Nov. 6, 2004

Box Score

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - The Samford football team fell, 51-18, to the 15th-ranked Jacksonville State Gamecocks at Paul Snow Memorial Stadium Saturday night.

"They have a good ball club," Samford head coach Bill Gray said. "We needed to come over here and play a good game, and obviously, we made too many mistakes to win against a good team."

Samford was led offensively by quarterback Ray Nelson, who completed 16-of-36 passes for 156 yards and a touchdown, and rushed for 75 yards on 13 carries. Jeff Moore caught four passes for 53 yards and a touchdown. Steve Tennin registered 15 tackles for the Bulldogs.

JSU's Oscar Bonds rushed for 186 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries to lead the Gamecocks.

Jacksonville State (7-1, 5-1 OVC) got the scoring started when Bonds scored on a one-yard run with 13:22 to play in the first quarter. Gavin Hallford added the PAT to make the score 7-0. The score was set up by a 57-yard pass from Maurice Mullins to Jarvis Houston on the first play from scrimmage.

After stopping Samford on its first offensive drive, the Gamecocks struck again when Craig Agee returned a Samford punt 75 yards for a touchdown with 11:37 remaining in the opening quarter. Hallford added the extra point to give JSU a 14-0 lead.

Samford (4-6, 3-4 OVC) got on the board when Shannon Fleming kicked a 20-yard field goal with 11:44 left in the second quarter to cut the JSU lead to 14-3. The score came after Steve Tennin caused and recovered a Jacksonville State fumble, giving Samford the ball at the JSU 34-yard line.

JSU's Mullins scored on a 24-yard run with 52 seconds left in the first half. Hallford missed the PAT to make keep the Gamecock's lead at 20-3.

Samford struck for its first touchdown of the game when Nelson hit Moore on a 13-yard touchdown just 11 seconds before halftime. Josh Brennard caught the two-point conversion pass from Jefferson Adcock to make the score 20-11 at halftime.

After a Samford turnover on the first possession of the second half, Jacksonville State scored on a one-yard run by Marcus Mitchell with 13:44 to go in the third quarter. The PAT increased the Gamecocks' lead to 27-11.

Mitchell scored again for the Gamecocks on an 11-yard run with 7:10 to go in the third quarter. Hallford's extra point made the score 34-11.

Samford cut into the JSU lead when Drew Guess scored on a three-yard run with 1:01 to go in the third quarter. Fleming's PAT made the score 34-18.

Bonds scored on a 79-yard run with two seconds remaining in the third quarter to give the Gamecocks a 41-18 lead.

Hallford added a 33-yard field goal with 9:11 left in the game, and JSU's Rhetta Taurean scored on a 35-yard touchdown run with 4:55 to go to make the final score 51-18.

Samford will take next week off from competition, and will wrap-up the 2004 regular season when the Bulldogs play host to the Eastern Illinois Panthers on November 20. The game is scheduled for a 1:00 p.m. kickoff at Seibert Stadium.