Listening to Elon head football coach Pete Lembo speak at the weekly "Inside the Elon Huddle" luncheon on Monday, you'd think that Saturday's matchup against the Richmond Spiders is just another game.
“It’s like a regular away game,” Lembo told the capacity crowd at the Best Western in Burlington, N.C. “It’s like going to Furman or Wofford, just a three-hour trip in the other direction.”
But Saturday’s contest is anything but regular: It marks Elon football’s first playoff game in more than a quarter-century and its first since moving to NCAA Division I play 10 years ago. This season, the Phoenix tallied a 9-2 overall record, 7-1 in the Southern Conference.
For Lembo, who reached the playoffs as head coach at Lehigh, the milestone validates the hard work of both his players and coaches.
“This is why you work 365 days a year,” he said. “Once you put your program in this tournament, it raises your credibility to a whole different level.”
Richmond, the defending NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision champion and this year’s No. 4 seed in the playoffs, finished with a 10-1 record, its only setback a 21-20 loss to No. 2 Villanova on Nov. 7. The Spiders and the Phoenix last met at Rhodes Stadium to open the 2008 season, a game Elon lost 28-10. But offensive lineman John Rubertone, a redshirt junior, said memories of the loss serve as motivation for Saturday’s game.
“This is what we work for every day,” he said. “It’s payback time.”
As he prepares for Richmond, Lembo plans to keep the team’s schedule as routine as possible. Players won’t have Thanksgiving Day off, but the practice and meeting schedule will be altered to allow players to observe the holiday with area family members or community members who are opening their homes to the athletes. On Friday, the team will travel to Richmond, visit Richmond Stadium and participate in walk-throughs, just like normal.
But, Lembo admitted, after Saturday, things may change for the Phoenix football team.
“Our players will be different after this Saturday; the future of this program, it’ll be different after Saturday,” Lembo said. “It’s something special.”
TICKET AND BUS TRIP INFORMATION
Saturday’s game between Elon and Richmond will be held at Richmond Stadium at 1 p.m. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Richmond ticket office at 1-877-SPIDER-1. Tickets are $22 for adults, $10 for children 12 and under.
Elon’s Department of Athletics is organizing a bus trip from Elon to Richmond on Saturday. The trip includes bus transportation and a tailgate lunch at the stadium. Cost is $50 per person and does not include your game ticket, which must be purchased by calling the number above. Reservations for the bus trip can be made by contacting Jennifer Tucci, Director of the Phoenix Club, at (336) 278-9320 or jtucci@elon.edu. Reservations must be made by noon on Wednesday, Nov. 25.
Because of the Thanksgiving holiday, the Pete Lembo Radio Show will air this week on Wednesday at 7 p.m. from The Cutting Board restaurant in Burlington. The radio show and the “Inside the Elon Huddle” luncheon will continue throughout Elon’s playoff run.