Sept. 4, 2004

ATLANTA - After falling behind, 21-0, in the first half, the Samford football team played the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets even in the second half, falling by a score of 28-7 Saturday afternoon at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Grant Field.

"Defensively, I was very proud of the way our guys played," Samford head coach Bill Gray said. "I felt like they played as hard as they could all day. We were over-matched size-wise up front. I couldn't be prouder of our defense, and our whole team."

Georgia Tech (1-0) got the scoring started with 10:35 to go in the first quarter when Reggie Ball hit Nate Curry on a 14-yard touchdown pass to cap a 10-play, 80-yard drive for the Yellow Jackets. After adding the point-after, Georgia Tech held a 7-0 lead.

The Yellow Jackets made the score 14-0 on the second play of the second quarter. Ball hit P.J. Daniels on a 25-yard touchdown pass with 14:23 to go and the extra point gave the Yellow Jackets a two-touchdown lead.

Georgia Tech put its third touchdown of the first half on the board with 9:22 remaining in the half when Daniels scored on a 46-yard run.

Samford (1-1) drove into Georgia Tech territory on its final drive of the first half. However, the Bulldogs' drive stalled and they turned the ball over on downs at the 37-yard line. Neither team was able to score the rest of the half, as Samford headed to the locker room trailing 21-0.

In the first half, Ray Nelson was 18-for-29 for 105 yards. Efrem Hill caught seven passes for 56 yards in the opening half. Cortland Finnegan claimed his third interception of the season when he picked off a pass by Ball with 6:50 to go in the half. The three interceptions tied his career-high for interceptions in a season.

The Bulldogs put their first points on the scoreboard with 4:12 to go in the third quarter. Nelson hit Hill on a six-yard touchdown pass, and Hal Hughston added the PAT to cut the Georgia Tech lead to 21-7.

Georgia Tech put the final points on the board with 9:56 remaining in the game when Daniels dove into the end zone from one yard out to push the Yellow Jackets' lead back to 21 points, and make the final score 28-7.

For the game, Hill caught 11 passes for 83 yards and a touchdown. Nelson was 29-of-44 passing for 169 yards and a touchdown.

"I played decently," Hill said. "I thought I did some things well, but I also did some things wrong. We will come back on Monday, and try to correct those mistakes."

For Georgia Tech, Daniels rushed 25 times for 169 yards and two touchdowns, while catching three passes for 24 yards and a score.

Samford will be back in action on September 11, when the Bulldogs take on the Furman Paladins at 6:00 p.m. at Seibert Stadium.