Looking at Game 9, Elon

Who:   Elon Phoneix

When: Saturday, October 26th

Where:  Bob Waters Field at E.J. Whitmire Stadium - Cullowhee, NC

Series history: WCU trails 16-23-2 in the series with the Phoenix, losing the last 7 games. Last season's loss to Elon was by a final score of 31-42, in Elon.

Their conference:   Southern Conference (SoCon)

Their coach:  Jason Swepson - Swepson enters his third season as head coach at Elon, and brings a record of 8-14-0.

Last year’s record:  3-8 (1-7 SoCon).   The Phoenix's lone conference win last season came against the Catamounts.

How they got there:  The Phoenix had three wins on the season, against NC Central, West Va State, and Western Carolina.  After opening the season 2-1, the Phoenix fell to 1-7 in the remaining conference games.

Offense:  Multiple

Defense:  4-3

Lettermen Returning:    37

Offensive starters Returning/Lost:    5  /  6

Defensive starters Returning/Lost:   9 /  2

2012 Stats:
Points per game:  24.2
Rushing Yardage:  936  -  Avg. per game:  85.1
Passing Yardage:  3276  -  Avg. per game:  297.8
Total Yardage Per Game:   382.9

Losses/Weaknesses: Elon has led the Southern Conference in passing offense each of the past two seasons, but it will a very  different looking offense when the Phoenix travel to Cullowhee for the Oct. 26th meeting, both quarterback Thomas Wilson and wide receiver Aaron Mellette have both graduated. Mellette, finished his career as the SoCon’s second all-time leading receiver, with 304 catches for 4,254 yards and 44-career scoring grabs. Taking over under center will be junior Mike Quinn.

Elon has struggled for many years with the ground game, finishing in the bottom two of the SoCon’s rushing average per game in every season since 2009, and will continue to do so.

With the departure of All-SoCon kicker Adam Shreiner, the Elon kicking game will be a huge question mark.

Strengths: The brightest spot for the Phoenix will be in defensve play.  Last season, Elon finished a respectable sixth in total defense, and returns 9 of last season's starters on defense. The Phoenix also hired Brad Sherrod  as the new defensive coordinator.


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