Oct. 4, 2008

Box Score

CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Samford's Chris Evans rushed for 166 yards and a touchdown as the Bulldog football team claimed its first Southern Conference win, 21-6 over Western Carolina, Saturday afternoon at E.J. Whitmire Stadium.

"This was a big win for our Samford family," Samford head coach Pat Sullivan said. "What made it special to me was the way the kids played. We shot ourselves in the foot a couple of times, but they played hard and just kept coming. When we had to make a play, we made a play. I was proud of all our guys."

With the win, Samford improves to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in Southern Conference play. Western Carolina drops to 2-4 overall and 0-2 in league play.

Evans gained his 166 yards on 34 carries, for an average of 4.9 yards per carry. Dustin Taliaferro completed 14-of-16 passes for 154 yards and two touchdowns. Jonathan Lowery caught five passes for 69 yards and a touchdown, while Riley Hawkins had three receptions for 63 yards and a touchdown.

Bob Hooper punted six times for an average of 44.3 yards per kick. He placed five of his six kicks inside the Western 20-yard line.

Defensively, Andy Davis led Samford with nine tackles, including seven solo stops. Bryce Smith and Kyle Morton had an interception each for Samford.

Western Carolina's Zack Jaynes completed 20-of-33 passes for 162 yards. Donald James caught eight passes for 82 yards. Adrian McLeod had 14 total tackles, including eight solo tackles.

Samford jumped on top first with a touchdown on the opening drive of the game. Evans scored on a 10-yard run with 13:01 to go in the first quarter, and John Paul Fraites added the extra point to give Samford a 7-0 lead.

Western Carolina cut the Samford lead to 7-3 when Blake Bostic kicked a career-long 43-yard field goal with 3:17 to go in the second quarter.

Bostic added a 35-yard field goal with 11:58 to go in the third quarter to cut Samford's lead to 7-6.

Samford extended its lead when Taliaferro hit Lowery on a 22-yard touchdown with 6:50 to go in the third quarter to give Samford a 14-6 lead. The score was set up by a 38-yard punt return by Richie Fordham to the WCU 22-yard line.

Samford scored on its next drive as well when Taliaferro hit Hawkins on a 38-yard touchdown with 4:59 to go in the third quarter. Fraites' PAT gave Samford a 21-6 lead.

As a team, Samford rushed for 180 yards, while the Samford defense held WCU to just 67 rushing yards. Samford had 334 yards of total offense to 319 for WCU. Samford had three turnovers, all on fumbles, while WCU turned the ball over three times, two on interceptions and one on a fumble.

Samford will return to action on Saturday, Oct. 11, when the Bulldogs play host to three-time defending national champion Appalachian State at Seibert Stadium.