Sept. 10, 2011

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Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford football team rolled up 473 yards of total offense on its way to a 48-6 win over the Stillman Tigers Saturday evening at Seibert Stadium.

With the win, Samford improves to 1-1 on the season. Stillman drops to 1-1 with the loss. The game was played in front of a crowd of 5,942.

"I was really hoping we would play the way we practiced this week, because our kids were focused all week, and I thought they did that," Samford head coach Pat Sullivan said. "I couldn't be more pleased with them. We were able to play a lot of people. Tonight was a complete game on offense, defense and special teams."

Samford sophomore wide receiver Kelsey Pope caught six passes for 52 yards and two touchdowns, and he rushed five times for 74 yards and two scores. The four touchdowns tie a Samford single-game record. The record is shared with five other players, most recently Steve Hayden against Morgan State in 1995.

Sophomore running back Fabian Truss rushed nine times for 76 yards and a touchdown. Truss also returned three kickoffs for an average of 37 yards per return. Senior quarterback Dustin Taliaferro completed 14-of-19 passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns. Backup quarterback Ben Neill completed 6-of-9 passes for 43 yards in his first action at quarterback for the Bulldogs.

Defensively for Samford, Corey White had an interception, which he returned for a 22-yard touchdown. Ben Carpenter led the Bulldogs in tackles with seven. Calvin Ruff had two sacks for the Bulldogs. The Samford defense held Stillman to just 45 rushing yards in the contest.

For Stillman, Dondre Purnell completed 4-of-8 passes for 129 yards and one interception. Damian Ford caught two passes for 106 yards for the Tigers.

Samford put the first points on the scoreboard on the opening drive of the game. Truss scored on a one-yard run to cap a seven-play 43-yard drive that took 2:45 off the clock. Cameron Yaw added the extra point to give Samford a 7-0 lead. In the scoring drive, Truss accounted for 33 of the 43 yards.

On Stillman's first drive, the Tigers' Alejandro Perez-Huerta kicked a 22-yard field goal to cut the Samford lead to 7-3 with 9:38 to go in the first quarter. The score was set up by a 78-yard pass from Purnell to Ford on the first play of the drive, giving Stillman the ball at the Samford five-yard line.

Stillman added another field goal late in the first quarter to cut the Samford lead to 7-6. Huerta kicked his second field goal of the game, this one from 33-yards out with 2:27 to go in the first quarter.

Samford's Pope scored his first touchdown of the day on a 29-yard reverse with 1:14 to go in the first quarter. Yaw added the extra point to extend the Bulldogs' lead to 14-6.

The Bulldogs added another touchdown when Taliaferro hit Pope on an eight-yard touchdown with 9:47 to go in the second quarter. Yaw added the extra point to make the score 21-6.

On Stillman's next possession, Samford's White intercepted a Purnell pass and returned it 22 yards for a touchdown. Yaw added the extra point to push Samford's lead to 28-6 with 8:59 left in the second quarter.

Samford tacked on one more first-half score when Pope ran for a 24-yard touchdown with 2:09 left before halftime. Yaw's PAT gave Samford a 35-6 lead heading into halftime.

Pope scored his fourth touchdown of the game on a 10-yard reception from Taliaferro with 9:49 to go in the third quarter. Yaw's PAT made the score 42-6. Yaw added a 27-yard field goal in the third quarter and a 23-yard kick in the fourth quarter to make the final score 48-6.

Highlights from the game will be available on www.samfordsports.com within 48 hours of the game.

Samford will take next week off from competition. The Bulldogs will return to action on Saturday, Sept. 24, when they travel to Spartanburg, S.C., to take on the Wofford Terriers. The game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. (CT) kickoff from Wofford's Gibbs Stadium.