Nolan Henderson was fine.
The Blue Hens were not.
Their visit to North Carolina became a calamity Saturday at Rhodes Stadium, where host Elon exhibited its superiority in a 27-7 Colonial Athletic Association football win over Delaware.
Delaware failed to capitalize on opportunity, was undermined by a penalty against coach Ryan Carty and was overrun by Elon’s offense in a defeat that could, ultimately, imperil its FCS playoff chances.
GAME STATS: Elon 27, Delaware 7
Henderson, Delaware’s standout quarterback, played with his injured left non-throwing shoulder in a harness. He appeared unbothered while guiding Delaware on a touchdown drive to start the game during which he completed 6 of 8 passes.
But Elon scored the game’s next 27 points while exerting its authority as the Blue Hens fell to 6-2 overall and 3-2 in the CAA. Their misery met a fitting conclusion when, after getting a first down at the Elon 10 late, Delaware couldn’t score with Omar Rogers intercepting Henderson’s fourth-down throw.
“Obviously it was just a butt-whooping,” Carty said. “I don’t think we did a good job of doing the things we that we’ve been doing on defense, in stopping the run and getting off the field on third downs.
“And then on offense we didn’t really have our chances in the first half. We only had three possessions and we moved the ball OK. We scored on one of them. I don’t think we made the plays we needed to in the second half to kind of get back in it early.”
Delaware, ranked No. 12 nationally in FCS, now has back-to-back home games against Monmouth and Richmond the next two Saturdays before closing the regular season at Villanova Nov. 19. First-year CAA member Monmouth (4-5, 2-4) lost 52-48 at home against Towson on Saturday, the Tigers getting their first CAA win.
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Elon (6-3, 4-2) had lost the last two weeks in visits to Rhode Island and New Hampshire. But with wins over nationally ranked William & Mary and Richmond, and now one over Delaware, Elon thrust itself back into the FCS playoff picture with winnable games left against Albany and Hampton.
It was Delaware’s first game against Elon since losing there 42-7 in 2019. Henderson had to leave that game with a concussion after a savage hit that led to a targeting infraction and also missed the next two games. Sure enough, another targeting call on a roughing-the-passer infraction in the third quarter Saturday led to another ejection of an Elon player, though this time Henderson was able to continue.
The Smyrna High grad completed 25 of 40 passes for 202 yards. Elon had four sacks and the Blue Hens couldn’t provide any complimentary rushing yards. Just 19 of the Blue Hens’ 265 total yards came on the ground.
Elon’s 321 total yards were highlighted by Jalen Hampton’s 136 on 32 carries. Matt McCay completed 14 of 21 passes for 142 yards and three TDs.
“We didn’t make the plays,” Carty said, “and that’s uncharacteristic of what we’ve been doing. We’ve been making some plays and we’ve been keeping people at bay.”
Delaware scored on the game’s first series, moving 75 yards on 11 plays, the last being Henderson’s 12-yard touchdown throw to tight end Braden Brose.
The series featured two third-down and one fourth-down conversation, the latter Henderson’s 9-yard pass to Chandler Harvin on fourth-and-9. But the biggest play was wide receiver James Collins’ 40-yard pass to Jourdan Towsend after Collins, the Mount Pleasant High graduate, took a backwards pass from Henderson.
But Delaware failed to convert two other first-half opportunities that reached the Elon 25- and 17-yard lines. On the first, Brose was stopped for no gain on Henderson’s fourth-and-3 pass.
Kyron Cumby’s 45-yard kick return later put Delaware in position to drive to the Elon 17, where it had first down. But after a sack and incomplete pass, Henderson’s throw was off the mark again on third-and-13 and Carty was penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct while questioning why a roughing-the-passer infraction wasn’t called. Delaware elected to punt.
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A 46-yard kick return positioned Elon well for its first series, But Delaware limited the Phoenix to Skyler Davis’ 36-yard field goal that made it 7-3.
But the hosts then marched 74 yards over 14 plays with McCay throwing across the middle to Chandler Brayboy for a 15-yard TD. Elon carried that 10-7 lead into halftime.
Elon quickly extended its lead to 17-7 to start the second half, going 70 yards on 13 plays with McCay throwing 11 yards to Bryson Daughtry for the touchdown.
Delaware then went for it on fourth-and-5 at its 46, but Henderson’s pass was dropped.
Elon then extended its lead to 24-7 when McCoy threw 6 yards on third down to a wide open Malik Griffin coming out of the backfield . Then, after forcing and recovering a Henderson fumble at the Elon 26, the Phoenix went up 27-7 on Davis’ school-record 53-yard field goal with 10:26 left in the game.
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