VIDEO RECAP

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The Samford football team dropped a 38-24 Southern Conference decision at 14^th-ranked Chattanooga Saturday night at UTC's Finley Stadium.
 
"Obviously, we would have liked to have played better," Samford assistant head coach/defensive coordinator Bill D'Ottavio said. "Give credit to Chattanooga. They had a good game plan, and they did some good things and made some key plays at key moments. We fought back and got some momentum in the second half, but we weren't able to finish."
 
With the loss, Samford falls to 2-2 overall and 1-1 in Southern Conference play. Chattanooga improves to 2-2 overall and 1-0 in league play.
 
"We need to play better and there are a lot of things we need to work on," D'Ottavio said. "But, there is a lot of football to be played this season. We're going to go back to work tomorrow and we'll work to get better."
 
In the loss, Samford was led offensively by wide receiver Karel Hamilton with six catches for a career-high 129 yards and two touchdowns. Michael Eubank completed 18-of-33 passes for a career-high 244 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. Denzel Williams rushed 21 times for 78 yards and one touchdown.
 
Justin Cooper led the Samford defense with 13 tackles, including 11 solo stops. Trey Wesley and Jaquiski Tartt had six tackles each.
 
For Chattanooga, Keon Williams rushed 21 times for 131 yards and two touchdowns. Jacob Huesman completed 11-of-19 passes for 91 yards.
 
Samford took the lead on the opening drive of the game. Warren Handrahan kicked a 19-yard field goal with 10:25 left in the first quarter to give the Bulldogs a 3-0 lead. The kick capped a 13-play, 73-yard drive that took 4:35 off the first quarter clock.
 
Chattanooga took the lead for good on its first offensive possession. Williams scored on a 34-yard run with 8:54 to go in the first quarter for a 7-3 UTC lead.
 
The Mocs added to their lead when Henrique Ribeiro kicked a 31-yard field goal with 2:52 left in the first quarter to make the score 10-3. The possession was set up when Lucas Webb intercepted a Eubank pass, giving the Mocs the ball at the Samford 46-yard line.
 
Chattanooga added another score before the end of the first quarter. Tommy Hudson returned a Samford punt 66 yards for a touchdown with 51 seconds left in the first quarter. The score pushed UTC's lead to 17-3.
 
The only scoring in the second quarter came when Chattanooga's Huesman scored on a one-yard run with 1:40 left in the second quarter. The score gave Chattanooga a 24-3 lead heading into halftime. Chattanooga's Sema'je Kendall intercepted a Eubank pass, giving Chattanooga the ball at the Mocs' 36-yard line to set up the drive.
 
Samford began to come back early in the second half. Williams scored on a nine-yard run on Samford's opening offensive drive of the second half. The score cut the UTC lead to 24-10 with 11:14 left in the third quarter.
 
The Bulldogs struck again on their next drive. Eubank hit Hamilton for a 24-yard touchdown with 8:09 left in the third quarter. The score pulled Samford to within one score at 24-17.
 
Chattanooga extended its lead to 31-17 early in the fourth quarter. Chattanooga's Williams scored on a seven-yard run with 11:21 left in the contest to make it a two-possession game. The Mocs added another score when Huesman scored on a one-yard run with 5:19 to go to make the score 38-17.
 
Samford came back with another score when Eubank hit Hamilton for a 23-yard touchdown with 2:08 to play to cut the lead to 38-24. Samford recovered the on-side kick, but the Bulldogs were unable to score again, ending the game in a 38-24 Chattanooga victory.
 
As a team, Samford finished with 381 yards of total offense, while Chattanooga produced 343 total yards. Samford, however committed three turnovers, while Chattanooga did not turn the ball over during the game.
 
Samford will return home to take on the Mercer Bears on Saturday, Oct. 4. The game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. start at Seibert Stadium.