The Elon football team could not withstand a solid performance from quarterback Riley Skinner and the Wake Forest offense, losing 35-7 at Wake Forest last Saturday night.
The game paired then 11th-ranked Elon against a Bowl Championship Subdivision team for only the second time in school history, and wound up giving the Phoenix its first loss of the season.
Skinner, the Demon Deacon quarterback, threw for 289 yards and three passing touchdowns – both career highs – while completing 14-of-20 passes and threw one interception. In the third quarter, Skinner hit wide receiver Marshall Williams for an 80-yard touchdown, making the score 35-0.
Elon finally put points on the scoreboard with seven minutes, 58 seconds remaining in the game with a 13-yard catch by Terrell Hudgins from quarterback Scott Riddle. The Phoenix offense depended heavily upon Riddle, as he threw the ball 43 times – completing 23 of the throws, tallying 195 yards and one touchdown.
The Phoenix were ranked 11th in the FCS last week and the loss to Wake Forest dropped them down to 13th.
Holy Cross defeats Harvard at home
No. 21 Holy Cross improved to 3-0 on Saturday through strong play from quarterback Dom Randolph, as the senior threw for 293 yards and two touchdowns in a 27-20 victory over the Harvard Crimson.
Randolph completed 25-of-39 passes in the game and rushed seven times for 42 yards with a one-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter. It was also his touchdown pass to freshman receiver Gerald Mistretta with 11:03 left in the fourth quarter that lengthened the Crusader lead to 14 points, and put the game out of reach for Harvard.
In what was their season opener, the Crimson scored first with a five-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Collier Winters to Gino Gordon in the first quarter. After that, Harvard failed to move the ball successfully, punting on its next three possessions before turning the ball over on downs while time expired in the first half.
Holy Cross moved up the FCS Top-25 rankings from 23rd to 21st this week with the win over in-state rival, Harvard. With the loss, Harvard – which was previously ranked 25th – dropped out of the Top 25.
No. 1 Richmond routs Hofstra
Richmond defensive end Nicholas Battle shined in the Spider’s 47-0 rout of the Hofstra Pride at UR Stadium in Richmond on Saturday. The Sports Network named Battle the National Defensive Player of the Week after he finished the game with five tackles, one sack, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.
As a unit, the Richmond defense held Hofstra to less than 200 yards of total offense and forced fumbles on four out of its first drives on the field. At halftime, the No. 1 ranked Spiders (3-0, 2-0 Colonial Athletic Association) had a 31-0 advantage.
Although Richmond quarterback Eric Ward was held to 165 yards passing on 12-of-16 attempts, he hit four of his receivers for touchdowns throughout the game. Spiders tailback Justin Forte lead their rushing attack with 74 yards on 12 carries.
Hofstra quarterback Cory Christopher completed 17-of-26 passes for 172 yards, but had little help from his running game. The Pride did not have a player rush for more than 25 yards in the game.
With the loss, Hofstra drops to 2-1 overall and 0-1 in conference play.
Neil Carroll can be reached at [email protected].
