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ELON, N.C. -- Division I FCS member Elon University opened its season here Thursday night inside Rhodes Stadium with a 42-7 win against Division II Mountain East Conference foe Glenville State.
The Pioneers of first-year head coach Jake Casteel fell behind 21-0 at halftime and got their only touchdown with 9 minutes left in the third when JD Sherrod hooked up with Kyree Bunny in the back corner of the end zone for a 2-yard strike that was followed by Brody Layman's extra point.
Elon quarterback Brady Stober, who hit 16 of 26 for 254 yards and two touchdowns, gave the Phoenix the lead for good on a 2-yard plunge at 8:35 of the first.
Jimmyll Williams made it 14-0 after another Luke Barnes extra point when he darted into the end zone from 10 yards out at 10:25 of the second.
Stober's 3-yard scoring strike to Jamarien Dalton set the halftime score with 4:09 remaining.
Williams, who went for game-highs of 17 carries and 77 yards, scored from the 1 with 5:37 left in the third. The Phoenix added another six-pointer with 1:03 to go in the quarter when Stober found Benjamin Kirsch for a 10-yard touchdown.
TJ Crews IV accounted for the final score of the affair with 2:41 left thanks to a 24-yard touchdown pass to Jaedon Alford.
The Pioneers, who return home for a 6 p.m. game next Thursday versus Millersville, had nine first downs compared to Elon's 27 as the Phoenix held a 446-125 total yards advantage.
Sherrod led the GSU ground game with six carries for 16 yards as the visitors were limited to 51 stripes on 19 carres. Elon ran 50 times for 168 yards.
Glenville State, which didn't have a turnover but got a fumble recovery from Khaliq Johnson, watched former Ritchie County all-state punter Braiden Haught finish with 12 boots for a 39.8 yard average, which included a 50-yarder and two inside the 20.
Jacob Clark finished with a game-high eight tackles and also recorded a sack in the setback.
Elon is set to hit the road for a 6 p.m. affair on Saturday, Sept. 5 at Davidson.
Elon 42, Glenville State 7
GSU (0-1) 0 0 7 0 – 7
Elon (1-0) 7 14 14 7 – 42
E: Brady Stober 2 run (Luke Barnes kick) 8:35, 1st
E: Jimmyll Williams 10 run (Barnes kick) 10:25, 2nd
E: Jamarien Dalton 3 pass from Stober (Barnes kick) 4:09, 2nd
G: Kyree Bunny 2 pass from JD Sherrod (Brody Layman kick) 9:00, 3rd
E: Williams 1 run (Barnes kick) 5:37, 3rd
E: Benjamin Kirsch 10 pass from Stober (Barnes kick) 1:03, 3rd
E: Jaedon Alford 24 pass from TJ Crews IV (Barnes kick) 2:41, 4th
Team stats
GSU: First downs: 9; Rushes-yards: 19-51; Passing yards: 74; Total yards: 125; Passing: 13-35-0; Punts-average: 12-39.8; Fumbles-lost: 0-0; Penalties-yards: 9-65
Elon: First downs: 27; Rushes-yards: 50-168; Passing yards: 278; Total yards: 446; Passing: 17-27-0; Punts-average: 6-35.7; Fumbles-lost: 1-1; Penalties-yards: 9-69
Individual stats
GSU: Rushing: JD Sherrod 6-16, Amir Simmons 5-14, Jamir Fox 3-9, Zavione Wood 4-9, Caden Harris 1-3; Passing: Sherrod 12-30-0, 76 yards; Maddox Bowers 1-5-0, -2 yards;
Receiving: Harris 4-32, Kyree Bunny 3-29, Landon Frey 2-7, Kashez Gedeon 1-6, Joziah Gonzalez 1-4, Fox 1-(-2), Simmons 1-(-2)
Elon: Rushing: Jimmyll Williams 17-77, Kamerin McDowell-Moore 13-75, Dan Frederick 9-58, Xavier Spadacini 1-4, Team 2-(-4), TJ Crews IV 2-(-15), Brady Stober 6-(-27); Passing: Stober 16-26-0, 254 yards; Crews IV 1-1-0, 24 yards; Receiving: Benjamin Kirsch 4-68, Kenaz McMillian 3-64, Jamarien Dalton 3-42, Jaedon Alford 2-30, Dylan Magazu 2-25, Frederick 1-23, Zimere Winston 1-17, McDowell-Moore 1-9
Next games: Elon at Davidson, 6 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 5; Millersville at Glenville State, 6 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 3.