While amassing 451 yards of offense and 31 points, the Elon Phoenix offense had yet another stellar day.

But The Citadel Bulldogs accumulated 513 yards of their own as they defeated the Phoenix 42-31 on Saturday in Southern Conference football action.

This was the team’s second straight loss after starting 6-2 and being in first place in the SoCon.

With a win at The Citadel, Elon could have clinched an automatic playoff spot. But, the loss puts the Phoenix at 6-4 and likely out of playoff contention.

“It gets frustrating,” freshman quarterback Scott Riddle,” said. “We definitely have not been playing our hardest.”

The true freshman quarterback put on another great offensive display as he passed for 381 yards and three touchdowns, while running for a fourth.

Sophomore wide receiver Terrell Hudgins accounted for 161 of those yards and two of the touchdowns.

With that game, Riddle set new SoCon records for completions with 322, touchdown passes with 29, and plays of total offense with 585. Hudgins, as well, set a conference record with his 108 receptions.

Senior wide receiver Michael Mayers broke the SoCon record for career receptions with 214 and combines with Hudgins for 2,294 receiving yards on the season, another SoCon record.

The duo also set an NCAA record with their 189 combined receptions. The previous record was set 23 years ago by Joe Thomas and NFL-great Jerry Rice.

Despite these individual achievements, the team as a whole was not successful against the Bulldogs. Poor defensive play, as well as two turnovers that led to two Bulldog touchdowns, resulted in the loss.

As a young football team, many defensive backups are young and inexperienced players. The amount of injuries the defense has suffered has rushed these young players into unexpected situations. Head coach Pete Lembo, stressed this when addressing the team’s recent defensive problems.

“We’re missing some key guys and we’re having to shuffle players around a lot,” Lembo said. “We did well on first and second down, but we were as bad as we have been on third down.”

Stopping the Bulldogs on third down was indeed a problem, as they converted 15 out of 22 attempts.

Despite having the youngest football team in the SoCon, the loss was quite a disappointment as the players and fans knew the conference title was on the line. As for the possibility of reaching the playoffs, the head coach was not very optimistic.

“It’s highly unlikely a team would get in without eight wins,” Lembo said. “You need to win in November, and we’re just not doing that.”

In the team’s season finale, the Phoenix will take on the Stony Brook University Seawolves at home.

The Seawolves are also 6-4, after winning their last three games. Three of Stony Brook’s four losses have come against teams that are ranked in the Top-25 in the country.

With a win, the Phoenix would improve to 7-4, and have a bright future because it will only graduate six seniors. Riddle is excited for the team’s future and for the upcoming game.

“People say it has no meaning, but it means a lot for the future,” Riddle said. “It’s a game to see what we’re made of.”

Reporter: Adam Pittenger - 11/14/07