Nov. 21, 2009

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford football team wrapped up its 2009 season with a 27-7 loss to the 10th-ranked Elon Phoenix Saturday afternoon at Seibert Stadium.

"This, obviously, wasn't the way we wanted to end our season," Samford head coach Pat Sullivan said. "Give Elon credit, they are a very good football team and they have a lot of experience."

For Elon, Terrell Hudgins caught 11 passes for 144 yards and a touchdown. Scott Riddle completed 27-of-41 passes for 278 yards and a score. A.J. Harris and Brandon Newsome each had a rushing touchdown for the Phoenix, with Harris rushing for 75 yards in the game and Newsome for 52 yards in the contest.

Samford was led by Chris Evans, rushing for 99 yards on 19 carries. Evans finishes the season with 1,152 yards, and he now has 3,478 career rushing yard, the top total in Samford history.

Samford quarterback Dustin Taliaferro completed 16-of-28 passes for 126 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Richie Fordham caught five passes for 30 yards and a touchdown. Riley Hawkins had one catch for 50 yards. Bryce Smith led all players with 14 tackles, including nine solo stops.

Elon got on the scoreboard first when Adam Schreiner kicked a 33-yard field goal with 1:35 to go in the first quarter to give the Phoenix a 3-0 lead.

The Phoenix added a touchdown with 16 seconds to go in the second quarter. Riddle hit Hudgins for a 10-yard score and Schreiner added the extra point to make the score 10-0 heading into halftime.

Samford had two chances to score in the first half. However, field goal attempts from 47 and 44 yards out by Cameron Yaw were no good, to keep the Bulldogs scoreless for the first 30 minutes of the game.

Elon's Newsome scored on a one-yard run with 4:56 to play in the third quarter. Schreiner added the extra point to give the Phoenix a 17-0 lead. Harris later scored on a 14-yard run with 30 seconds to go in the third quarter to make the score 24-0.

Samford got on the scoreboard when Taliaferro hit Fordham for a six-yard score with 10:13 to go in the game. Cameron Yaw's extra point cut the Elon lead to 24-7. The Phoenix scored the final points of the game when Schreiner booted a 22-yard field goal with 3:20 to go to make the final score 27-7.

For the game, Elon rolled up 397 yards of total offense to Samford's 220. The Phoenix produced 24 first downs to Samford's 12.

Samford ends its season with a record of 5-6 overall and 3-5 in the Southern Conference. Elon improves to 9-2 overall and 7-1 in SoCon play.