Box Score CHARLESTON, S.C.—The Samford football team suffered its first Southern Conference loss of the season in a 28-26 setback at The Citadel Saturday afternoon at Johnson Hagood Stadium.
 
Samford built a 17-0 second-quarter lead, but The Citadel came back to take the lead in the second half. The Citadel led, 28-20 late in the fourth quarter, but Samford's Andy Summerlin hit Jauan Davis for an eight-yard touchdown with 1:22 left to cut the lead to 28-26. Summerlin's pass on the two-point conversion try fell incomplete, and The Citadel was able to run out the clock from there.
 
"This was a tough loss," Samford head coach Pat Sullivan said. "Give Citadel all the credit in the world. I said earlier this week I thought they had as good of a team as we were going to play the rest of the year."
 
 With the loss, Samford falls to 6-3 overall and 4-1 in Southern Conference play. Samford falls into a tie for first place in the SoCon standings. The Citadel improves to 3-6 overall and 3-4 in SoCon games.
 
For Samford in the loss, Summerlin completed 29-of-39 passes for 288 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Kelsey Pope caught 10 passes for 133 yards. Fabian Truss rushed 11 times for 58 yards and a touchdown.
 
Trey Wesley led Samford in tackles with 10, including eight solo stops. Jaquiski Tartt had nine tackles, and Justin Cooper and Brinson Porter had eight tackles each.
 
For The Citadel, Vinny Miller rushed 14 times for 95 yards and a touchdown. Ben Dupree had 18 rushes for 90 yards, and Darien Robinson had 13 rushes for 83 yards and three touchdowns. Dupree also completed 8-of-12 passes for 37 yards.
 
Samford struck first with a touchdown midway through the first quarter. On a flea-flicker, Summerlin hit Chris Cephus for a 22-yard touchdown. The score gave Samford a 7-0 lead with 7:50 left in the first quarter.
 
Samford added to its lead when Warren Handrahan kicked a 37-yard field goal with 8:21 left in the second quarter. The kick gave Samford a 10-0 lead.
 
The visiting Bulldogs added another score before halftime. Truss scored on a one-yard run, giving Samford a 17-0 lead with 3:41 left in the second quarter.
 
The Citadel put its first points on the scoreboard on its final drive of the second quarter. Robinson scored on a three-yard run with 36 seconds to go in the second quarter to cut the Samford lead to 17-7.
 
The Citadel scored on the opening drive of the third quarter. Robinson scored on a nine-yard run to cut the Samford lead to 17-14 with 9:45 to go in the third quarter. The key play in the drive came on a 4^th and 11 when Citadel punter Eric Goins ran for 27 yards on a fake punt to keep the drive alive.
 
On Samford's next possession, The Citadel's Tevin Floyd recovered a Summerlin fumble, giving The Citadel the ball at the Samford 28-yard line. The Citadel converted the turnover into points when Miller scored on an eight-yard run with 4:44 left in the third quarter to give The Citadel a 21-17 lead.
 
Samford cut The Citadel's lead to 21-20 when Handrahan kicked a 44-yard field goal with 2:06 to go in the third quarter.
 
On The Citadel's ensuing drive, Robinson scored his third touchdown of the game, this one from 29-yards out. The scored gave The Citadel a 28-20 lead with 12:27 left in the fourth quarter.
 
Samford will return to action on Saturday, Nov. 9 when the Bulldogs play at Furman. The game is scheduled for a 12:30 p.m. (CT) start from Greenville, S.C.