In the Elon University football team’s spring game, Maroon beat White 23-0, with rising sophomore defensive back Greg Liggs Jr. shining for the Phoenix.
Head coach Rich Skrosky was pleased with the team’s progress in the final practice of the spring, and impressed with the defense's seven interceptions on the day.
“It was good,” Skrosky said. “Overall, with the winter and spring [done], I’m really pleased with where we are at. Today was good.”
Liggs Jr. intercepted rising sophomore quarterback Daniel Thompson three times on the night, returning the first interception 30 yards for the first touchdown of the game.
Liggs Jr. then picked off Thompson again, this time on a jump ball, and returned it 77 yards, from Maroon’s 21-yard line to White’s 2-yard line. Liggs Jr. spun away from rising sophomore running back Copeland Spell.
“We might have to do a couple more sprints at practice,” Liggs Jr. said. “I ran out of gas. Daniel was signaling me to stop because he has a blue jersey on and I don’t think he wanted me to get any contact. I got caught on the two- or three-yard line, but it’s all good.”
Liggs Jr. grabbed a third interception in the second quarter, and nearly had a fourth later in the game. On that near-interception, redshirt freshman wide receiver Josh Ramseur almost caught the ball in the end zone, but the pass fell incomplete.
“Right through my hands,” Liggs, Jr. said. “I was scared — I thought Josh might’ve still come down with the catch. But we pitched a little shutout, so that’s a good thing.”
Rising sophomore defensive lineman Josh Armstrong sacked Thompson twice in a three-play series, of which he joked afterward is easier when he can just touch the quarterback and get credit for the sack. The shutout that he and the Maroon team achieved made a big difference for Armstrong.
“All week, Maroon and White has been so competitive,” Armstrong said. “Pregame, we were hyped up. White was talking crap to Maroon, Maroon was talking crap to white. It’s nice to come out here and shut them out.”
Rising sophomore quarterback Connor Christiansen threw two touchdown passes on the day, with a nine-yard pass to rising sophomore wide receiver Corey Joyner in the first quarter and a 20-yard pass to rising sophomore wide receiver Efrim Borders on the final play of the game.
It’s the second straight spring game that Christiansen has scored a touchdown as the game was ending, for he ran in a touchdown in last year’s spring game. When reminded of this, Christiansen laughed.
“I hadn’t been thinking about that … It’s kind of cool. We’ll see if we can keep it going the next couple of years,” Christiansen said. “It’s just a great play by Efrim. I just threw it up, gave him a chance and he made a play.”
The football program will take the next month off before beginning summer workouts May 30. Skrosky and his coaching staff will spend the majority of May on the recruiting trail.