University of Toledo
1-0
Elon
0-1
Rockets Burn Phoenix in Season Opener, 47-13
8/31/2017 10:59:00 PM | Football
     Toledo, Ohio – Senior quarterback Logan Woodside threw for 314 yards and junior placekicker Jameson Vest kicked a career-best four field goals to lead Toledo to a 47-13 victory over Elon in the season opener for both teams at the Glass Bowl Thursday night.
     While Toledo's offense racked up 553 yards of total offense, it was the Rockets' defense that dominated much of the action, limiting the Phoenix to just 175 yards of total offense. Elon gained just 65 yards in the first half and failed to complete a pass in five attempts. In fact, the Phoenix did not complete their first pass until the 11:06 mark of the third quarter and finished the night completing 3-of-14 passes for 47 yards.
     Woodside's main targets were senior Cody Thompson and sophomore Diontae Johnson. Thompson caught five passes for 112 yards. Johnson, who missed all of last year with an injury, caught four passes for 102 yards. He also returned a kickoff for a touchdown.
     The rushing attack was led by senior Terry Swanson, who rushed for a pair of touchdowns, redshirt freshman Shakif Seymour (102 yards, one TD) and sophomore Art Thompkins (99 yards).
     Toledo used four field goals by Vest to build a 19-7 halftime lead. After forcing a punt on Elon's opening drive, Toledo drove 40 yards in eight plays before settling for a 28-yard field goal. Following a three-and-out by the Phoenix, Woodside went to the air, hitting Diontae Johnson over the middle that went 69 yards down to the Elon one-yard line. Swanson took it in from there on the next play to make the score 10-0 with 8:39 to play.
     After Toledo's defense stopped Elon on downs, Vest made it 13-0 with a 27-yard field goal with 3:57 to play in the opening quarter. Vest struck again early in the second quarter, connecting on a 32-yarder to make it 16-0 with 12:23 left in the half.
     Elon finally got on the board after recovering a fumbled punt on the UT 37-yard line. Six plays later, Brelynd Cyphers rambled in from nine yards out to cut the lead to 16-7 with 4:33 to play. Vest made it 19-7 with his career-best fourth field goal, this one from 21 yards out with less than a minute to play in the half.
     Toledo struck quickly in the second half as Diontae Johnson returned the opening kickoff 99 yards to make the score 26-7. The lead grew to 40-7 on a pair of third-quarter TD runs by Swanson and sophomore Reggie Gilliam, who scored on the very first rushing attempt of his career.
     Elon trimmed the lead to 40-13, on a one-yard run by Malcolm Summers with 9:47 remaining. Seymour scored the game's final touchdown with 49 seconds left.
     Toledo will next hit the road, traveling to Nevada on Sept. 9.
Highlights from the game against Elon.
Head Coach Jason Candle's thoughts about the Elon game.
Logan Woodside's thoughts about the Elon game.
Olasunkanmi Adeniyi's thoughts about the Elon game.
Diontae Johnson's thoughts about the Elon game.
Team Stats
ELON 0, TOLEDO 3
TOLEDO - VEST, Jameson 28 yd field goal 8 plays, 40 yards, TOP 2:35
ELON 0, TOLEDO 10
TOLEDO - SWANSON, Terry 1 yd run (VEST, Jameson kick), 2 plays, 70 yards, TOP 0:21
ELON 0, TOLEDO 13
TOLEDO - VEST, Jameson 27 yd field goal 7 plays, 30 yards, TOP 2:40
ELON 0, TOLEDO 16
TOLEDO - VEST, Jameson 32 yd field goal 11 plays, 39 yards, TOP 4:23
ELON 7, TOLEDO 16
ELON - B. Cyphers 9 yd run (O. Johnson kick), 6 plays, 37 yards, TOP 3:24
ELON 7, TOLEDO 19
TOLEDO - VEST, Jameson 21 yd field goal 10 plays, 79 yards, TOP 3:32
ELON 7, TOLEDO 26
TOLEDO - JOHNSON, Di. 99 yd kickoff return (VEST, Jameson kick)
ELON 7, TOLEDO 33
TOLEDO - SWANSON, Terry 5 yd run (VEST, Jameson kick), 9 plays, 59 yards, TOP 2:57
ELON 7, TOLEDO 40
TOLEDO - GILLIAM, Reggie 1 yd run (VEST, Jameson kick), 8 plays, 80 yards, TOP 2:38
ELON 13, TOLEDO 40
ELON - M. Summers 1 yd run (O. Johnson kickfailed), 7 plays, 53 yards, TOP 4:28
ELON 13, TOLEDO 47
TOLEDO - SEYMOUR, Shakif 9 yd run (VEST, Jameson kick), 8 plays, 81 yards, TOP 4:13
