WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — Mitch Griffis threw for three touchdowns to open his tenure as Wake Forest's fulltime starting quarterback and help the Demon Deacons beat Elon 37-17 on Thursday night.
The fourth-year passer is taking over after the transfer of star Sam Hartman to No. 13 Notre Dame. Griffis had started last year's opener against VMI in relief of Hartman, then was back in the starting lineup again — this time as the guy positioned for the longer term — a day shy of that anniversary to throw for 329 yards in his second career start.
Griffis was accurate during a fast start, throwing for 230 yards on 11-of-14 passing as Wake Forest took a 24-0 halftime lead. That included a 33-yard score on an impressive contested catch by Jahmal Banks, as well as a perfect strike down the middle to Cameron Hite for a 69-yard scoring sprint.
He also hit Wesley Grimes for a completely undefended 18-yard throw to the end zone to cap his first drive.
It wasn't all perfect, though. Most notably, he missed Elon defender Caleb Curtain lurking underneath on a throw, and Curtain jumped for the interception and outran everyone for a 50-yard score late in the third quarter.
That was one of two long touchdowns for the Phoenix, a Championship Subdivision program from the Coastal Athletic Association. Jalen Hampton got Elon on the board by turning the corner on the left side and running free for a 49-yard score midway through the third.
Elon, which was coming off a trip to the FCS playoffs, was trying for only its second win against a current member of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Wake Forest's Demond Claiborne ran for a 10-yard touchdown in the final minutes to punctuate this one.
THE TAKEAWAY
Elon: FCS teams need some breaks to beat a Bowl Subdivision opponent on the road, but the Phoenix got off to a horrendous start. Elon managed minus-15 yards on its first 10 plays and didn't cross into positive yardage until early in the second. That came after fifth-year coach Tony Trisciani had pulled starting quarterback Matthew Downing — who had stops at Georgia, TCU and Louisiana Tech — for reserve Justin Allen. Allen threw for 128 yards and two interceptions, including a costly second-quarter one in the end zone.
Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons opened their 10th year under Dave Clawson by improving to 9-1 in home openers. They've been successful through developing players over multiple years, and that showed with some of the playmakers who stood out in this one. That included Banks, a physical receiver who had six grabs for 108 yards; Hite (four catches for 91 yards); and Grimes (three catches for 76 yards, including a 49-yard reception).
UP NEXT
Elon: The Phoenix stay in the home state by visiting Gardner-Webb next Saturday.
Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons host Southeastern Conference program Vanderbilt next Saturday.
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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll
