By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
Richmond handed Elon its third consecutive football loss with a 27-17 decision in the Coastal Athletic Association opener for both teams Saturday afternoon at Rhodes Stadium.
The Spiders, ranked No. 23 in the Football Championship Subdivision, led 13-0 until Elon scored late in the first half.
Elon (1-4 overall) has a three-game losing streak with all those outings at home, where it had won 10 of its previous 11 games entering the season.
The game’s first touchdown came on Quantraill Morris-Walker’s 55-yard return of Matthew Downing’s interception. Richmond’s Zach Palmer-Smith ran for 167 yards and a touchdown.
The Phoenix got on the board on Rushawn Baker’s 46 second-quarter touchdown run. Richmond (3-2) scored again with 36 seconds left in the half for a 20-7 lead at the break.
Elon back-up quarterback Jack Salopeck, a transfer from Western Michigan, threw for 187 yards on 14-for-21 passing and his first touchdown toss, which went to T.J. Thomas Jr. for 10 yards with 11:35 to play.
Baker finished with a season-high 66 rushing yards on nine carries. Caleb Curtain made a team-high 11 tackles for Elon.
Elon announced a crowd of 10,589 on Family Weekend for the fourth-largest turnout in stadium history.
