Injuries, Delaware bring down Elon

NC A&T loses to MEAC rival Florida A&T on a last-second field goal while WCU and Gardner-Webb also fall in state FCS action

Elon quarterback Davis Cheek suffered a knee injury during the second quarter of Saturday's loss at Delaware (ElonPhoenix.com photo)

 NEWARK, Del. (AP) — Playing most of the game without its two most potent offensive weapons, Elon saw its four-game winning streak come to an end Saturday with a 28-16 loss at Delaware.

The Phoenix, ranked No. 5 in the FCS after last week’s upset of James Madison, went into the game without running back Malcolm Summers because of a hamstring injury suffered at practice. It also lost star quarterback Davis Cheek early in the second quarter when the sophomore suffered what appeared to be a serious knee injury while scrambling for yardage.

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Led by backup Jalen Greene, Elon (4-2, 2-1 Colonial Athletic Association was able to build a 16-14 lead after three quarters on a nine-yard touchdown run by Jaylan Thomas and three short field goals by kicker Skyler Davis.

But Delaware rallied with two fourth quarter touchdowns to pull out the victory.

Pat Kehoe threw three touchdown passes and Kani Kane ran for 124 yards and a touchdown for the Blue Hens (4-2, 2-1 CAA). Charles Scarff had a pair of touchdown receptions and Vinny Papale had one.

Kehoe threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Papale to give the Blue Hens a 21-16 lead with seven minutes left. On their next series, Kane had a 32-yard run, then capped a six-play, 53-yard drive with a 2-yard TD run with 4:02 remaining.

Elon drove to the Delaware 42, but a false start penalty, Troy Reeder’s sack of Greene, and then an incomplete pass killed the drive.

Florida A&M 22, NC A&T 21

GREENSBORO — Yahia Aly made a 26-yard field goal with four seconds left, giving Florida A&M a 22-21 comeback win over North Carolina A&T on Saturday.

Florida A&M (5-2, 4-0 Mid-Eastern Athletic) trailed 21-6 at halftime after N.C. A&T’s Lamar Raynard completed a 6-yard TD pass to Zachary Leslie with 91 seconds left before intermission. After the break, Azende Ray scored on a 5-yard run to reduce the Rattlers’ deficit to 21-13.

Late in the fourth, Ryan Stanley completed an 11-yard pass to Chad Hunter, the 2-point conversion attempt failed and FAMU trailed by three. Florida A&M’s defense forced the Aggies (5-2, 2-2) to punt. Stanley — who threw for 313 yards — led FAMU on a 13-play, 70-yard drive to set up Aly’s game-winning kick.

The victory was the fourth straight for the Rattlers, their longest since a four-game winning streak in 2011.

Raynard led N.C. A&T with 248 yards passing and two scores and Leslie had 140 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

Chattanooga 26, Western Carolina 6

CULLOWHEE — Nick Tiano completed 22 of 28 passes for 204 yards and two touchdowns to help Chattanooga beat Western Carolina 26-6 on Saturday.

Tyrell Price ran 29 times for 135 yards and scored on a 3-yard run late in the third quarter for the Mocs (5-2, 3-2 Southern Conference).

Chattanooga opened the scoring with Jerrell Lawson sacking Western Carolina’s Tyrie Adams for a 2-0 lead with 10:59 left in the first quarter.

Tiano’s 28-yard pass to Joseph Parker made it 9-0 later in the first, Victor Ulmo kicked a 39-yard field goal early in the second and Tiano threw a 3-yard TD pass to Parker for a 19-0 lead with 9:27 left in the second quarter.

Will Horton got the Catamounts (3-3, 1-3) on the board with a 47-yard field goal with 43 seconds left in the half and capped the scoring with a 39-yarder with 11:50 to play.

Kennesaw State 56, Gardner-Webb 17

BOILING SPRINGS (AP) — Freshman Isaac Foster had his second 100-yard kickoff return of the season, quarterback Chandler Burks ran for three touchdowns and Kennesaw State rolled to a 56-17 win over Gardner-Webb on Saturday.

Foster’s return came after the Bulldogs took a 3-0 lead less than seven minutes into the game. Burks followed with a pair of touchdown runs in the second quarter and that was enough for the Owls (6-1, 2-0 Big South), the second-ranked FCS team, to win their sixth straight.

Kennesaw State had 528 yards, 490 on the ground with five players gaining between 72 and 78 yards. Four of them had a run of at least 40 yards, the exception being Burks, who led the way with 14 carries. Burks was 3-for-4 passing for 38 yards.

The Bulldogs (1-6, 0-1) had 268 total yards, just 54 through the air as two quarterbacks combined to go 7 of 20 with an interception apiece.