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COACH HATCHER INTERVIEW

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—The Citadel football team rushed for 424 yards on its way to a 44-25 win at Samford Saturday afternoon at Seibert Stadium.
 
With the loss, Samford falls to 3-3 overall and 1-2 in Southern Conference play. The Citadel improves to 4-2 overall and 3-0 in league play.
 
"They've done a great job over there," Samford head coach Chris Hatcher said of The Citadel. "They came in and dominated us in every phase of the game. They controlled the point of the attack on the offensive and defensive lines."
 
Samford, as a team, had 414 yards passing, but only 82 yards on the ground. The Bulldogs committed four turnovers in the game (two interceptions, two fumbles), while The Citadel did not turn the ball over.
 
Samford played two quarterbacks in the game. Starter Michael Eubank completed 14-of-20 passes for 137 yards and an interception, and he led the team in rushing with 36 yards and a touchdown on seven carries. Backup Devlin Hodges completed 23-of-31 passes for 277 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
 
Wide receiver Karel Hamilton had 15 catches for a career-high 220 yards and a touchdown. Emmanuel Obajimi had five catches for 47 yards. Defensively for Samford, Jamerson Blount had 11 tackles, including five solo stops. Justin Cooper finished with 10 tackles, seven solo.
 
For The Citadel, quarterback Dominique Allen rushed 29 times for 166 yards and a touchdown. Isiaha Smith rushed 11 times for 74 yards and three touchdowns. Vinny Miller had nine rushes for 68 yards and a touchdown.
 
Defensively for The Citadel, Dee Delaney had 10 tackles, one interception and a fumble recovery he returned 25 yards for a touchdown. Nick Willis also had an interception, while Joe Crochet had a fumble recovery for The Citadel.
 
The Citadel jumped on top first with a touchdown on its second possession of the game. Allen scored on a one-yard run to give The Citadel a 7-0 lead with 9:36 to go in the first quarter.
 
Samford tied the game late in the first quarter. Eubank scored on a 32-yard run to knot the score at 7-7 with 1:04 to go in the opening period. The score capped a 10-play, 99-yard drive that took 2:53 off the first-quarter clock.
 
The Citadel took the lead again when Miller scored on an eight-yard run to make the score 14-7 with 12:14 left in the second quarter. The visiting Bulldogs added to their lead when Smith scored on a 31-yard run to push their lead to 21-7 with 7:19 to play in the second quarter.
 
Samford then cut the lead to 21-14 when defensive lineman Michael Pierce scored on a one-yard run with 3:39 left before halftime. The big play of the drive came on a 4^th-and-9 play when Samford punter Austin Barnard ran a fake punt for 25 yards, giving Samford the ball at The Citadel's 29-yard line.
 
The Citadel, however, scored on its next drive when Smith scored on a one-yard run to make the score 28-14 with 56 seconds left in the second quarter. On Samford's ensuing possession, The Citadel's Delaney recovered a Samford fumble and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown to give The Citadel a 35-14 lead heading into halftime.
 
In the third quarter, Smith scored on a nine-yard run, but the two-point conversion failed, and The Citadel's lead grew to 41-14 with 9:30 left in the quarter. Samford's Anthony Pistelli kicked a 25-yard field goal with 7:15 to go in the third quarter to make the score 41-17.
 
Hodges connected with Hamilton for an 83-yard touchdown with 12:21 left in the fourth quarter. Wide receiver Darius Harvey hit Hodges in the corner of the end zone for the two-point conversion to make the score 41-25. The Citadel scored the game's final points when Eric Goins kicked a 41-yard field goal with 9:17 left to make the final score 44-25.
 
Samford will return to action on Saturday, Oct. 24, when the Bulldogs play at Western Carolina. The game is scheduled for a 2:30 p.m. (CT) start from Cullowhee, N.C.