ELON, N.C. – The Elon University football team ended its regular season in dominant fashion Saturday. Prior to the game, 26 players were honored in the team’s Senior Day ceremony as the team looked to send its senior class out with a bang. The Phoenix did exactly that with a statement 51-14 win over Hampton.
Head coach Tony Trisciani made his way down the line of seniors in the pregame ceremony, thanking each one for their time with the program. The group stood as his first signing class that he was involved in recruiting as Elon’s head coach. The team has seen many players call Elon home, whether it be for their entire collegiate career like senior Bo Sanders, or others who have finished their time off strong, such as senior Matthew Downing.
“You’ve got the quarterback of the offense [Downing] and the quarterback of the defense [Sanders],” Trisciani said. “They’ve made their mark here so I’m very proud of them. I’m grateful for their commitment that they’ve made to us, Bo for the last five years and Matthew for the last five months. They’ve poured everything they have into this program and that’s all we can ask from these guys.”
Downing had 261 passing yards in the contest thanks to his offense’s versatility. The Phoenix recorded five offensive touchdowns, each by a different player.
One play, one touchdown! #AED pic.twitter.com/e1U5o4NrCJ
— Elon Football (@ElonFootball) November 18, 2023
“What else could you ask for?” Downing said. “A bunch of different guys that can make plays and can get in the endzone. I have a lot of trust in all those dudes and the guys up front did a great job. When you have a lot of trust in a bunch of different players, it makes my job a lot easier.”
Sanders and his defense were able to record several highlight reel plays of their own. With 10:44 left in the second quarter, Sanders picked off Hampton’s quarterback and returned it for his first defensive touchdown after a five-year career with the maroon and gold.
Senior captain Bo Sanders with the defensive score! #AED pic.twitter.com/bNKVkXhGI6
— Elon Football (@ElonFootball) November 18, 2023
“I’m just happy he threw me one,” Sanders said. “No one can ever say I didn’t score a touchdown for Elon. It’s awesome. It’s always great to score and [I’m] just grateful that at the moment of truth, I made the play and got in the endzone.”
One extra point and touchback later, the Elon defense was back to causing chaos. On Hampton’s next offensive play, Marco Patierno returned a forced fumble for a touchdown for the second defensive score in less than 10 seconds.
“I was probably more excited for that one than mine,” Sanders said. “I’m just happy because coach [Edwards] takes pride in takeaways and takes pride in when we get a turnover we want to score. So it was a great way to end the regular season having a couple TDs.”
And another defensive touchdown! Marco Patierno with the fumble return for a score! #AED pic.twitter.com/dzQc4kz60j
— Elon Football (@ElonFootball) November 18, 2023
Sanders saw the win as something to build on for the next group of Phoenix to lace up the cleats.
“It was good to get the first blowout win of the season and get the younger guys in there,” Sanders said. “[They’re] the people who are going to trust the foundation of Elon football. My career might be over, but those guys still have a lot to do and just to get them playing. I’m going to be the biggest fan.”
‘Rising Phoenix’ is a new student-led initiative to cover Elon Athletics. Through innovative content creation and storytelling, Elon University students will have the opportunity to highlight the moments, people and events that make an impact, leveraging the athletic department’s various web and social media platforms for distribution. Follow Rising Phoenix on Twitter (@EURisingPhoenix) and Instagram (@elonrisingphoenix). Interested in joining this initiative as a content creator (video, graphics, writing, storytelling, or more)? Contact Jacob Kisamore at jkisamore@elon.edu.
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