Oct. 16, 2004

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Ray Nelson completed 19-of-32 passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns, and he rushed for 113 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries to lead Samford to a 34-20 Ohio Valley Conference victory over the Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks Saturday afternoon at Seibert Stadium.

"We were in a position where we needed to get a win any way we could," Samford head coach Bill Gray. "It's great to finally get our first conference victory. I thought the kids played hard in the second half, it would have been very easy for us to fold the tent. I'm very proud of them."

Following Nelson for Samford, Philip Hyde rushed for a career-high 100 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. Brad Booth and Calvin Hodge each had 10 tackles for the Bulldog defense.

"This was a big win for us," Nelson said. "It feels good to put a win on the board, and I think that should give the team a little more motivation to go out and try to do it again next week. The way we felt this afternoon in the locker room was a positive feeling and I think it should be a boost for the rest of the season."

Samford (2-5, 1-3 OVC) got the scoring started when Drew Guess scored on a two-yard run with 5:56 to go in the first quarter. Shannon Fleming added the extra point to give Samford an early 7-0 lead.

The Bulldogs struck again when Nelson hit Guess for a 20-yard touchdown with 12:16 left in the second quarter. Fleming's PAT pushed Samford's lead to 14-0.

Tennessee-Martin (1-6, 0-4 OVC) got on the board when Donald Chapman scored on a two-yard run with 9:09 to go before halftime. Taylor Brown kicked the extra point to cut Samford's lead to 14-7.

UT Martin tied the game with 6:50 remaining in the second quarter. Justin Glover scored on a one-yard touchdown run and Brown added the PAT to make the score 14-14.

The Skyhawks took the lead with four seconds remaining in the first half. Brown kicked a 27-yard field goal to give UT Martin a 17-14 lead at halftime.

Brown kicked his second field goal of the game for the first points of the second half. Brown made a 35-yard field goal with 7:42 remaining in the third quarter to increase the Skyhawks' lead to 20-14.

Samford came back when Hyde scored on a 49-yard touchdown with 1:11 to go in the third quarter. Fleming kicked the extra point to give the Bulldogs the lead for good at 21-20.

Samford added to its lead when Nelson found Joe Jones in the end zone for a 12-yard touchdown with 12:20 to go in the game. Fleming's point after made the score 28-20.

Samford finished the scoring when Nelson rushed for a 17-yard touchdown with 7:20 to play in the game. Fleming's PAT was blocked to make the final score 34-20.

Samford will return to action on Saturday, October 26, when the Bulldogs play at Tennessee State. The game is scheduled to kickoff at 2:30 p.m. at The Coliseum in Nashville, Tenn.