Nov. 8, 2008

Box Score

STATESBORO, Ga. - The Samford football team overcame an early 10-point deficit to win at Georgia Southern, 27-17, Saturday at Paulson Stadium. With the win, Samford improves to 5-4 overall and 3-3 in Southern Conference play.

"I'm just so happy for our kids," Samford head coach Pat Sullivan said. "We made some big plays, and I couldn't be more proud of our guys. They have character, and they play well together."

A strong Samford defensive performance was led by sophomore safety Andy Davis with two key interceptions, including one on GSU's final drive to help seal the win, and seven total tackles. Rodney Shepherd, Jamael Lett and Brent Nall had six tackles each.

"Our defense has just gotten better and better this year," Sullivan said. "We're not giving up the big plays. We have a lot of positives we can take from this and we are excited right now."

Offensively for Samford, sophomore running back Chris Evans rushed 28 times for 142 yards and a touchdown. With the performance, Evans now has 1,107 rushing yards for the season.

Freshman quarterback Dustin Taliaferro completed 14-of-17 passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns. Junior wide receiver Jonathan Lowery caught two passes for 79 yards and a touchdown.

For Georgia Southern (5-5, 3-4 SoCon), Antonio Henton completed 27-of-44 passes for 202 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Raja Andrews had 10 receptions for 114 yards and a touchdown.

Georgia Southern struck first on its first drive of the game when Adrian Mora kicked a 26-yard field goal with 9:32 to go in the first quarter to give the Eagles an early 3-0 lead.

GSU pushed its lead to 10-0 with 3:42 to go in the first quarter. Henton hit Andrews for a 20-yard touchdown and Mora added the extra point for a 10-point Eagle lead.

Samford got on the scoreboard in the second quarter when Taliaferro hit Lowery for a 73-yard touchdown with 5:12 to play in the quarter. Bob Hooper added the extra point to cut GSU's lead to 10-7.

Samford took the lead when Taliaferro hit DeMarcus Covington for a 43-yard touchdown with 44 seconds to go before halftime. Hooper's PAT gave Samford a 14-10 lead.

Samford struck on its first drive of the second half when Evans scored on a 31-yard run with 10:46 to go in the third quarter. Hooper's PAT was blocked and Samford held a 20-10 lead.

The Eagles came back with a touchdown to cut the Samford lead to 20-17. Henton hit Michael McIntosh for a 16-yard touchdown with 2:00 to go in the third quarter. Mora's PAT cut the Samford lead to three points.

Samford pushed its lead to 27-17 when Taliaferro scored on a nine-yard run on a fourth-and-two play with 9:08 to go in the fourth quarter. Hooper added the PAT. The drive was set up when Davis claimed his first interception of the day and returned it inside the Georgia Southern 20-yard line.

The win was Samford's first ever over Georgia Southern in four tries.

Samford will play its final home game of the 2008 season on Saturday, Nov. 15, when the Bulldogs play host to the Wofford Terriers. The game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. kickoff from Seibert Stadium.