FCS: Elon Football completes CAA's 22-game winning streak against James Madison and wins its first top 5 at DI



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HARRISONBURG, VA. – Elon football, ninth in the standings, had a decisive touchdown in the final minutes with David Cheek hitting Avery Jones in the end zone to give Elon a 27-24 win over No. 2 James Madison at Bridgeforth Stadium Saturday afternoon.

"It's a great win against a very, very good football team," said Elon head coach Curt Cignetti. "I'm sure it shocked a lot of people but it did not shock us because we can be a good football team when we play well and I'm really proud of the coolness with which we played, especially in the fourth quarter. "It was a round-trip match but I'm proud of our guys and it's a nice win."

James Madison had won 19 of his 19 best home games with the FCS, while beating each of his last 22 CAA opponents, either in the regular season or in the playoffs.

THE SUMMARY
After scoring 24-20 after a JMU touchdown with a time of 7:22, Elon (4-1, 2-0, CAA Football) forced a turn-over with a time of 4:16 to make Jarquez Bizzell lose the ball to Dylan Stapleton before Gerg Liggs, Jr threw himself on it. Taking control of the JMU 26, the Phoenix concocted a total of 10 yards and 74 yards. The last two pieces were completed by 14 yards for De 'Sean McNair and a touchdown pass for Jones for 15 yards with 1:17 to play. .

Connor Christiansen clinched a Ben DiNucci pass with 23 seconds left to seal Elon's victory, his first in the history of the Dukes against the Dukes.

At the dawn of the fourth quarter, JMU was leading 12 to 10, of 'Sean McNair scoring the single touchdown of the day at this point in the second quarter. At the start of the fourth inning, Malcolm Summers played the second game of the Elon race for a long career of 59 yards at home to give the Phoenix a 20-12 lead. In total, Summers had 186 yards at the top of the season, making him the second-tallest CAA runner to date this season.

After the Summers score, JMU designed back-to-back touchdown passes – each 55 yards in less than two minutes each – to score 24-20 before his last two orders ended with turnovers, the only two days of the day for the Dukes. .

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Looking to put the first points of the day on the board, Elon missed a 44-yard left with 3:02 left in the first quarter. From there, JMU had three consecutive homesticks that resulted in Ethan Ratke's 35, 32 and 39-yard goals, giving him a 9-0 lead, with 5:26 remaining in the first period. .

After the Elton 9-0 win, Cheek strikes Corey Joyner in the middle for a 51-yard pass that puts Phoenix 24 behind. A match later, Cheek strikes Matt Foster. McNair completed the touchdown run to reduce the lead to 9-7 just 49 seconds after Elon picked up the ball.

To open the second half, the two teams exchanged goals, but Elon scored the first goal to take a 10-9 lead, which marked the first time JMU had trailed at home since the quarter-finals. FCS 2017 against Weber State.

NOTES
-The win marks Elon's top spot in the top five in Division I. Previously, Elon twice defeated No. 6 ranked teams in Richmond and William & Mary.

-Malcolm Summers has now accumulated more than 100 yards in each of the last three games.
-Zack Monson made his first start of the season and had 12 tackles, a high point in the game, with seven solo saves.
-Elon finished with 498 yards off against 419 for JMU. The Phoenix outshot the Duke 212 to 103. JMU entered the game with an average of 220.4 rushing yards per game up to now.
-After Elon's first touchdown, Skyler Davis and Phoenix's special teams unit made a free-kick to keep possession of the ball on the Elon 46. The player crossed the midfield but stalled and Elon blocked JMU in the 10.
-James Madison returned a 74-yard interception for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter, but was recalled for illegal hands in the Dukes' face.
-Elon scored one in 15 goals on the third run of the day. JMU went 8-in-19.

FOLLOWING
Closed a stretch where he will play four of his first six games of the season on the road, Elon will travel to Delaware on Saturday, October 13 at 15:30. kick off against the Blue Hens. To date, Elon has played twice in Delaware with CAA Football. It dropped twice in 2014 and 2015.

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