It took a round of overtime, but the Elon football team managed to come away with an 18-15 victory over The Citadel in front of more than 10,000 fans at Rhodes Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 24.
The Phoenix responded after trailing 15-12 early in the fourth quarter to come back and earn a win in the team's Southern Conference opener. Elon improved its record to 3-1 on the season (1-0 in the SoCon) while The Citadel dropped to 1-2 (0-2 in the SoCon).
Junior kicker Adam Shreiner's 33-yard field goal on Elon's first and only drive in overtime turned out to be the game-winner, as the Phoenix defense then stopped the Citadel and forced the team to attempt a field goal. The Citadel kicker Ryan Sellers was unable to put the ball through the uprights, and Elon held on to win a defensive game in its home stadium.
"The thing I was proud of was that we just kept fighting and fighting," head coach Jason Swepson said. "We missed a couple of field goals but we still had faith in that unit and we got in a position in overtime to win the game."
Elon took a 6-0 lead in the second quarter after two Shreiner field goals, but The Citadel answered when running back Darien Robinson broke through the middle of the line and ran 67 yards for a touchdown.
The Citadel relied on its triple option offense and finished with 257 rushing yards compared to only 10 passing yards. Elon operated a more balanced offensive attack and finished with 162 rushing yards to go along with junior quarterback Thomas Wilson's 283 passing yards and one touchdown.
Wilson and junior wide receiver Aaron Mellette connected for a touchdown pass for the fourth straight game this season. Wilson lofted a deep ball towards Mellette in the third quarter and the 6-foot 4-inch wide receiver adjusted to find the ball and make the catch for a 41-yard score.
"Honestly I did not see the ball until the last second," Mellette said. "I was on my outside shoulder and I just saw a brown object move and I just had to flip my head in and there it was."
The touchdown put the Phoenix ahead 12-6 after a failed two-point conversion. The Citadel then took a 15-12 lead after running back Rickey Anderson threw one of the team's four pass attempts in the game to wide receiver Kevin Hardy who caught the ball in the endzone. The Citadel went to the air again on the next play to convert the two-point conversion.
A 36-yard field goal by Adam Shreiner tied the game at 15-15, and the junior kicker then had the chance to win the game on the last play of regulation. Swepson elected to let the clock run down to the final few seconds rather than try and gain more yards to make it a shorter attempt.
"I just wanted to give our field goal unit a chance," Swepson said. "I didn't want to take any risks or anything like that to give them an opportunity to get the ball or not have the opportunity to get to kick a field goal."
Shreiner missed the 44-yard attempt at the end of regulation but responded to hit the game-winner in overtime.
"That was my best kick of the day," Shreiner said. "No doubt. Right down the middle."