CONWAY, S.C. (AP)—Wes Pope completed 16 of 27 passes for 203 yards and two touchdowns and Michael Mayers had eight catches for 117 yards to help Elon beat Coastal Carolina 23-20 on Saturday night.
The Phoenix (1-0) took the lead for good with some trickery early in the second quarter as wide receiver Bo Williamson threw a 42-yard touchdown pass to Terrell Hudgins to put Elon ahead 13-6.
Coastal Carolina (0-1) cut the deficit to 23-20 on Tyler Thigpen’s 5-yard scoring pass to Jerome Simpson and a 2-point conversion toss to tight end Rodney Burgess with 6:45 left in the game.
Elon held the ball for the next six minutes, missing a short field goal with 45 seconds to go. But Coastal Carolina couldn’t get a first down and the Phoenix ran out the clock.
Thigpen was 23-of-43 for a school-record 312 yards, but he threw two interceptions. The Chanticleers also lost two fumbles.
The loss broke a 12-game home winning streak for Coastal Carolina, who had lost just three other games at Brooks Stadium, all in its inaugural 2003 season.
Head to Head - Week 1
| Team | Total Yds | Pass Yds | Rush Yds | First Downs | 3rdD% | Pen./Yds | Turnovers | Time of Poss. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elon | 331 | 245 | 86 | 13 | 40.0% | 8/50 | 2 | 31:26 |
| Coastal Carolina | 415 | 312 | 103 | 20 | 28.6% | 2/30 | 4 | 28:34 |
