Sept. 24, 2005

Box Score

CHARLESTON, Ill. - The Samford University football team dropped its 2005 Ohio Valley Conference-opener on Saturday as the Bulldogs lost a 43-14 decision on the road against the Eastern Illinois Panthers.

"In the first half, we were out-coached and outplayed," said Samford head coach Bill Gray. "I think that we came out and did some things better in the second half, but the bottom line is that we didn't play a very good game of football today."

Samford fell behind, 17-0, in the first quarter, before the Bulldogs cut the EIU lead to 17-7 with a score early in the second quarter. EIU, however, reeled off 17 more points in the second quarter to take a 34-7 lead into halftime. The Panthers posted nine points in the third quarter on a safety and a touchdown, and Samford added a touchdown in the fourth quarter to make the final score 43-14.

With the loss, Samford (1-3, 0-1 OVC) dropped its third-straight contest and concluded its arduous three-game road trip.

After playing consecutively on the road against Baylor, 10th-ranked Furman and EIU, the Bulldogs will return home to host Southeast Missouri on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. The game will be nationally-televised by ESPNU.

Samford's sophomore quarterback, Jefferson Adcock, recorded a game-high 293 yards passing on Saturday. Against the Panthers' stout defense, he completed 25-of-49 passes and threw for a pair of touchdowns.

The Bulldogs' Jeff Moore led the squad's receiving corps for a second-consecutive week and concluded the game with seven catches for 102 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore Joe Jones scored Samford's second touchdown of the game.

Defensively, the Bulldogs' sophomore linebacker Bobby Sherman led the team with 10 tackles.

Eastern Illinois (2-2, 1-0 OVC) snapped a two-game losing streak on Saturday and registered its largest scoring output of the season.

The Panthers' starting tailback Vincent Webb compiled 94 yards rushing on 20 carries and scored a pair of touchdowns. Quarterback Mike Donato completed 22-of-28 passes for 229 yards and two TD's.

The Samford University football team will next be in action on Thursday as the Bulldogs host the Southeast Missouri Redhawks in a nationally-televised game beginning at 6:30 p.m., in Seibert Stadium. The critical OVC contest will be broadcast live by ESPNU.