One play later, Cheek hit Matt Foster to setup first and goal on the one and McNair capped the touchdown drive to cut the lead to 9-7 just 49 seconds after Elon took the ball. On Elon's ensuing drive after the Dukes went up 9-0, Cheek hit Corey Joyner over the middle for a 51-yard completion to put the Phoenix on the 24.
From there, JMU put together three consecutive drives that ended with Ethan Ratke field goals from 35, 32 and 39 yards out to give JMU a 9-0 lead with 5:26 to play in the first half. Looking to put the first points of the day on the board, Elon missed a 44-yard field goal wide left with 3:02 to go in the first quarter. MORE: These are the 15 oldest rivalries in college football In all, Summers finished with a season-high 186 yards to mark the second-most by a CAA rusher to date this season.įollowing Summers' score, JMU engineered back-to-back touchdown drives – each of 55 yards in less than two minutes apiece – to go ahead 24-20 before its final two drives ended with turnovers, the only two of the day for the Dukes. Early in the fourth, though, Malcolm Summers took the second play of Elon's drive for a career-long 59 yards to the house to give the Phoenix a 20-12 lead. On the ensuing JMU drive, Connor Christiansen picked off a Ben DiNucci pass with 23 seconds to play to seal the Elon victory, its first over the Dukes in program history.Įntering the fourth quarter, JMU led 12-10 with De'Sean McNair scoring the only touchdown of the day to that point in the second quarter. INTERCEPTION Connor Christiansen! Phoenix with the ball with only 23 seconds left in the game! #FindTheEdge #CAAFB /KAd6圜5E9z- Elon Football October 6, 2018 Taking over on the JMU 26, the Phoenix put together a 10-play, 74-yard drive with the final two plays a 14-yard completion to De'Sean McNair and a 15-yard touchdown pass to Jones with 1:17 to play. Trailing 24-20 after a JMU touchdown with 7:22 to play, Elon (4-1, 2-0 CAA Football) forced a turnover with 4:16 to play with Jarquez Bizzell knocking it loose from Dylan Stapleton before Gerg Liggs, Jr. James Madison had won a FCS-best 19 straight games at home while also beating each of its last 22 CAA foes in both the regular season and postseason action.
It didn’t shock us." - Curt Cignetti /39U7CoGpix- Elon University October 6, 2018 It was a back and forth game but I'm proud of our guys and it's a great win." "I'm sure it shocked a lot of people but it didn't shock us because we can be a good football team when we play right and I'm just really proud of the poise we played with, especially in the fourth quarter. "This is a great win against a very, very good football team," said Elon head coach Curt Cignetti. 2 James Madison at Bridgeforth Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Ninth-ranked Elon football capped a game-winning touchdown drive in the closing minutes with David Cheek hitting Avery Jones in the corner of the end zone to give Elon a 27-24 victory over No.