PAGE 24 // WEDNESDAY. SEPTEMBER 21, 2011
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Football moves ahead to ‘new season
Jack Rodenfels
Sports Editor
First-year head coach Jason
Swepson preaches to his team to
“never disrespect a win.”
This mindset is one the Elon
Phoenix football team took to heart
following its embattled 23-22 victory
against the North Carolina Central
University Eagles Sept. 16, and one it
will continue to embrace as conference
play begins this weekend.
Against the Eagles, the Phoenix
offense had moments of greatness,
such as junior quarterback Thomas
Wilson's career high 416 yards passing
and three touchdowns or junior wide
receiver Aaron Mellette’s 16-catch
237-yard performance that garnered
him both Southern Conference Player
of the Week and College Football
Performance Awards National Wider
Receiver of the Week honors.
But the Phoenix registered five
turnovers, compared to no turnovers
for the Eagles' offense and was lucky
to get out of the game against th»
Eagles with a win, according to senior
wide receiver Christian Dennis.
“It was such an emotional game
with so many ups and downs," Dennis
said. “We would have some great
drives and they would be stopped due
to a turnover or a stalled drive.”
Although the turnovers hurt,
Swepson said the experience of
the game was critically important,
especially for a young team.
“If you want to be a great team,
you have to win on the road," Swepson
said. “We still have a lot of work to do,
more we are getting better, getting
more experience as we go."
The Phoenix finished 2-1 in
nonconference play, and begins SoCon
play against The Citadel Bulldogs.
This week in practice, Swepson
is instilling the importance of
a new beginning to his players.
“We're learning to forget about the
first three games," he said. “It's a new
season for us, and we’re taking this as
game one and we're going to try and
get off on the right foot."
For Swepson, this means defending
The Citadel’s patented triple option
offense — one that relies heavily on
running the football.
The Citadel Bulldogs are averaging
319 rushing yards per game, the
highest amount in the SoCon.
To prepare during the summer and
preseason, Swepson had his defense
work for 10 minutes at the end of each
practice on defending the triple option.
This week, it’s the defensive approach
that the Phoenix will work on.
“Defensively, we can’t give up the big
play," Swepson said. “We understand
that they’re going to rush for a bunch
of yards, and that's fine. We're going to
have to play stingy defense when they
get on our side of the 50 and especially
in the red zone, we have to hold them
Ilooking aheadU-
TOP: Senior running back A.J. Harris rushed for a total of 48 yards on 14 touches in Elon’s 23*22 win against North Carolina Central Sept. 17.
BOTTOM: Junior wide receiver Aaron Mellette caught for 237 yards and accounted for one of Elen's three touchdowns In the Phoenix win.
to field goals, not touchdowns."
On the other side of the ball,
controlling the time of possession
will be key in order for the Phoenix to
win, while converting scoring chances
into touchdowns, not relying on field
goals, Swepson said.
The Citadel comes into its game
with much experience. Returning
nine starters from its 2010 team. The
Citadel leads the SoCon in scoring
defense (12.5 points per game), yards
allowed (228 yards per game) and
passing yards allowed (132 yards per
game).
Additionally, the Bulldogs are
coming off of their bye week and
have had two weeks to watch film and
prepare for the Phoenix.
Elon is looking inwardly to prepare
offensively for The Citadel as the team
looks to eliminate turnovers while
balancing the run with the pass.
“It’s going to be a focal point,"
Swepson said, describing the team
concentrating on not turning
ball over. “What I'm mostly
disappointed in is having
turnovers in the fourth
quarter. It's what happened
against North Carolina
Central, and it almost
cost us the game."
The Phoenix will
begin its SoCon
season Sept. 24
with a 1:30 p.m.
kickoff against the
Bulldogs.
PHOTOS BY AL DRAGO | Photographs
vs. The Citadel
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BY THE NUMBERS
0 points scored by either time in the third
quarter
1 point difference in the 23-22 win
2 touchdown catches for senior wide
receiver Christian Dennis, his first of the
season
3 interceptions thrown by junior
quarterback Thomas Wilson
7 tackles for sophomore defensive back
Chandler Wrightenberry, a team-high
8.7 average yards per pass attempt for
Wilson
19 players on the Elon defense with at
least one tackle
237 receiving yards for junior wide
receiver Aaron Mellette
L 535 total yards of offense for Bo''
the most in a game this season