Oct. 25, 2003

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Tennessee State's Charles Anthony rushed 26 times for 154 yards to lead the Tigers to a 29-24 victory over Samford before 10,360 fans, the second largest crowd in Seibert Stadium history, on the Bulldogs' Homecoming Saturday afternoon.

Samford (5-3, 3-2 OVC) put the first points on the board when Ty Neil kicked a 30-yard field goal with 4:40 to go in the first quarter to give the Bulldogs an early 3-0 lead.

Tennessee State (5-3, 3-1 OVC) tied the game just over a minute into the second quarter when Henry Tahri kicked a 24-yard field goal with 13:40 to go in the second quarter. The Tigers took the lead for good when Bryson Rosser threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to C.J. Johnson with 10:11 to go in the second quarter. Tahri added the point after to give the Tigers a 10-3 lead. Tennessee State added on to its lead when Rosser hit Johnson on a 27-yard touchdown on a fourth-down play. The extra point was blocked by Efrem Hill and the Tigers held a 16-3 lead going into halftime.

The Tigers scored quickly in the second half. After a Samford fumble, Rosser threw a 42-yard touchdown pass to Ronald Jackson on the next play. The point after was blocked once again by Hill, and Tennessee State led 22-3 with 13:02 to play in the third quarter. Samford scored its first touchdown of the day when Ray Nelson hit Josh Brennard on a five-yard touchdown with 9:26 to play in the third quarter. Neil added the extra point to make the score 22-10. Nelson then hit Efrem Hill on an 18-yard touchdown with 8:36 to play in the third quarter. Neil's extra point cut the TSU lead to 22-17.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Tennessee State struck again when Rosser connected with Johnson for a third touchdown, this time from 40 yards out. The extra point was good to give TSU a 29-17 lead with 14:52 left in the fourth quarter. Nelson hit Hill for a three-yard touchdown with 7:06 to go in the game. Neil added the point after to make the final score 29-24.

For the game, Hill had eight catches for 95 yards, and he blocked two extra points on special teams. Nelson was 30-for-47 for 263 yards and three touchdowns.

For Tennessee State, Rosser completed 15-of-27 passes for 271 yards and four touchdowns.

Samford will go back on the road next week when the Bulldogs travel to Cookeville, Tenn., to take on Tennessee Tech. Kickoff for the game is set for 1:00 p.m.