Box Score PHOTO GALLERY
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—Samford senior quarterback Andy Summerlin passed for a school-record 478 yards, but the Bulldog football team dropped a 34-31 decision to Southeastern Louisiana Saturday afternoon at Seibert Stadium.

With the loss, Samford drops its record to 2-2 overall, while Southeastern Louisiana improves to 2-2 on the young season as well.

Samford trailed, 34-14 early in the fourth quarter, but a field goal and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter brought Samford back to within three points at 34-31 with 2:57 to go in the game. The ensuing onside kick, however, was recovered by the Lions, and they were able to run out the clock to preserve the win.

"We didn't play well, in all phases of the game," Samford head coach Pat Sullivan said. "We threw for a lot of yards, but we dropped some balls and it looked like we didn't tackle very well. We've been great in kickoff returns, but we weren't getting back to the 20-yard line today."

The game was the first game back for Sullivan, who had missed the first three games of the season after having back surgery in the preseason.

"Southeastern Louisiana has some good players and we knew that going in," Sullivan said. "But we have good players too. The only thing I want is for us to play to the best of our ability, and we didn't do that today."

Summerlin completed 27-of-48 passes for 478 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. His first touchdown pass went to defensive lineman Jerry Mathis, and his other two went o Karel Hamilton and Javian Ramson.

Kelsey Pope led all receivers with five catches for 128 yards. Pope also threw one pass, connecting with running back Fabian Truss on a 43-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter. Truss caught five passes for 101 yards and a touchdown, and he rushed nine times for 38 yards. Chris Cephus had four catches for 101 yards.

Defensively for Samford, linebacker Justin Shade had a career-high 19 tackles, including one sack and two tackles for a loss. Fellow linebacker Bobby Wilson had 13 tackles on the day for Samford.

For Southeastern Louisiana, Kody Sutton rushed 25 times for 100 yards and two touchdowns. Xavier Roberson rushed eight times for 94 yards and a score. Jordan Barnett completed 10-of-17 passes for 155 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Samford put its first points on the scoreboard on the opening drive of the game. Summerlin hit Mathis on a four-year touchdown with 13:12 to go in the first quarter, giving the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead. The score capped a seven-play, 77-yard drive that took 1:48 off the first-quarter clock.

Southeastern Louisiana got on the scoreboard midway through the first quarter when Seth Sebastian kicked a 30-yard field goal. The kick, which capped a 13-play, 42-yard drive, came with 7:39 left in the first quarter.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Lions recovered an on-side kick, giving them the ball at the SLU 44-yard line. Southeastern scored on a one-yard run by Sutton, giving the Lions a 10-7 lead with 1:45 left in the opening period.

Southeastern Louisiana added to its lead when Roberson scored on a one-yard run, pushing the Lions' lead to 17-7 with 10:43 left in the second quarter. Sutton added another score, this one from three yards out to make the score 24-7 with 4:27 left before halftime.

Samford scored the first points of the second half. Pope, after catching a lateral from Summerlin, passed to Truss for a 43-yard touchdown. The score cut the SLU lead to 24-14 with 8:29 left in the third quarter.

Samford attempted an on-side kick on the ensuing kickoff, but SLU recovered at the Samford 44-yard line. The drive produced a 32-yard field goal by Sebastian to make the score 27-14 with 4:37 to go in the third quarter.

In the opening possession of the fourth quarter, SLU scored when Barnett hit Isaiah Kepley for a 25-yard touchdown with 14:50 to go to make the score 34-14.

Samford's fourth-quarter comeback started when Warren Handrahan kicked a 32-yard field goal with 11:12 left in the game to cut the lead to 34-17.

With 7:17 left in the contest, Summerlin hit Hamilton for a 16-yard touchdown in the corner of the end zone to make the score 34-24. The final points were scored when Summerlin connected with Ramson for a 66-yard score with 2:57 left in the game.

Samford will return to action on Saturday, Sept. 28, when the Bulldogs play host to Western Carolina to open Southern Conference play. The game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. kickoff from Seibert Stadium.