Box Score JUSTIN SHADE INTERVIEW

SPARTANBURG, S.C.—The 22^nd-ranked Samford football team remained unbeaten in Southern Conference play with a 34-27 win at 12^th-ranked Wofford Saturday afternoon at Wofford's Gibbs Stadium.
 
With the win, Samford takes over first place in the Southern Conference standings, improving to 4-0 in league play. The Bulldogs are 6-2 overall so far this season. Dating back to the 2012 season, Samford has now won its last six conference games in a row. Wofford falls to 5-3 overall and 4-1 in league play with the loss.
 
Samford overcame four turnovers to earn the win. The Bulldogs gave up three interceptions and one fumble, but they were able to come back and earn the win in a battle of teams at the top of the Southern Conference standings.
 
"I can't say enough about the resiliency of this team and this coaching staff," Samford head coach Pat Sullivan said. "This was a big, big win for us. We need to enjoy this one tonight and then we have a whole lot of work to do to get ready for The Citadel."
 
In the win for Samford, senior wide receiver Kelsey Pope caught eight passes for 62 yards. In the game, Pope became Samford's all-time leader in career receptions. He now has 217 career receptions, breaking the previous record of 214, set by Efrem Hill (2001-04).
 
Senior quarterback Andy Summerlin complete 26-of-35 passes for 259 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. Jauan Davis caught five passes for 59 yards and a touchdown, while Chris Cephus had four catches for 52 yards and two touchdowns. D'Morrise Bledsoe rushed seven times for 65 yards and a touchdown, while Fabian Truss had 15 rushes for 62 yards.
 
Defensively for Samford, Jaquiski Tartt had 17 tackles, including 15 solo stops. Justin Shade finished with 15 tackles, with 10 of those being solo tackles. The Bulldog defense came up with three big stops on fourth-down plays in the game, including two in the fourth quarter. On special teams, Warren Handrahan made both of his field goal attempts, making kicks from 21 and 38 yards out.
 
For Wofford, Donovan Johnson rushed 33 times for 151 yards. Evan Jacks completed 7-of-13 passes for 82 yards. Alvin Scioneaux, Chris Armfield and Bernard Williams had an interception each for the Terriers.
 
On Samford's first offensive possession of the game, Wofford's Scioneaux picked off a Summerlin pass and returned it 33 yards for a Terrier touchdown. The score gave Wofford a 7-0 lead with 13:02 to go in the first quarter.
 
Samford tied the score when Jeremiaha Gates took a handoff from Summerlin and then hit Cephus for a 15-yard touchdown to make the score 7-7 with 3:33 to go in the first quarter. The drive was set up when the Samford defense stopped Wofford on a fourth-and-one play at the Terriers' 43-yard line.
 
The Bulldogs took the lead when Summerlin hit Cephus for a 14-yard touchdown to make the score 14-7 with 24 seconds to go in the first quarter. Wofford's Kasey Redfern cut the Samford lead to 14-10 with a 26-yard field goal with 6:53 left in the second quarter.
 
Samford added to its lead on its final possession of the first half. Bledsoe scored on a one-yard run with 24 seconds left in the second quarter to send Samford to halftime with a 21-10 lead.
 
After Samford turned the ball over on its first possession of the third quarter, Wofford scored a touchdown on a one-yard run by Ray Smith to cut the Samford lead to 21-17 with 10:32 left in the third quarter.
 
Samford answered to push its lead to 24-17 when Handrahan kicked a 21-yard field goal with 6:30 left in the third quarter.  Wofford tied the score on the first play of the fourth quarter. Tymeco Gregory scored after recovering a fumble on a two yard run to make the score 24-24 with 14:52 left in the game.
 
The Bulldogs took the lead again at 27-24 when Handrahan kicked a 38-yard field goal with 11:12 to go in the contest.  On Wofford's ensuing drive, the Samford defense stopped the Terriers on a fourth-and-one play at the Samford 45-yard line. The Bulldogs took advantage of the opportunity when Summerlin hit Davis for a 26-yard touchdown to make the score 34-24 with 5:53 to go in the game.
 
Wofford cut the Samford lead to a touchdown at 34-27 when Redfern booted a 30-yard field goal with 3:13 to go. The Samford defense had to make one final stop, but Jacks' fourth-and-eight pass fell incomplete with 53 seconds left, and the Bulldogs were able to run out the clock from there.
 
As a team, Samford finished with 407 yards of total offense, compared to 340 yards for Wofford. Samford produced 22 first downs, while Wofford had 19 first downs in the contest.
 
Samford will play on the road again next week when the Bulldogs travel to Charleston, S.C., to take on The Citadel. The game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. (CT) start from Johnson Hagood Stadium.