By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
Looking for eye-catching plays in college football, there won’t be many longer than one produced by Elon on Saturday.
The Phoenix had a bunch of clutch sequences early and late in a 37-31 victory at Western Carolina.
Quarterback Landen Clark connected with Zimere Winston on a heave on the second play from scrimmage, resulting in a 78-yard play. It marked the longest pass play for a touchdown for Elon in at least 16 years.
“It very, very much is exciting for me, especially being a faster little guy, running past people,” said Winston, who’s listed at 5-foot-11 and 162 pounds. “Having a quarterback that can get it all the way down there makes the game 10 times more fun.”
That’s because the throw from Clark travelled about 70 yards in the air.
When Elon coach Tony Trisciani reviewed game footage, that stood out.
“I was watching that (Sunday) morning and I’m like ‘Wait a second,’ “ the coach said. “. . . I’m doing the math.
“That is a big ball. He can throw it. Zimere Winston, great play going to get it.”
Clark, a redshirt freshman, has been racking up highlights with his legs and arm.
“I’ve seen Landen throw farther,” Winston said. “Something about Landen, it’s just sneaky. And he can get out of the pocket and make time for himself, too.”
Winston wasn’t the first option on the long play.
“I was really supposed to be clearing it out for Landyn Backey, but they dropped the coverage and I just peaked out over top and Landen seen me and he let it go,” Winston said. “I knew I had him beat. As soon as Landen put that out there, I knew it was a touchdown. . . It worked out, put points on the board.”
It didn’t happen by accident.
“We practice it at full speed,” Winston said. “It happens in the game at full speed the same way it happens in practice.”
Elon (2-1) ought to have momentum going into Saturday’s game at East Tennessee.
About the victory …
Clark’s 10-yard run with 4:53 remaining supplied the go-ahead points followed by his two-point conversion pass to Isaiah Fuhrmann.
Linebacker Asher Cunningham’s interception with 49 seconds left sealed the outcome.
“We had some gladiators on the field on Saturday,” Trisciani said. “We had guys that played a bunch of snaps.”
Clark threw for 305 yards on 11-for-28 passing with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also had a team-high 72 rushing yards on 25 attempts.
Yet what once was a 20-7 lead for Elon turned into deficits of 28-23 and 31-29. Both teams scored in every quarter.
Elon’s Luke Barnes kicked field goals from 48, 38, and 42 yards. Fuhrmann caught five passes for a career-best 105 yards. Tony Hart III made a team-leading 11 tackles.
Elon’s touchdown drives all involved 79 or more yards.
The Phoenix won in Cullowhee for the first time since 2011. Western Carolina fell to 0-3.
Clark was named the CAA Rookie of the Week for the second week in a row. Punter Jeff Yurk, with a program-record 55.2 yards per attempt on six boots, was selected as CAA co-Special Teams Player of the Week, sharing that honor with North Carolina A&T kicker Andrew Brown.
Revenge tour continues
Elon visits East Tennessee State (1-2), which has former Charlotte coach Will Healy in charge in his first season, for the non-league matchup at Johnson City, Tennessee.
East Tennessee State beat the Phoenix 34-14 last year at Rhodes Stadium.
“Another stop on our revenge tour,” Trisciani said.
This year, the Buccaneers’ quarterbacks are Cade McNamara, formerly a starter for Michigan (when the Wolverines won the 2021 Big Ten Conference) and Iowa, and Jacolby Criswell, who started games in 2021 and 2024 for North Carolina.
“I know he was 13-3 as a starter at Michigan and won a Big Ten championship,” Trisciani said of McNamara.
While at Iowa, McNamara was a teammate of Elon backup quarterback Marco Lainez.
McNamara is 25 years old and Criswell turns 24 next month. Clark is 19.
Photos compliments of Elon Athletics
