Oct. 1, 2009

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford football team practiced for a little over an hour in shells Thursday afternoon at Seibert Stadium. The practice was the final full workout in preparation for Saturday's home Southern Conference game against Western Carolina.

Samford and Western Carolina are meeting for the seventh time, with Samford holding a 5-1 advantage in the series. Last season, the teams met for the first time as co-members of the Southern Conference, with Samford coming away with a 21-6 win in Cullowhee, N.C.

"Last year, we went up there and were fortunate enough to come out with our first SoCon win," Samford head coach Pat Sullivan said. "We have to improve from what we did last week if we are going to have a chance to win this week. That is what we have been working on all week at practice."

Samford enters the game with a record of 2-2 overall and 0-1 in SoCon play after a 20-7 loss at 10th-ranked Appalachian State last week. Western Carolina is currently 0-4 overall and 0-2 in league play after a 33-14 setback to Furman last week.

"We didn't play as well as we can play last week," Sullivan said. "We didn't go up there to do anything but win. If we could have taken care of some of the things we needed to, we would have had a better chance."

Samford will hold a final walk-through Friday afternoon at Seibert Stadium. Kickoff for Saturday's home game against Western Carolina is scheduled for 2 p.m. from Seibert Stadium.

The game can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/wvsu. Fans can also follow the game online via GameTracker at the following link: GameTracker For Saturday's Game

For ticket information, contact the Samford ticket office at 205-726-2050, or visit the Samford athletics website at www.samfordsports.com.