Sept. 11, 2010

Box Score

NATCHITOCHES, La. - The Samford defense held Northwestern State to just 47 yards rushing and 10 first downs as the Bulldogs earned a 19-7 win over the Demons Saturday night at Turpin Stadium.

Samford improves to 1-1 with the win, while Northwestern State drops to 0-2 with the loss.

"We knew coming in that they played hard and it would be a dog fight," Samford head coach Pat Sullivan said. "I was really proud of our guys. This was an outstanding win. The one thing that cannot go unnoticed is our kicking game was outstanding tonight."

Samford senior running back Chris Evans rushed 25 times for 109 yards and a touchdown. Freshman wide receiver Quin Roberson caught six passes for career-high 124 yards. Junior quarterback Dustin Taliaferro completed 14-of-22 passes for 180 yards and an interception.

Defensively for Samford, Bryce Smith had nine tackles, including seven solo stops. Andy Davis, Thomas Broussard and Jamael Lett each had an interception for the Bulldogs.

Place-kicker Cameron Yaw made field goals from 44 and 43 yards out. Punter Bob Hooper averaged 36.6 yards per punt, placing four kicks inside the NSU 20-yard line.

As a team, Samford tallied 459 yards of total offense, while holding the Demons to 215. Samford held the ball for 38:21, compared to NSU's 21:39.

For Northwestern State, quarterback Paul Harris completed 16-of-35 passes for 162 yards and three interceptions. Bradley Brown caught seven passes for 77 yards. Derek Rose led the Demon defense with 14 tackles. Jamaal White had an interception for NSU.

The two teams played through a scoreless first quarter. Samford broke the scoreless tie when Evans scored on a five-yard run with 7:01 to go in the second quarter. Yaw missed the extra point to keep the Samford lead at 6-0. The score capped a 13-play, 80-yard drive that lasted 4:49.

Samford's Yaw kicked a 44-yard field goal as time expired in the second quarter to give Samford a 9-0 lead going into halftime. The scoring drive for Samford lasted five plays, 44 yards and took 1:17 off the clock.

At halftime, Samford had 276 yards of total offense to Northwestern State's 70 yards. The Bulldogs, however, were called for eight penalties for 70 yards, compared to one penalty for 11 yards for NSU in the first half.

Samford added to its lead on its first possession of the second half. Yaw kicked a 43-yard field goal with 12:09 to go in the third quarter to give Samford a 12-0 lead.

The Bulldogs added their second touchdown of the game when Jonathan Sillers took a direct snap and scored on a one-yard run with 7:52 to go in the third quarter. Yaw added the extra point to make the score 19-0. The touchdown was the first of Sillers' Samford career.

Northwestern State got on the scoreboard when Harris scored on a one-yard sneak with 7:32 to go in the game to cut the Samford lead to 19-7.

Samford will play its home opener on Thursday, Sept. 16, when the Bulldogs play host to Newberry College. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. kickoff from Seibert Stadium.