Post by elon_phan on Sept 6, 2007 21:28:34 GMT -5
Elon learns from close loss to South Florida
Adam Smith / Times-News
September 5, 2007 11:03 PM
ELON ¡X In addition to a robust check of $300,000 for its appearance fee, the Elon University football team left last weekend¡¦s game at South Florida infused with a beefed up degree of confidence.
Playing well enough to challenge a legitimate threat in the Big East Conference ¡X one coming off nine victories and a bowl win ¡X should leave a lower-tiered team with that sort of vibe.
¡§Everybody expected us to get blown out of the water,¡¨ safety Nolan Ward said Wednesday night. ¡§So that¡¦s definitely something we can carry on throughout the season, no matter who we¡¦re facing. I feel we can play with anybody else just as well as we played with them.¡¨
The entire journey to Tampa, Fla., became an eye-opening experience from an Elon perspective.
With six Phoenix players having never traveled by airplane, uncertainty enveloped the charter flight that kicked off the trip.
Later, as George Selvie and the rest of South Florida¡¦s athletic defensive line dug in across from Elon offensive tackle Chris Werden, a realization came into focus.
¡§They were one of the best defensive lines I¡¦ve ever seen,¡¨ Werden said, ¡§but I was going into it thinking they were going to be Warren Sapp and Julius Peppers out there. So they didn¡¦t impress me as much as I thought they were going to.
¡§It was intimidating at first, definitely. But once you got out there and started grinding it out in the trenches, you noticed they aren¡¦t really that much better than anybody in this conference.¡¨
South Florida eventually scored three second-half touchdowns to pull out a 28-13 victory. And Selvie did harass Elon¡¦s Scott Riddle enough to register four of the Bulls¡¦ six quarterback sacks.
But still, the scoreboard read 0-0 following the first quarter and 7-3 in favor of South Florida at halftime ¡X and that¡¦s after Elon squandered two drives to the South Florida 15-yard-line and missed a 45-yard field goal.
¡§When it was 7-3 everyone seemed like, ¡¥Wow, we¡¦re actually here,¡¦ ¡¨ Werden said.
¡§They knew just as well as we did that we could¡¦ve taken over that game easily,¡¨ Ward said. ¡§They definitely knew that we came to play and they respected us for that.¡¨
Elon coach Pete Lembo said, considering the strength of the opponent, he was pleased with how the Phoenix¡¦s offensive line held up at South Florida. Elon heads into games with about 11 goals for its special teams, and Lembo said eight of those were met last weekend.
¡§The big moral of the story,¡¨ Lembo said, ¡§is that I hope we took a step forward in developing. We need to expect to win regardless of who we¡¦re playing. And when you get to that point, you do things like Appalachian did at Michigan.¡¨
Ah yes, Appalachian State. The shining example that anything is possible anywhere in college football.
That model applies to Saturday night¡¦s home opener, when Elon plays host to Division II West Virginia Wesleyan.
Lembo said a stream of complimentary e-mails has popped into his inbox after Elon hung tough at South Florida. One message warned that West Virginia Wesleyan will be viewing Elon as its personal version of Michigan.
¡§And he¡¦s right,¡¨ Lembo said. ¡§Every underdog is going to look at that game and say it can be done. So you can¡¦t let your guard down.¡¨
ƒÞ WILLIAMS GRAD LEAVES TEAM: Elon¡¦s Brian Siegel, a kicker from Williams High School in Burlington, decided to quit the team Wednesday, Lembo said.
Siegel, a junior, kicked off 23 times last season. He dealt with a hip flexor injury during training camp, but made the trip to South Florida and was available in an emergency capacity.
¡§He¡¦s a great kid,¡¨ Lembo said. ¡§I just think he¡¦s lost the passion for it. I know he¡¦s had a very positive experience. He gave me a hug and appreciated everything we did for him.¡¨
Andrew Wilcox is handling place-kicking and kickoff duties for Elon, with freshman Eric Carstens serving as the backup.
Adam Smith / Times-News
September 5, 2007 11:03 PM
ELON ¡X In addition to a robust check of $300,000 for its appearance fee, the Elon University football team left last weekend¡¦s game at South Florida infused with a beefed up degree of confidence.
Playing well enough to challenge a legitimate threat in the Big East Conference ¡X one coming off nine victories and a bowl win ¡X should leave a lower-tiered team with that sort of vibe.
¡§Everybody expected us to get blown out of the water,¡¨ safety Nolan Ward said Wednesday night. ¡§So that¡¦s definitely something we can carry on throughout the season, no matter who we¡¦re facing. I feel we can play with anybody else just as well as we played with them.¡¨
The entire journey to Tampa, Fla., became an eye-opening experience from an Elon perspective.
With six Phoenix players having never traveled by airplane, uncertainty enveloped the charter flight that kicked off the trip.
Later, as George Selvie and the rest of South Florida¡¦s athletic defensive line dug in across from Elon offensive tackle Chris Werden, a realization came into focus.
¡§They were one of the best defensive lines I¡¦ve ever seen,¡¨ Werden said, ¡§but I was going into it thinking they were going to be Warren Sapp and Julius Peppers out there. So they didn¡¦t impress me as much as I thought they were going to.
¡§It was intimidating at first, definitely. But once you got out there and started grinding it out in the trenches, you noticed they aren¡¦t really that much better than anybody in this conference.¡¨
South Florida eventually scored three second-half touchdowns to pull out a 28-13 victory. And Selvie did harass Elon¡¦s Scott Riddle enough to register four of the Bulls¡¦ six quarterback sacks.
But still, the scoreboard read 0-0 following the first quarter and 7-3 in favor of South Florida at halftime ¡X and that¡¦s after Elon squandered two drives to the South Florida 15-yard-line and missed a 45-yard field goal.
¡§When it was 7-3 everyone seemed like, ¡¥Wow, we¡¦re actually here,¡¦ ¡¨ Werden said.
¡§They knew just as well as we did that we could¡¦ve taken over that game easily,¡¨ Ward said. ¡§They definitely knew that we came to play and they respected us for that.¡¨
Elon coach Pete Lembo said, considering the strength of the opponent, he was pleased with how the Phoenix¡¦s offensive line held up at South Florida. Elon heads into games with about 11 goals for its special teams, and Lembo said eight of those were met last weekend.
¡§The big moral of the story,¡¨ Lembo said, ¡§is that I hope we took a step forward in developing. We need to expect to win regardless of who we¡¦re playing. And when you get to that point, you do things like Appalachian did at Michigan.¡¨
Ah yes, Appalachian State. The shining example that anything is possible anywhere in college football.
That model applies to Saturday night¡¦s home opener, when Elon plays host to Division II West Virginia Wesleyan.
Lembo said a stream of complimentary e-mails has popped into his inbox after Elon hung tough at South Florida. One message warned that West Virginia Wesleyan will be viewing Elon as its personal version of Michigan.
¡§And he¡¦s right,¡¨ Lembo said. ¡§Every underdog is going to look at that game and say it can be done. So you can¡¦t let your guard down.¡¨
ƒÞ WILLIAMS GRAD LEAVES TEAM: Elon¡¦s Brian Siegel, a kicker from Williams High School in Burlington, decided to quit the team Wednesday, Lembo said.
Siegel, a junior, kicked off 23 times last season. He dealt with a hip flexor injury during training camp, but made the trip to South Florida and was available in an emergency capacity.
¡§He¡¦s a great kid,¡¨ Lembo said. ¡§I just think he¡¦s lost the passion for it. I know he¡¦s had a very positive experience. He gave me a hug and appreciated everything we did for him.¡¨
Andrew Wilcox is handling place-kicking and kickoff duties for Elon, with freshman Eric Carstens serving as the backup.