The Elon University football team had trouble getting any form of offense going in a 23-10 loss to North Carolina A&T State University inside Aggie Stadium Saturday September 14th.
The struggle was evident from the start, where the Phoenix recorded just five first downs in its eight first half possessions. The two teams punted on the first five possessions of the contest, gaining a combined 20 yards on 16 plays. A long A&T drive ended in a missed field goal, and the teams were scoreless after the first quarter.
The Aggies finally put some points on the board when freshman kicker Cody Jones capped a 14 play, 67-yard drive by nailing a 32-yard field goal. Elon punted on the ensuing possession after yet another three-and-out before North Carolina A&T converted a 3rd and 10 into a 60-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Lewis Kindle to senior receiver Demonta Brown.
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Elon junior quarterback Mike Quinn finally started to look like the same player that threw for 278 yards a week ago when he completed 5-of-7 passes for 57 yards on a drive that ended with a 33-yard field goal by freshman kicker John Gallagher, the first make of his Phoenix career. But the Aggies weren’t finished yet, as a 55-yard kickoff return set up a successful 38-yard field goal by Jones and A&T led, 13-3, at the break.
After an A&T punt to start the half, Elon drove 63 yards only to see it go to waste on a missed field goal by Gallagher. The Aggies answered with a field goal of their own — a 33 yarder and Jones’ third of the day. Near the end of the third, the Phoenix finally found the end zone on a 41-yard pass from Quinn to sophomore running back Tracey Coppedge, cutting the A&T lead to 16-10 after three quarters of play.
The first four drives of the fourth quarter were all unproductive, but when A&T took over at their own 20 yard line with 8:00 to play, the Aggies made that drive count. Killing 6:38 off the game clock in 13 plays, the home team put the dagger in the heart of Elon when senior running back Dominique Drake scored from one yard out with just 1:22 to play. The drive saw eight running plays, four complete passes by Kindle and just one incompletion.
Trailing 23-10, the Phoenix took over at its own 41 with 1:15 left. Quinn marched his team downfield to the 15 of A&T with three passes of 11 yards or more and the clock read 0:16. After the team took a timeout, two incompletions and a sack by A&T’s Daniel Pinnix ended the game.
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The teams were a combined 10-of-34 on third down and punted a total of 13 times. Elon amassed 340 total yards while North Carolina A&T managed 469.
Kindle finished at 20-of-38 passing for 288 yards and a touchdown. Kindle utilized junior wide receiver Desmond Lawrence, who caught 10 passes for 148 yards, as his primary target.
Quinn was 25-of-46 passing for 295 yards and a touchdown. Junior Kierre Brown, freshman Justin Osborne, and senior Rasaun Rorie each caught five passes while the running back trio of Coppedge, freshman B.J. Bennett, and junior Karl Bostick mustered a mere 57 yards on 19 carries combined.
Elon drops to 1-2 overall on the season. The Phoenix now looks ahead to welcoming Appalachian State University to Rhodes Stadium at 6 p.m. Saturday September 21 for their first Southern Conference game of the season.