,218 - the fifth-largest in Kidd Brewer Stadium history - witnessed the rout and head coach Jerry Moore said that his team fed off of the energy.

"It was a special crowd," Moore said. "Our administration has tried some different things over the past two weeks to add even more energy to what's always been a great atmosphere here and I think it's working, especially with our students, who have been in the game from the beginning and staying into it right up to the end. You can really tell the difference on the field."

Appalachian (1-0 in Southern Conference play) resumes its conference slate next week when it travels to Samford (2-1, 0-0 SoCon). Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. ET at Seibert Stadium in Birmingham, Ala.

Western Carolina 28, Gardner-Webb 14

Boiling Springs, N.C. - Western Carolina converted two of its six defensive takeaways into 14 points, while senior Marquel Pittman and Michael Johnson both added offensive scores as the Catamounts rebounded Saturday night to upend the Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs, 28-14, at Spangler Stadium.

Junior defensive back Torez Jones intercepted a WCU school-record four passes and finished with a career-high 12 solo tackles including a sack to pace the Catamount defense which endured a combined 94 plays from the Gardner-Webb offense. Jones rewrote the 24-year old record for picks in a single game, erasing a previous four-way tie with three - most recently accomplished by Kenny Peeples against VMI in 1986.

Jones picked off a pass just before halftime that kept the Bulldogs off the board through the first 30 minutes of play. He capped his tremendous performance with a fourth pick at the WCU 12-yard line ending any thoughts of a home rally and allowing the Catamount offense to run out the clock in the "victory" formation.

In addition to Jones' career night, senior Mitchell Bell scored his second career touchdown giving the Catamounts a 7-0 lead it would never relinquish. Late in the first quarter, junior Trey Selby sacked GWU quarterback Chandler Browning, jarring the ball loose for WCU's first takeaway of the season. Bell scooped up the bouncing ball and scampered 45 yards for the score, ending the scoreless deadlock.

Bell nearly had his seventh career pick in the first half, but a defensive encroachment penalty erased his theft.

Leading 7-0 in the waning moments before halftime, senior Marquel Pittman - who was playing in his first game of the season - hauled in an inside screen pass from starting quarterback Zac Brindise. Pittman broke through several would-be tacklers before weaving his way 78 yards to the end zone to give the Catamounts a 14-0 lead at halftime. Pittman caught seven passes for 114 yards, adding 31 yards on punt returns for 145 all-purpose yards lead the Catamount offense which mustered 245 yards on 49 plays.

Brindise, who was making his first collegiate career start at quarterback, finished 12-of-22 for 141 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

Overall, Pittman recorded his seventh-career, 100-yard receiving performance. His TD reception also moved him into a tie for sixth-place in the school's career record books for touchdowns in a career, three shy of fifth-place and Jerry Gaines (1970-74).

After a scoreless third quarter, Gardner-Webb capped an eight-play, 71-yard drive with a 21-yard pass from quarterback John Rock to Marquis Sanders to end the shutout at the outset of the fourth quarter and pull the Runnin' Bulldogs to within one score, 14-7.

WCU was forced to punt on its ensuing possession, but the defense again stepped up. Senior Adam Hearns recorded his first career interception, jumping an out-route and pranced 22-yards in for the score to make it 21-7 with 12 and a half minutes to play in regulation.

The Bulldogs responded with a 10-play, 60-yard drive capped by a Rock keeper off the left side for one-yard to again pull back with seven points, 21-14.

With a re-energized home stadium and scarlet and black-clad faithful, sophomore Michael Johnson broke open a career-long, 60-yard rush, racing to pay dirt to seal the deal for the Catamounts, which snapped a three-game slide dating back to last season.

In addition to Jones' career performance with 12 tackles, sophomore Rock Williams and Bell both added 10 tackles with Bell tallying the fumble recovery for a score and two pass breakups. Senior Angelo Brown finished with eight tackles including two solo stops while four different players -Jones, Ricky Schwarz, Selby and Brandon Vaught- each recording a sack.

For the Bulldogs, the two-quarterback rotation netted 303 passing yards including 249 by John Rock and 54 by Chandler Browning. Rock was accountable for four of the five interceptions for GWU while Browning tossed one INT. Wide receiver Marquis Sanders caught a game-high eight passes for 97 yards and a score for GWU

Western Carolina (1-2) will open Southern Conference play next Saturday night in Cullowhee as it welcomes Chattanooga (1-2) to E.J. Whitmire Stadium / Bob Waters Field. Kickoff on the Mountain Heritage Day celebration game is set for 6:00 pm.

Wofford 48, Union 10

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - In the home opener for the Wofford College football team, the Terriers defeated Union College (Ky.) 48-10 at Gibbs Stadium. Wofford took a 42-3 lead at the half and held the Bulldogs to only one touchdown in the fourth quarter for the victory.

The Terriers are 2-1 on the season and the Bulldogs are 1-2. The Terriers were led by Eric Breitenstein with 134 yards on six carries with two touchdowns, while Brian Kass added two rushing touchdowns and Mitch Allen connected twice with Brenton Bersin on touchdowns. The Bulldogs were led by Armond Smith with 45 yards and quarterback Mike Brinkley was 11-of-17 with a touchdown and one interception. Sean Mackey had 109 receiving yards and one touchdown.

The Terriers took the opening kickoff and drove 73 yards in eight plays to score first when Mitch Allen found Brenton Bersin in the end-zone for a 30-yard touchdown reception four minutes into the game. On the first possession by the Bulldogs, they put together a 12-play drive but had to settle for a 23-yard field goal by Chad Boyington for a 7-3 score with 4:48 remaining in the first quarter.

On the next drive for Wofford, Eric Breitenstein went 60-yards for a touchdown on the second play from scrimmage to take a 14-3 lead. Union was able to drive inside the Wofford red-zone on their next possession, however Tommy Irvin came up with an interception on the goal line to end the scoring opportunity. With the ball back, the Terriers wasted little time in getting back on the scoreboard as Mitch Allen found Brenton Bersin for a 22-yard touchdown reception at 13:44 in the second quarter to take a 21-3 lead.

Union College gained one first down on their next possession before being forced to punt. After a punt of only six yards, the Terriers needed only four plays to score again as Brian Kass ran the ball in from 16-yards out for a 35-3 lead. The Bulldogs got the ball back with 3:44 left in the half. After gaining one first down, they were forced to punt. The snap went over the head of the punter and the ball was recovered by the Terriers at the four-yard line. On the next play from scrimmage, Brian Kass ran the ball in for a four-yard touchdown and the Terriers had a 42-3 lead at the half.

On the first drive of the second half by Union, the Bulldogs were forced three-and-out. With the ball back, Wofford added to the lead with a 47-yard field goal at 10:19 in the third quarter for a 45-3 advantage. The Bulldogs gained a first down on their next drive, but were forced to punt. After the punt, the Terriers were able to put together a drive that used over five minutes and a 48-yard field goal by Christian Reed made it a 45-3 game.

The Bulldogs picked up a first down on their next drive, but punted once again. The Terriers held the ball for the next five minutes and settled for a 48-yard field goal by Christian Reed with 1:02 left in the third quarter to take a 48-3 lead. Early in the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs answered with a big play as Mike Brinkley found Sean Mackey for a 62-yard touchdown reception to make it a 48-10 game with 14:10 remaining in the game.

Chris White came in at quarterback for Wofford and after picking up one first down the Terriers punted. Union was able to drive to the Terriers 25-yard line before turning the ball over on downs. A fumble by Wofford gave the Bulldogs the ball back at the 19-yard line, but again Union turned it over on downs after failing to convert a fourth-and-four. Wofford gained one first down on the final drive as they ran out the clock for a 48-10 final score.

The Terriers had 421 total yards, with 335 on the ground. Union had 242 yards, 160 of which were passing. The Bulldogs had the time of possession advantage. Wofford was 3-of-7 on third downs and made one fourth down conversion. Union was 7-of-16 on third down and one-of-four on fourth down.

Wofford will take next weekend off before opening Southern Conference play on October 2 at Gibbs Stadium against Furman.

Chattanooga 42, Eastern Kentucky 24

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team gained its first win in offensive fashion defeating visiting Eastern Kentucky (0-3) 42-24 Saturday night at Finley Stadium.  Chattanooga (1-2) jumped out early in registering 548 of total offense and never looked back,

The Mocs received a school record at hands of junior wideout Joel Bradford who set a new standard for receiving yards with 254 on 11 catches.  He was the favorite target on the evening of high school teammate B.J. Coleman who completed 24 of 32 attempts, one interception, for a career-high 375 yards and four touchdowns.

The dynamic duo was joined by senior Erroll Wynn who ran for 122 yards on just 17 carries, also garnering a score.  It was the first time since Nov. 13, 2004 that the Mocs had a 300-yard passer, 100-yard rusher and 100-yard receiver in a game.

UTC opened the game as it has all season, with a scoring drive.  Coleman marched the team 76 yards in eight plays finding a wide-open Sloan Allison from 21 yards out for his first collegiate score.  Coleman was 5-6 on the drive for 60 yards.

The next score belonged to the Mocs as well, but in circus-like fashion.  Two Colonels made a play on a Coleman pass tipping it in the air, but it landed in the waiting arms of Bradford near midfield.  He scampered the remaining yards for an 80-yard catch and run and a 14-0 Mocs lead.

EKU answered.  A Yameen Thomas sack of Coleman in the end zone cut the margin to 14-2 late in the first quarter.  Early in the second, T.J. Pryor, 2009 OVC Freshman of the Year, found Tyrone Goard from six yards out to make it 14-9.

A J.D. Dothard interception and 20-yard return gave the Mocs great field position at the EKU 39.  Eight plays later, Coleman found redshirt freshman Marlon Anthony on a fade route into the left corner of the end zone to push the lead to 21-9.

An onside kick by Chattanooga did not catch the Colonels off guard.  Taking over at the UTC 48, EKU got down to the Mocs' 17 before turning the ball over on downs with 1:09 left in the half.

Wynn took the ball up in the middle for a game-long 37 yards to the EKU 46 putting UTC in business near midfield.  Seven plays later Wynn finished what he started with a two-yard rush behind left tackle Chris Harr to give Chattanooga a 28-9 halftime advantage.

UTC came out with the first score of the second half as well in its first possession.  Finding a perfect balance of ground and air, the Mocs went 91 yards in nine plays with Coleman finding Allison for a second score, this time from 14 yards out and a 35-9 advantage.

Despite the 26-point deficit, the Colonels were not deterred.  They clawed back with scores to close it to 35-24.

The first came on a Pryor touchdown toss to Orlandus Harris from 10 yards on fourth down with 6:07 left in the third quarter.  With 7:13 remaining in the game, Shawn Shupperd scooped up Mike Hammons blocked punt attempt by Marcus Williams and rumbled 25 yards to make it 35-24.

Coleman gathered his troops for another scoring drive.  The Mocs drove 86 yards in nine plays for the final margin of 42-24 on a Keon Williams three-yard rush to close out the Colonels.  It was fourth drive of 80 or more yards for UTC in the game.

Pryor was 27-41 for 236 yards and two scores, but was picked off three times by the Mocs.  The Colonels were limited to just 58 yards on the ground by a stingy UTC defense.  Chattanooga native Jeremy Caldwell led the EKU defense with nine stops.

Ryan Consiglio had a game-high 10 tackles for the Mocs.  Josh Williams (three) and Chris Donald (2.5) combined for five-and-a-half sacks as UTC registered six sacks and eight total tackles for loss.

Dothard's interception was the Mocs' first of the game and Kadeem Wise's on the Colonels final drive sandwiched a phenomenal one-handed grab by senior corner Buster Skrine.  Skrine's acrobatic grab was even more amazing considering he came back from a dislocated elbow in the opening game two weeks before.

Allison's two grabs for 35 yards came on both scores.  He also made two tackles on special teams.

The Mocs gained 548 yards of total offense, their most since the 2004 59-56 win over Appalachian State.  UTC out-gained its visitors by 254 yards, 115 yards on the ground.

Chattanooga returns to the road and Southern Conference play next week at Western Carolina.  Kickoff in Cullowhee, N.C., is slated for 6 p.m.

The Citadel 26, Presbyterian 14

CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Citadel Football team rushed for 359 yards, their most since 2003, en route to a 26-14 win over Presbyterian after a 40-minute weather delay on Saturday night in front of 12,792 fans at Johnson Hagood Stadium.

Both the Bulldogs and Blue Hose running games got off to a quick start as touchdown runs by Terrell Dallas for 37 yards and PC's Trandon Dendy for 43 yards quickly tied the game at 7-7 with 7:54 on the clock in the first quarter.

However, it would be The Citadel running game that would dominate the first half as Van Dyke Jones earned the second Bulldog touchdown off a pitch from quarterback Matt Thompson two minutes and six seconds later. The Bulldogs gained possession after Demetrius Jackson intercepted a Brandon Miley pass at The Citadel 43-yard line. After a series of rushes, Thompson found Jones for a 24-yard reception to the PC 24. However, an illegal formation penalty would back the Bulldogs to the 29. Three plays later, Jones rushed for 17 yards and the end zone, extending The Citadel's lead to 14-7 with 8:12 left in the second quarter.

On the first play of the Bulldogs' next possession, Dallas recorded his second touchdown of the game when he broke loose up the middle for an 80-yard run with 6:05 on the clock. The run marked the longest since a 92-yard run by Nehemiah Brought against Chattanooga in 2004. Sam Keeler's extra point attempt was good and the Bulldogs went up, 21-7.

The Citadel defense kept the Blue Hose out of the red zone for the remainder of the half, leaving Presbyterian scoreless in the second quarter. The Citadel went into halftime up, 21-7. Dallas led the offense in the first half with 154 yards on nine carries and two touchdowns, while Chris Billingslea totaled four solo tackles to lead the Bulldog defense.

Both teams would remain scoreless in the third quarter after a 32-yard field goal attempt by Sam Keeler was no good. However, a second interception by Jackson, just before the end of the third quarter, setup The Citadel's fourth scoring drive that was capped off by a 21-yard Keeler field goal to put the Bulldogs up, 24-7.

Cortez Allen recorded the Bulldogs' third interception of the game to regain possession at midfield, but The Citadel was unable to convert the drive into a score. After forcing the Blue Hose to a three-and-out, the Bulldogs drove to the PC 26-yard line, but a fumble by Sam Martin turned the ball back over to Presbyterian. Miley would then lead the PC scoring drive as he scampered into the end zone on a 15-yard run to cap a six-play, 76-yard drive in 58 seconds to narrow the gap to 24-14. After an unsuccessful on-side kick by Presbyterian, the Bulldogs would get the ball at the PC 34-yard line, but were unable to get a first down and were forced to punt.

Cass Couey's 31-yard punt backed the Blue Hose back to the 3-yard line and Miley was then sacked on the first play in the end zone for a safety by Billinglsea and Erik Clanton. Another unsuccessful on-side kick would  give the Bulldogs the ball at the PC 24-yard line allowing The Citadel to run out the clock.

The Bulldog offense totaled 370 total yards, 359 of which were on the ground. That is the most rushing yards in a game for the Bulldogs since they totaled 435 yards on the ground against Charleston Southern on Aug. 30, 2003.

Dallas racked up a career-high 172 yards and two touchdowns. Presbyterian totaled 212 total yards with Dendy totaling 103 yards on 15 carries.

The Citadel returns to action on Saturday, Sept. 25 as they open their SoCon slate at Furman at 2 p.m.

Georgia Southern 43, Coastal Carolina 26

CONWAY, S.C. - It wasn't until the waning seconds of the fourth quarter when Georgia Southern felt like the battle had been won. After the teams traded scores in the third and fourth quarters, Coastal Carolina fought back to within three points in its home opener before the Eagles sealed the 43-26 win at Brooks Stadium with two late fourth quarter scores.

Neither team scored in the first quarter, but the Eagles took control in the second quarter and took a 19-6 lead into halftime. As Georgia Southern Head Coach Jeff Monken has told his team before, it usually takes more than the halftime score to win.

It took a little of everything on Saturday - the total team effort - offense, defense and special teams - combined as Georgia Southern battled to the road win. In the end, it was sophomore Kyle Oehlbeck's quirky fumble recovery for a touchdown with 2:46 left in the game that provided the Eagles with a 36-26 margin. Junior quarterback Jaybo Shaw's broke the plane for Georgia Southern's last touchdown with junior kicker Adrian Mora adding the point after for the 43-26 final. Mora had two field goals and five PATs.

The Eagles ran for 209 yards with freshman fullback Robert Brown with a game-high 66 yards and touchdown. Shaw had Georgia Southern's second rushing touchdown and had 48 yards for the game, passing for 160 yards and TD passes to sophomore slotback J.J Wilcox and freshman Tray Butler.

Linebacker Josh Rowe had his second-straight game with double digit tackles with 10, tying his career best. Oehlback and Derek Heyden each had six tackles with Rowe, Oehlbeck, Heyden and Dion DuBose also recording a tackle for loss. Five Eagles had five tackles each. Both Heyden's and A.J. McCray's interceptions were the first of their careers. Freshman linebacker Carlos Cave blocked Coastal's punt.

In the fourth quarter, the Chanticleers held the Eagles to two straight three-and-out series and then capitalized with 96-second, 95-yard Coastal touchdown drive following a GS turnover to pull within three points. Getting the ball back off a red zone fumble, Coastal Carolina's O'Neal begins the drive with a 30-yard rush to put the Chants at their own 35 yard line. MacDowell completed four of his next six passes, with the Coastal receivers making acrobatic catches for first downs. MacDowell's final pass of the drive was a 34-yard touchdown pass to Marquel Willis to bring Chants within three points, 29-26.

Junior punter Charlie Edwards' 50-yard punt and Coastal penalty after a stalled Eagle series put Coastal at their own five-yard line. The Chants' quarterback Zach MacDowell completed a five-yard pass to Brandon Whitley and then fumbled on the next play with an alert Oehlbeck picking it up for the Eagle touchdown, GS 36-26.

MacDowell, who had surpassed his own record for completions earlier in the quarter with 26, went 0-5 on five attempts on Coastal's drive that started at 2:38 of the fourth quarter. MacDowell finished the night 26-40 for 302 yards and three touchdowns. Georgia Southern converted one of his two interceptions into a second quarter score.

The tide turned as Coastal came back with a quick 3:26 scoring drive covering 73 yards. Tight end David Duran pulled in a 12-yard pass for a touchdown to keep the Chanticleers within 10 points, 29-19.

The Eagles added a Mora 36-yard field goal to put the score at 22-6 early in the third quarter, but Coastal Carolina went 74 yards down the field in eight plays and 2:58 to add a touchdown. The two-point conversion attempt failed and the Eagles kept a 10-point lead, 22-12, with 9:11 left in the third quarter. Shaw was stopped by the Chant defense and backed up to third-and-12 on the Eagles' 30-yard line when he hit Wilcox with a key 19-yard reception. Wilcox carried the ball on three of the next five plays, then Shaw found him again for a 15-yard touchdown reception for a 29-12 Eagle lead.

With just over four minutes left in the first half and Coastal picking up its third first down of its drive at the Georgia Southern 29, Heyden intercepted MacDowell's pass to give the ball back to the Eagles. After a handoff to R. Brown for six yards, Shaw motored to midfield with a 20-yard run. A six-yard run by Wilcox combined with another Shaw rush for eight yards and Darreion Robinson six-yard play, brought the Eagles to the Coastal 29 yard line. R. Brown picked up four yards to the 25 and on the next play, Shaw hit Butler for his first career touchdown reception and the longest Eagle TD reception of 2010 for the 19-6 halftime score.

Coastal Carolina responded with a quick 2:19 drive from its own 33-yard line to the five-yard line in Eagle territory and Eric O'Neal punched it in from four yards out to make the score GS 10, Coastal 6.  Sophomore nose tackle Brent Russell blocked the point after attempt, scooped up the loose ball and headed downfield. With a Coastal player approaching, Russell lateralled to Heyden who scored the defensive conversion, Georgia Southern 12, Coastal 6.

Georgia Southern continued its drive from the end of the first quarter and Mora hit a 41-yard field goal at 14:20 for a 3-0 lead. Holding the Chants defense to three and out, Ben Erdman's punt was blocked and junior A.J. McCray recovered the ball at the Coastal five yard line. Five plays later, freshman fullback Robert Brown crossed the goal line to put the Eagles up 10-0.

No. 9 Richmond 27, No. 7 Elon 21 (OT)

RICHMOND, Va. - The first game in the history of Richmond's Robins Stadium was a memorable one which featured two scores in the final two minutes and an overtime period.  Unfortunately for seventh-ranked Elon, the ninth-rated Spiders scored overtime's only points for a 27-21 victory.  In the loss, Elon's Aaron Mellette set a new program record with 18 receptions, surpassing the mark of 16 catches set by Terrell Hudgins on three separate occasions.

With the game tied at 14, the Richmond Spiders went 76 yards in 18 plays to take a 21-14 lead with just 1:41 left to play in the fourth quarter, but saw the Elon Phoenix march right back down the field and tie the game on an athletic grab by Mellette as time expired in regulation.

The Phoenix (1-2) got the ball to start the overtime period and lined up for a 37-yard field goal attempt by Adam Shreiner.  The kick came out low and was blocked by Richmond's Casey Cooley.

Richmond (1-1) took its overtime possession and gained nine yards on a Tyler Kirchoff run to move the ball to the Elon 16 on its first play.  Kirchoff found the end zone on the next play, driving 16 yards for the rushing score to give the Spiders the victory.

"It was a very memorable football game," stated Elon head coach Pete Lembo.  "I'm just disappointed to be on the short side of it.  I was really pleased with how we came out and scored early and set the tone and tried to quiet the crowd down a little bit.  I thought we struggled a little bit on offense in the second half.  We tried to create some momentum with the fake punt, but it wasn't enough to get some more points on the board."

The first drive in Robins Stadium resulted in an Elon touchdown after the Phoenix marched 80 yards on eight plays, seven of which were passes.  Scott Riddle found Lance Camp for a 12-yard gain on the first play from scrimmage.  Riddle threw on the next five plays, completing each to move the ball down to the Richmond 25.  A.J. Harris got the first carry of the game on the next play, gaining nine yards to the 16 before Riddle threaded a laser through multiple Spider defenders to Mellette for the score.

On the fourth play of Richmond's opening drive, the snap went past Spider quarterback Aaron Corp and was recovered by Elon's Travis Greene at the Richmond 34 to give the Phoenix prime field position.  Elon was unable to capitalize on the turnover, however, as Shreiner's 27-yard field goal attempt clanged off of the left upright.

Richmond faced a third-and-11 on the first play of the second period and gained 10 yards before going for it on fourth down from its own 45-yard line.  The Spiders gained four yards on the carry by Kendall Gaskins to move the chains.  Corp then completed passes of 19 and 22 yards to Tre Gray and Kevin Grayson, respectively, as the Spiders moved to the Elon 10.  On third-and-goal from the five, Corp hit Grayson with the tying score with 12:17 to play in the first half.

After a 24-yard kickoff return from Kierre Brown gave Elon the ball at its own 33, Riddle connected with Mellette who raced downfield for a gain of 33 yards to Richmond's 34-yard line.  Elon picked up another two first downs to get to the Richmond 12.  On second down, Riddle hit Sean Jeffcoat for six yards to the six.  After a timeout, Riddle found Harris for a six-yard TD strike to cap a nine-play, 67-yard drive as the Phoenix moved back on top 14-7.

The Phoenix had Richmond backed up after a personal foul penalty that put the Spiders in a second-and-24, but Richmond gained five yards on second down before picking up 23 yards on third-and-19 to keep the drive alive.  Elon again had Richmond in a third-and-long later in the drive, but Corp scrambled for 13 yards and another Spider first down at the Elon 31.  Elon looked to have Richmond stopped on a third-and-seven, but was flagged for a penalty that extended the drive and gave the Spiders a first down at the Elon six.  After a loss of three on first down, Garrett Wilkins rushed nine yards to even the score back up at 14-14 with just 1:18 to play in the first half.  The Richmond drive covered 83 yards and took 8:03 off the clock.

In the first 30 minutes of play, Elon outgained Richmond in total yardage by a 221-156 margin.  Elon converted five of its six third downs while Richmond was successful on four of its eight third down attempts.  

For the Phoenix, Mellette gained 114 receiving yards on nine catches while Riddle completed 19 of his 29 attempts for 196 yards in the first half.

The Spiders began their second drive of the half at their own 30 before driving down to the Elon 22.  John Laub, in for Corp who went out with an injury earlier in the drive, was then picked off by Greene who returned the ball to the Elon 26.  It was the first career interception for Greene.

After Elon had to punt, Richmond moved to the Elon 35 where the Spiders faced a fourth-and-two with 2:29 to play in the third quarter.  Richmond picked up its second fourth down conversion of the game when Laub found Kendall Gaskins for a gain of seven.  Chandler Wrightenberry put an end to Richmond's scoring threat when he intercepted a Laub pass at the two-yard line and returned it to the Elon 13.

Richmond continued to convert on third downs when Corp hit Gray for 11 yards on third-and-six as the Spiders moved to the Elon 48.  On second-and-10, the Phoenix was called for a penalty that moved the ball to the Elon 33 with just over five minutes to play.  On yet another third-and-long, Richmond converted, gaining 17 yards on a pass to Gray that put the ball at the Elon 14.  Facing a second-and-16, Elon was flagged for a pass interference call that gave the Spiders a first down at the 15.  On the next play, Richmond was called for a hold that backed the ball up to the Elon 23 before the Spiders were hit with a delay of game penalty that put the ball at the 28.  Richmond would line up for a 42-yard field goal with 2:06 remaining in the fourth quarter.  Wil Kamin's kick spilt the uprights, but the Phoenix was flagged for a penalty that gave Richmond a first down at the 12-yard line. On third down from the six, Gaskins raced in for the go-ahead score as the Spiders took their first lead of the day at 21-14 with 1:41 to go.

The Phoenix answered, marching 79 yards on 12 plays to even the score as time expired.  On the drive, Riddle found Mellette four times for a total of 42 yards, including the 25-yard TD throw in the back corner of the end zone to cap the drive.  Jeffcoat also snared two balls for 17 yards during the game-tying possession.

Mellette had a career day for the second consecutive outing.  The sophomore finished the day with 18 grabs for 195 yards and two touchdowns.  The Elon-record 18 receptions are tied for the second-most in Southern Conference history with Chattanooga's Alonzo Nix (vs. Wofford on Oct. 4, 2003) and just two shy of the SoCon record of 20 held by Richmond's Walker Gillette (vs. Ohio on Dec. 27, 1968).  Riddle recorded the 18th 300-yard passing effort of his career, throwing for 319 yards on 34 completions.  His 55 passing attempts were a career-high.

Richmond's Corp ended the day with 207 passing yards, completing 19 of his 32 attempts.  Gray and Grayson both had six catches for 73 and 57 yards, respectively.

Defensively, Elon's Ronnie Hardison tallied 11 stops, a personal best, while Terell Wilson made a career-high 10 tackles.  Greene had one interception, recovered a fumble and made seven tackles.

For the Spiders, Darrius McMillan led the team with 10 tackles.

Richmond converted nine of their 18 third down attempts on the day.

Elon is now 3-4 all-time in overtime contests, but had won two straight when going to extra time.  The last OT game for Elon was on Oct. 13, 2007 - a 36-33 double overtime decision over Georgia Southern.

South Carolina 38, No. 25 Furman 19

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Stephen Garcia threw for two touchdowns, freshman Marcus Lattimore rushed for one and South Carolina won 38-19 on Saturday, improving to 3-0 for the first time in three years. Not that it came easily against the Paladins -- something that's happened before with FCS teams in Spurrier's six seasons.

The Gamecocks needed a fourth-quarter interception to hold on against Wofford 27-20 in 2006, then managed only a pair of touchdowns against those same Terriers in a 23-13 win.

The last time they played Furman was even worse for the Gamecocks, a stunning 28-23 win for Paladins at Williams-Brice Stadium in 1982.

And Furman (1-1) of the FCS Southern Conference seemed poised to make this one tight, cutting a 28-6 lead to 31-19 in the final period and driving for more before Stephon Gilmore's interception and 80-yard TD return finally settled things.

Furman's Adam Mims finished with 10 catches for 202 yards.

Garcia's 15-yard scoring throw to Tori Gurley and Lattimore's 4-yard touchdown run put the Gamecocks up 14-0.

When Garcia completed a nifty 6-yard throw to D.L. Moore in the back of the end zone early in the third quarter, South Carolina led 28-6 and looked ready to rout Furman.

But the Gamecocks had trouble putting this one away.

Shawn Boone began Furman's comeback, tipping and catching Garcia's screen pass attempt near the goal line for a 3-yard touchdown return.

After Spencer Lanning's career best 51-yard field goal, the Paladins struck again with Tersoo Uhaa's halfback pass to Mims for a 72-yard touchdown.

Furman drove 53 yards to South Carolina's 30 the next time it had the ball before Cody Worley's overthrown pass settled in Gilmore's hands with a clear path to the end zone.

"We could have folded at 14-9, and they could have run out of the stadium," said Furman coach Bobby Lamb, a freshman quarterback on the Paladins' 1982 giant killers. "But we made some things happen."

Still, Spurrier improved to 40-0 all time against programs from outside the BCS automatic qualifier conferences.

Garcia finished 13 of 20 for 150 yards with his first two interceptions of the year. Lattimore added 97 yards rushing and his fifth TD on the ground this year. Jeffery had five catches for 97 yards, coming up short of his third straight game with at least 100 receiving yards.

South Carolina's defense registered seven sacks and held Furman to 51 yards on the ground.