Jaylen King led East Tennessee State to a 34-14 victory over Elon on Saturday night by rushing for two touchdowns. King completed 17 of 28 passes for 233 yards and added 93 yards on the ground with 11 carries. Bryson Irby contributed 96 rushing yards out of the Buccaneers’ total of 254, as ETSU amassed 489 yards of offense.
ETSU quickly took control of the game, securing a 17-0 lead in the opening quarter. Irby scored a 4-yard touchdown after a 75-yard drive spanning nine plays. Following a fumble recovery on Elon’s first play, King dashed up the middle for an 8-yard touchdown. A 51-yard run by King, the longest of his career, set up a successful field goal for the Buccaneers.
In the third quarter, East Tennessee State further solidified its lead with touchdown runs from King and Khamran Laborn, spanning 10 and 17 yards respectively, extending their advantage to 31-7.
Elon managed to score on the first play of the second quarter with TJ Thomas rushing for a 3-yard touchdown, closing the gap to 17-7 by halftime. The team added another touchdown in the third quarter courtesy of Matthew Downing’s 15-yard pass to Chandler Brayboy.
On Elon’s side, Downing threw for 129 yards during the game. The Phoenix concluded the night with a 2-2 record while ETSU improved to 2-2.