THE PENDULUM

by Sam Calvert, November 3, 2009

With 1:30 left in the first half, junior quarterback Scott Riddle took the snap on the 32-yard line, stepped back and slung the ball across the goal line to senior wide receiver Terrell Hudgins for the second touchdown of the game at Wofford College last Saturday. 

Those 32 yards pushed Hudgins over the 100 yard mark for the game, his 24th game with more than 100 receiving yards, to surpass Jerry Rice of Mississippi Valley State for the Football Championship Subdivision record.

This was just six of the Phoenix's points on its way to defeating Wofford 34-6, another conference win to increase the team's record to 5-0 in the Southern Conference and 7-1 overall. At 1 p.m. Saturday, Elon will try to continue its unbeaten record, traveling to Western Carolina.

Another SoCon win

Although Elon's offense controlled the ball for 12:14 of the first quarter, the team's only points in the opening quarter came from a 36-yard field goal by redshirt freshman Adam Shreiner. Shreiner was named the SoCon's Special Teams Player of the Week. 

Despite only scoring three points in the first quarter, 45 minutes later the team was heading off the field with 34 points, 18 of which came from passes from Riddle to Hudgins.

"It was a cohesive team effort," head coach Pete Lembo said. "We felt like everybody knew their role. We were focused and plugged in."

The Phoenix recorded 402 total yards of offense, with 323 passing yards. Hudgins led receivers with 11 catches for 153 yards, and junior running back Brandon Newsome led the team in rushing with 10 catches for 43 yards.

"They blitzed us more than we thought they would going in, and what that created was some more opportunities to throw it down the field," Lembo said.

On the other side of the ball, the Phoenix totaled seven tackles for a loss, pushing the Terriers back 26 yards.  The defense put up three sacks for a loss of 12 yards.

Senior defensive lineman Eric Ludwig recovered two of three fumbles by Wofford in the game.

"I felt like we had a great scheme," senior defensive back Walker White said.  "Every year it's been a close game between us."

On the road again

With a four hour bus ride to Cullowhee, N.C., the Phoenix will travel for the second weekend in a row. This is the fifth road game of the season.

Since Lembo has been the head coach at Elon, the team has had an away record of 9-8, and its only loss this season was on the road against Wake Forest.

Both senior defensive lineman Andre Campbell and Lembo agree the team is more concentrated and attentive when they travel.

"Every time we go on the road, we always have a business-type attitude," Campbell said. "I think we are always more focused on the road than we are at home because none of the distractions are there."

Lembo said traveling brings the team together, and it follows a very detailed schedule on the road.

"We've played really well on the road, for the most part, over the last three years or so," Lembo said. "So I think our routine is a good one."

Not overlooking Western Carolina

Last season, Elon defeated Western Carolina 33-14, its third win in a row against the Catamounts.  Elon leads the series 20-16-2, but on the road, it trails Western Carolina 7-12-1.

When the two teams met in 2008, Western Carolina's offense recorded 31:32 minutes of possession, while Catamount quarterback Zack Jaynes had a 77 percent completion rating. 

Western Carolina's defensive back Mitchell Bell also intercepted then-sophomore Riddle for a 55-yard touchdown return.

This year, Western Carolina is 1-7 overall and 1-5 in the SoCon, but the Phoenix is not looking past this match-up.

"Sure, they are 1-7 right now, but they're still a good team on defense," White said. "They've got a lot of motions that we've got to prepare for and we've already started."

Lembo said the Western Carolina defense is solid, ranked in the middle of the conference in many different categories.  He said the Catamount defense has kept them in the game this season.

"You can't look past any games because every team in the SoCon is a great team," Campbell said.  "If you look past them, you're setting yourself up for failure."

Top five things to look for against Western Carolina

1. Senior wide receiver Terrell Hudgins needs 35 yards to pass Jerry Rice as the FCS all-time leader in receiving yards.

2. Elon is in first place in the Southern Conference. The only other team, which is undefeated in the SoCon is Appalachian State, who is 5-0 in the SoCon and 6-2 overall.

3. The Phoenix is 20-16-2 overall against Western Carolina. Last season the Phoenix won 33-14 on Nov. 8.

4. Elon averages 34.1 points per game, while its opponents are only averaging 11.4 points per game.

5. Western Carolina averages 12.5 points per game, while its opponents average 27.1 points per game.

Breaking down the Wofford College game by the numbers

3 passes completed by Wofford College quarterback Steven Davitte

7 different Phoenix players received a pass from junior quarterback Scott Riddle

11 of 19 third down conversions for Elon

12:14 minutes of possession for Elon in the first quarter

24th game in which senior wide receiver Terrell Hudgins had more than 100 yards of receiving — an FCS record

54.4 average yards per kickoff for redshirt freshman Adam Shreiner, the SoCon Special Teams Player of the Week

71 wins for Pete Lembo as a head coach

153 receiving yards for Hudgins

402 total yards of offense for the Phoenix