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ELON -- After a fairly quiet first half Saturday, the second half of Elon's football game against Western Carolina became the Terrell Hudgins show.

The junior wide receiver from Rocky Mount broke the school record for receiving yards, then set the all-time Southern Conference record en route to a seven-catch, 120-yard performance. He also added a touchdown catch early in the fourth quarter to help the Phoenix pull away for a 33-14 Homecoming victory at Rhodes Stadium.

Hudgins broke the school record for receiving yardage held by former NFL tight end Rich McGeorge (3,460 from 1966-69) and now has 3,544 yards. The former Southern Conference record holder was Marshall's Mike Barber with 3,520 yards from 1985-88.

"After they have my name on those records they should have (quarterback) Scott Riddle's name, the offensive line and the backs and receivers," Hudgins said. "The line makes it possible for Scott to throw and the other receivers and backs block for me, too."

The Elon offense was mostly ineffective in the first half. But a Hudgins 39-yard reception set up the Phoenix's first touchdown. He had only one other catch in the first half.

The second half was a different story. After Western Carolina (3-8, 1-6 Southern) returned an interception for a touchdown to close to 13-7, Hudgins made an 18-yard catch on Elon's next drive. Five plays later, Riddle bounced off one tackler at the 2 and spun into the end zone for a 5-yard touchdown and a 20-7 lead.

After the Catamounts closed to 20-14, Hudgins was the man again. He caught passes on four of the next five plays for Elon (8-2, 6-1), the last one a 17-yard touchdown. Hudgins caught the ball at the 2-yard line, broke free from an ankle tackle, took a couple of steps backward into the end zone and the Phoenix led 27-14.

"Scott made a great throw and it was just one-on-one after that," Hudgins said. "Of all the teams we've played this year, they gave their corners more opportunities to play one-on-one. The coaches recognized that and gave me some opportunities to make plays."

Elon coach Pete Lembo was pleased with the way his team didn't let the pressure get to them after the lead was cut to six points on two occasions.

"You don't have time to be concerned right then. You're just trying to find ways to get back in the game," Lembo said. "I think it is a good indication of our resiliency and our ability to overcome adversity. All of a sudden it's a tighter game, and our kids responded."

The Phoenix defense also played a major role in the win. Elon held Western Carolina to 42 yards rushing, 36 of those by former Western Alamance standout Levon Curtis.

"I think we made them one-dimensional, which was good." Lembo said.

"It all starts up front," said defensive end Jordan Daniel. "It helps the defensive backs and the line."

Elon's win sets up a showdown with conference leader Appalachian State at 3:30 p.m. next Saturday in Boone. The Mountaineers (8-2, 6-0) routed Chattanooga 49-7 on Saturday.

Western Carolina 0 0 14 0 -- 14

Elon 3 10 7 13 -- 33

Elon--FG Wilcox 47

Elon--Camp 3 pass from Riddle (Wilcox kick)

Elon--FG Wilcox 34

WCar--Bell 55 interception return (Bostic kick)

Elon--Riddle 5 run (Wilcox kick)

WCar--Thomas 4 pass from Jaynes (Bostic kick)

Elon--Hudgins 17 pass from Riddle (Wilcox kick)

Elon--Shuman 1 run (kick blocked)

A--10,747.

Western Carolina Elon

First downs 14 16

Rushes-yards 32-49 30-144

Passing 182 210

Comp-Att-Int 24-31-0 17-26-1

Return Yards 60 0

Punts-Avg. 6-25.8 3-34.3

Fumbles-Lost 3-1 0-0

Penalties-Yards 9-86 6-63

Time of Possession 31:02 28:58

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING--W. Carolina, Curtis 12-36, Jaynes 17-23, Wright 3-(minus 10). Elon, Shuman 7-51, Newsome 13-40, Riddle 5-20, Camp 1-17, A.Harris 3-12, Applegate 1-4.

PASSING--W. Carolina, Jaynes 24-31-0-182. Elon, Riddle 17-26-1-210.

RECEIVING--W. Carolina, Hearns 9-55, Thomas 5-81, Curtis 4-10, Wright 3-16, Garland 1-8, Rogers 1-7, Osborne 1-5. Elon, Hudgins 7-120, B.Williamson 5-38, Newsome 2-27, Jeffcoat 1-16, A.Harris 1-6, Camp 1-3.