PHOTO GALLERYBIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford football team earned a 55-0 homecoming win over the Concordia Hornets Saturday afternoon at Seibert Stadium.
The win ties Samford head coach
Pat Sullivan with former coach Terry Bowden for the most wins in program history with 45. Prior to the game, Sullivan and his family were honored with the dedication of the Sullivan-Cooney Family Field House.
The victory also marks the team's third shutout of the season, the most of any Samford team since 1971. The team has also posted back-to-back shutouts for the first time since 1971.
"I thought our kids came out focused and played the game the way we wanted them to," Samford assistant head coach and defensive coordinator
Bill D'Ottavio said. "I've been around this game long enough to know that shutouts are rare, and to get three in a season is really a neat thing and it's a credit to our kids. And you really don't get a shutout without all three phases. It's a credit to everybody and we're happy to get the win."
Individually for Samford in the win, quarterback
Michael Eubank completed 10-of-12 passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns.
Carson Barnett completed 9-of-13 passes for 105 yards and two scores, while
Drew Pederson completed his lone pass attempt for three yards.
Albert Mitchell also saw time under center for the Bulldogs.
Denzel Williams led the running game, rushing 14 times for 78 yards and one touchdown.
Jake Wilks had eight rushes for 68 yards and a touchdown.
Emmanuel Obajimi caught five passes for 78 yards and a touchdown.
Jeremy Brown had four catches for 57 yards and a touchdown, while
Karel Hamilton caught three passes for 56 yards and a score.
Defensively for Samford,
Justin Cooper had five tackles, including four solo stops and one forced fumble.
Trey Wesley and
Mitchell Smith had a fumble recovery each.
Omari Williams had an interception, returning it for a touchdown. The interception and the score are both career firsts for Williams.
Concordia was led by Haratio Keller, completing 7-of-12 passes for 53 yards. Matthew Rowser rushed 15 times for 56 yards for the Hornets.
Samford scored on its first possession when Eubank hit Hamilton for a 24-yard touchdown to give the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead with 13:34 left in the first quarter. The Bulldogs struck again on their next drive when Eubank hit Obajimi for a 43-yard touchdown to make the score 14-0 with 8:48 left in the first quarter. On Samford's next possession, Williams scored on a four-yard run to give the Bulldogs a 21-0 lead with 5:00 left in the opening period.
The Bulldogs added to their lead early in the second quarter when
Reece Everett kicked a 30-yard field goal to make the score 24-0 with 14:09 left in the second quarter. On Samford's next possession, Barnett hit Brown for a 17-yard touchdown with 8:34 left in the second quarter, pushing Samford's lead to 31-0.
In the third quarter, Barnett connected with
Devon Schmitt for a six-yard touchdown to give the Bulldogs a 38-0 lead with 3:24 left in the quarter. With just 36 seconds left in the third quarter, Williams picked off a Concordia pass and returned it 18 yards for a touchdown to make the score 45-0.
Samford's
Warren Handrahan kicked an 18-yard field goal with 12:55 left in the game to push Samford's lead to 48-0. The final score of the game came on a three-yard run by Wilks with 5:45 to go to make the final score 55-0.
As a team, Samford rolled up 533 yards of total offense, while the Bulldog defense held Concordia to just 114 total yards. Samford rushed for 259 yards and passed for 274 yards in the win.
Samford will return to action on Saturday, Nov. 8, when the Bulldogs play host to Western Carolina. The game is scheduled for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff from Seibert Stadium.
