Following the first full Saturday of Southern Conference football games, Elon was 2-0 in conference play with two hard-fought wins. After edging Georgia Southern 22-20 two weeks ago, the Phoenix held off Samford, 23-17, in the Bulldogs’ SoCon debut.

Elon quarterback Scott Riddle isn’t putting up quite the same huge numbers that he did a year ago, when he averaged 347 passing yards a game, but he’s still tops in the conference with a 287.8 average. His top target remains Terrell Hudgins, who is averaging a SoCon-best nine catches for 114 yards per game.

The game of the day took place Saturday night in Statesboro, Ga., where Wofford sacked Georgia Southern quarterback Lee Chapple on a two-point conversion attempt to give the Terriers a 38-37 win in overtime. Wofford led 31-14 at halftime before the Eagles rallied to force overtime.

The Citadel, meanwhile, cruised past Western Carolina 34-14, racking up 541 yards of offense. National champion Appalachian State is the only SoCon team yet to play a conference game. The Mountaineers routed Presbyterian 48-14 to bounce back from last week’s disappointing loss to James Madison in which they blew a 21-0 halftime lead.

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is off today following Saturday’s 35-10 loss at Furman and will begin preparing Tuesday for this week’s game against Georgia Southern — a game both teams desperately need to win after disappointing starts to conference play.

See Tuesday’s Times Free Press for more UTC coverage.

Here are the SoCon standings after Saturday’s games:

Team SoCon Overall

Elon 2-0 4-1

Furman 1-0 4-1

The Citadel 1-0 3-1

Wofford 1-0 3-1

Appalachian St. 0-0 2-2

Samford 0-1 2-2

Western Carolina 0-1 2-3

UTC 0-1 1-4

Ga. Southern 0-2 2-3

From the SoCon office Monday, here are the players of the week:

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Devin Radford, Appalachian State, RB, So.

Radford amassed 251 all-purpose yards in ASU’s 48-14 win over Presbyterian Saturday night while also scoring three touchdowns. The sophomore rushed 17 times for 179 yards and two scores, and he caught a 72-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter

Other nominees: Jordan Sorrells (Furman), Dane Romero (Wofford), Andre Roberts (The Citadel), Chris Evans (Samford), Adam Hearns (Western Carolina) and Lee Chapple (Georgia Southern).

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Seth Goldwire, Wofford, LB, Sr.

Goldwire had a career-best day in Wofford’s overtime win at Georgia Southern, collecting 11 tackles and three turnovers. Goldwire returned a first quarter interception 61 yards for a touchdown to give the Terriers a 14-0 lead, and he added to his turnover tally with another interception and a fumble recovery. In addition to his 11 tackles, the senior added 1.5 sacks.

Other nominees: Chris Covington (Georgia Southern), Terell Wilson (Elon), Cortez Gilbert (Appalachian State), Bryce Smith (Samford), Kevin McCaskill (CIT), William Middleton (Furman), Mitchell Bell (Western Carolina) and Tony Swafford (UTC).

FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK: Demarcus Watts, Georgia Southern, WR, Fr.

Watts set a Georgia Southern freshman record with 158 yards receiving in the contest on three catches. He corralled a 58-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter, and his 100-yard effort was the first time a GSU freshman had eclipsed the century mark in receiving since 1989.

Other nominees: A.J Harris (Elon), Mitch Allen (Wofford), Asheton Jordan (The Citadel), DeAndre Presley (Appalachian State), Dustin Taliaferro (Samford), Zack Jaynes (Western Carolina), J.D Dothard (UTC) and Ryan Steed (Furman).

SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Andrew Wilcox, Elon, PK, Sr.

Wilcox earned his second consecutive player of the week honor after booting three field goals, including a long of 45, in Elon’s 23-17 SoCon win over Samford. Wilcox was also 2-for-2 on extra point attempts.

Other nominees: Jason Vitaris (Appalachian State), Bob Hooper (Samford), Adrian Mora (Georgia Southern), Blake Cain (Western Carolina) and Sam Keeler (The Citadel).

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