COACH HATCHER INTERVIEW

GAME NOTES

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. –The Samford football team began its preparation for Saturday's game at Mercer with a 90-minute practice in shorts and helmets Monday afternoon at Seibert Stadium.
 
The workout was the first of four Samford will have this week. Samford head coach Chris Hatcher said it was a lighter day than they'll have the rest of the week.
 
"Today's kind of a get back in the groove day," Hatcher said. "We're beat up, we have a lot of guys that got hurt in the game last week. It was a very physical game, and anytime you play Wofford you expect that. So, today, we ran through our base stuff and we gave a lot of our guys an opportunity to get well so tomorrow we can come out and have a more physical practice."
 
Samford enters the game with a record of 5-5 overall and 2-4 in Southern Conference play. The Bulldogs earned a 37-27 win at Wofford last weekend. Hatcher said he liked what we saw from his team during the win over the Terriers.
 
"I thought it was a complete game by our football team," Hatcher said. "All three phases played extremely well. It was a complete win, and it was fun to see our guys have fun after a game. That's what it's all about. I'm excited, and hopefully the excitement from the last two weeks can carry over to have a great finish to the season this week against Mercer."
 
Mercer is also 5-5 overall and 2-4 in SoCon play. The Bears are coming off a 27-20 overtime win at Furman last week.
 
"They've done a great job, their boys play extremely hard," Hatcher said. "They have some really good athletes, and right now they're playing with a lot of confidence. They beat Chattanooga and gave them their only conference defeat, and last week they had an overtime win over Furman.
 
"It's going to be a great environment," Hatcher said. "They usually have a lot of people at their games, so it ought to be a fun trip for our boys."
 
Samford will practice again Tuesday afternoon. The workout is scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. at Seibert Stadium.
 
Saturday's game at Mercer is scheduled for a 2 p.m. (CT) start from Macon, Ga. The contest will be broadcast live on ESPN3. The game can also be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/wvsu.