Sept. 24, 2011

Box Score

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Samford football team dropped a 38-23 Southern Conference decision at eight-ranked Wofford Saturday evening at Gibbs Stadium.

"We played well in spots, but we still made some mistakes," Samford head coach Pat Sullivan said. "We have to find a way to get a killer instinct.

"You have to tip your hat to Wofford, they are a good football team," Sullivan said. "They're good at what they do and they have good players. There's a reason they are ranked in the top 10 in the nation."

As a team, Wofford rolled up 512 yards of total offense, including 443 yards rushing. Three Wofford running backs ran for over 100 yards. Donovan Johnson rushed 10 times for 173 yards and a touchdown. Eric Breitenstein had 29 rushes for 126 yards and three touchdowns, while quarterback Mitch Allen rushed 16 times for 110 yards and a touchdown.

Samford was led offensively by quarterback Dustin Taliaferro, completing 25-of-41 passes for 231 yards and a touchdown. Kelsey Pope caught eight passes for 96 yards and a touchdown. Fabian Truss was Samford's leading rusher with eight rushes for 26 yards.

Defensively, Durell Hill led Samford in tackles with seven, including one tackle for a loss. Alvin Hines II had an interception to go along with his three tackles. Devyn Keith had a fumble recovery and Will Tumlin caused a fumble.

Samford got the scoring started on the opening drive of the game. Cameron Yaw kicked a 29-yard field goal to cap the Bulldogs' first drive. The kick gave the Bulldogs a 3-0 lead with 10:32 to go in the first quarter.

Wofford answered with a touchdown on its opening drive. Breitenstein scored on a two-yard run with 4:27 to go in the opening period. Christian Reed added the extra point to give the Terriers a 7-3 lead.

The Bulldogs came back with another field goal. Yaw connected again, this time from 30-yards out. The field goal cut the Terrier lead to 7-6 with 56 seconds left in the first quarter.

Samford took the lead on its first possession of the second quarter. Pope scored on a three-yard run and Yaw added the extra point to give Samford a 13-7 lead with 9:51 left in the second quarter.

The Terriers added a 26-yard field goal by Reed to cut the Samford lead to 13-10 with 7:32 to go in the second quarter. Wofford added another score in the second quarter when Allen scored on a 21-yard run with 51 second to go before halftime. Reed's PAT gave the Terriers a 17-13 lead.

Samford, however drove down the field in the closing seconds of the opening half. Yaw added another field goal, this one from 46-yard out, as time expired in the second quarter. The teams went to halftime with Wofford leading, 17-16.

Wofford scored on the opening possession of the third quarter. Breitenstein scored on an eight-yard run with 9:12 left in the third quarter. Reed added the extra point to give Wofford a 24-16 lead.

Breitenstein added another touchdown on a one-yard run with 8:42 to go in the game. The extra point by Reed made the score 31-16.

Samford's Taliaferro hit Pope for a 61-yard touchdown with 7:31 left in the fourth quarter. Yaw's PAT cut the Wofford lead to 31-23.

Wofford put the final points on the scoreboard when Johnson scored on an 18-yard run with 4:32 left in the game. Reed's extra point made the final score 38-23.

With the loss, Samford drops to 1-2 overall and 0-2 in Southern Conference play. Wofford improves to 2-1 overall and 1-0 in league play.

Samford will return to action on Saturday, Oct. 1, when the Bulldogs play host to Gardner-Webb. The game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. kickoff from Seibert Stadium.