COACH HATCHER INTERVIEW
PHOTO GALLERY
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—The Samford football team posted its first shutout of the 2015 season in earning a 43-0 homecoming win over Clark Atlanta Saturday afternoon at Seibert Stadium.
"It's always good to see the guys happy, they put in a lot of work," Samford head coach
Chris Hatcher said. "Today was a game we were supposed to win and we went out and won it. We'll take them any way we can get them against any opponent. It's really good to see our guys excited for the first time in quite some time."
The shutout was the first for Samford since Nov. 1, 2014, when the Bulldogs earned a 55-0 win over Concordia. The defense limited Clark Atlanta to just 179 yards of offense in the dominating win.
"Any time you don't let the other team score, they can't win," Hatcher said. "We gave a game ball to the defense today, because shutouts, no matter who you're playing are very, very difficult to achieve."
Samford senior place-kicker
Anthony Pistelli, who transferred this season from Valdosta State, set two Samford records in the win. He set the record for field goals in a single game with five and for points by a kicker in a single game with 19.
"He was a great Division II kicker last season and graduated from Valdosta State and we were fortunate enough to get him," Hatcher said. "He had a tremendous game today."
Offensively for Samford, quarterback
Devlin Hodges completed 24-of-34 passes for 307 yards and three touchdowns.
Emmanuel Obajimi caught three passes for 94 yards and two touchdowns, while
Gavin Sinclair had six catches for 68 yards and a score.
Denzel Williams led the Samford running game with nine rushes for 48 yards and a touchdown.
Senior defensive lineman
Michael Pierce led the defense with seven tackles, including six solo stops. Fellow seniors
Josh Killett and
Trey Wesley had an interception each for the defense.
For Clark Atlanta, Jaha McCray rushed 24 times for 78 yards. Matthew Vincent was 5-of-16 passing for 54 yards and an interception, while Dashawn Blow was 5-of-13 for 42 yards and an interception. The Clark Atlanta defense was led by Joshua Tate with nine tackles, including seven solo stops.
Samford got the scoring started early with the Bulldogs scoring a touchdown on the game's opening drive. Hodges connected with Obajimi for a 42-yard touchdown to give the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead with 13:52 left in the first quarter.
The Bulldogs struck again on their next drive. Hodges hit Sinclair for a 24-yard touchdown pass for a 14-0 Samford lead with 9:24 to go in the first quarter. Samford added one more score in the first quarter when Pistelli kicked a 25-yard field goal to make the score 17-0 with 20 seconds left in the opening period.
On Samford's first drive of the second quarter, Pistelli kicked a 28-yard field goal to push the Bulldogs' lead to 20-0 with 12:38 to go in the quarter. Hodges connected with Obajimi for a 51-yard touchdown with 6:28 left in the second quarter to make the score 27-0.
Pistelli added two late field goals in the second quarter. He made kicks from 20-yards out with 2:20 to play and from 40-yards out at the end of the half to send Samford to halftime with a 33-0 lead.
In the third quarter, Williams scored on a 14-yard run with 10:02 to go, making the score 40-0. Pistelli added his fifth and final field goal from 42-yards out with 3:54 left in the fourth quarter to make the final score 43-0.
In the win, the Samford offense had four scoring drive of less than two minutes. For the season, the Bulldogs now have19 scoring drives that have lasted less than two minutes.
In addition to the win, Samford also celebrated its homecoming and Senior Day for the 22 seniors on the Bulldogs' roster. Lauren Elizabeth Sims was named the Homecoming Queen, while Walker Edmondson was named the Homecoming King.
With the win, Samford improves to 4-5 on the season. Clark Atlanta drops to 1-8 with the loss.
Samford will return to action on Saturday, Nov. 14, when the Bulldogs play at SoCon rival Wofford. The game is scheduled for a 12:30 p.m. (CT) start from Spartanburg, S.C.
