Sept. 23, 2006

Box Score

Photo Gallery

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Jefferson Adcock completed 24-of-30 passes for 212 yards and two touchdowns, but it was not enough as the Samford football team fell, 24-13 to 20th-ranked Eastern Illinois Saturday night at Seibert Stadium.

The game was the Ohio Valley Conference opener for both teams. Samford falls to 2-2 overall and EIU also moves to 2-2 on the season.

"We had opportunities," Samford head coach Bill Gray said. "We have to able to take advantage of opportunities. We gave ourselves a chance, we just didn't get it done."

Adcock came off the bench to have his best game of the season so far.

"I just tried to go out and do what I've done for the last year and a half, just try to make good decisions," Adcock said. "I felt like we played really hard. The defense played great, but we just had too many turnovers, putting them in bad situations."

Samford receiver Jeff Moore tied a career high with 10 receptions for 105 yards and a touchdown. Freddy Young caught eight passes for 74 yards on the night. The Bulldogs commited four turnovers in the loss.

For EIU, Vincent Webb rushed 29 times for 208 yards and a touchdown. Mike Donato completed 14-of-18 passes for 120 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

Eastern Illinois got the scoring started on the opening drive of the game when Donato hit Jordan Campanella on a three-yard touchdown with 10:49 to go in the first quarter. Zach Yates added the extra point gave the Panthers a 7-0 lead.

In the second quarter, Samford's John Selph blocked an Eastern Illinois punt and Ty Levie recovered the ball at the EIU three-yard line. Adcock then hit Josh Brennard on a three-yard touchdown with 9:27 to go in the half. Shannon Fleming's PAT tied the score at 7-7. EIU answered when Donato hit Micah Rucker for a 35-yard touchdown with 7:56 to play in the second quarter. Yates' PAT made the score 14-7.

EIU put the only points on the scoreboard in the third quarter when Yates kicked a career-long 47-yard field goal with 31 seconds to go in the period to increase the Panthers' lead to 17-7.

EIU's Webb scored on a 27-yard run with 8:35 to go in the fourth quarter and Yates' PAT gave EIU a 24-7 lead. Adcock hit Jeff Moore on a 38-yard touchdown with 7:23 to go in the fourth quarter, but Fleming's PAT failed to make the final score 24-13.

Samford will return to action on Saturday, Sept. 30, when the Bulldogs play at Southeast Missouri. The game is scheduled for a 6:00 p.m. kickoff from Cape Girardeau, Mo.