On the first play of the game, Elon junior quarterback Scott Riddle completed a 44-yard pass to senior wide receiver Terrell Hudgins. With this pass, Hudgins became the all-time leader in career receiving yards passing Jerry Rice.
All the questions of when and how Hudgins was going to break the record were quickly put to rest. Elon couldn't finish off the excitement of the first play into a score, however, with Shreiner missing a 38-yard field goal.
On its first drive, Western Carolina came out looking sharp and moving the ball with almost easy against the top-ranked Elon defense. Freshman running back Michael Johnson had a 31-yard rush, which was the highest for Western Carolina on the season.
Elon scored its first points on a 26-yard rush by junior running back Brandon Newsome with 3:26 left in the quarter.
Western Carolina quickly responded with a 9-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Zack Jaynes to wide receiver Chris Everett, with 20.4 seconds left in first quarter.
This touchdown was the first first quarter touchdown Western Carolina has had all season. It was also the first first half touchdown that Elon has allowed since playing against Wake Forest.