POST-GAME PRESS CONFERENCE

FIRST HALF HIGHLIGHTS

SECOND HALF HIGHLIGHTS

PHOTO GALLERY

BOX SCORE (PDF)

POST-GAME LOCKER ROOM

DEION PIERRE'S POST-GAME PROPOSAL

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—The 24^th-ranked Samford football team used big plays in all three phases of the game to earn a 55-21 Southern Conference win over VMI Saturday afternoon at Seibert Stadium.
 
"I'm really proud of our guys," Samford head coach Chris Hatcher said. "We came out and did what we had to do to win the game in a big way. I'm just excited for those guys. They've worked awfully hard and they've done everything we've asked them to do."
 
Quarterback Devlin Hodges set a new career high in passing yards for a second-straight game. The sophomore completed 35-of-50 passes for 435 yards, five touchdowns and one interception. The five touchdowns also tie a career high for Hodges. He also threw for five touchdowns against Mars Hill earlier this season.
 
Karel Hamilton caught 12 passes for 163 yards and a touchdown. Hamilton is now just 96 yards away from tying the Samford record for career receiving yards. Hamilton has 2,958 yards in his career. The current record is held by Efrem Hill, who had 3,054 receiving yards from 2001 to 2004.
 
Also for Samford at receiver, Emmanuel Obajimi had eight catches for 129 yards and one touchdown. Kelvin McKnight had six catches for 68 yards and two touchdowns.
 
Defensively for Samford, Deion Pierre had an interception he returned 21 yards for a touchdown. Roosevelt Donaldson, Jamerson Blount and Carter McManes shared the lead in tackles with seven each.
 
On special teams, Austin Barnard averaged 50.3 yards on three punts. Shaheed Salmon blocked a VMI field goal attempt in the game as well.
 
For VMI, Al Cobb completed 23-of-31 passes for 247 yards and two interceptions. Dane Forlines caught nine passes for 77 yards. Alex Keys rushed 16 times for 32 yards and two touchdowns.
 
The Keydet defense was led by Ryan Francis with eight tackles. Matthew Nicholson had an interception for VMI.
 
"We played well enough to win today," Hatcher said. "We had a great start to the game, you couldn't have scripted it any better. Sometimes I feel like when we get those quick starts we think, well it's going to be easy today, and we relax. We have to work on that, we have to play a 60-minute game."
 
Samford struck for a touchdown on its first offensive drive of the game. Hodges hit McKnight for a nine-yard touchdown to give the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead with 13:03 to go in the first quarter.
 
On VMI's ensuing possession Pierre intercepted a Cobb pass and returned it 21 yards for a touchdown. The score gave the Bulldogs a 14-0 lead with 11:25 left in the first quarter. VMI put its first points on the scoreboard when Keys scored on a seven-yard run to cut the lead to 14-7 with 7:25 left in the opening period.
 
Samford added two more scores in the first quarter. First, Hodges hit McKnight for a three-yard touchdown to push Samford's lead to 21-7 with 5:14 left in the quarter. Later, Hodges connected with Obajimi for a seven-yard score for a 28-7 Samford lead with 2:38 left in the period.
 
The Bulldogs added to their lead again when Hodges connected with Hamilton for a 16-yard touchdown pass to make the score 35-7 with 10:21 left in the second quarter. VMI's Keys scored his second touchdown of the game, this one from one-yard out to cut the Samford lead to 35-14 with 1:53 to go in the second quarter. Samford's Reece Everett kicked a 31-yard field goal with 27 seconds to go before halftime to make the score 38-14.
 
The lone score in the third quarter came when VMI's Pete Reed scored on a 19-yard run to cut the Samford lead to 38-21 with 7:25 left in the quarter.
 
Samford posted three scores in the fourth quarter to put the game away. Everett kicked a 30-yard field goal with 13:26 left to make the score 41-21. Hodges hit Devon Schmitt for a five-yard touchdown with 10:22 remaining for a 48-21 lead. Backup quarterback Liam Welch connected with TaDarryl Marshall for a 25-yard touchdown with 4:59 to go to make the final score 55-21.
 
With the win, Samford improves to 5-1 overall and 3-1 in Southern Conference play. The 5-1 start to the season is the best since 2012. VMI falls to 3-3 overall and 1-2 in SoCon games.
 
Samford will return to action on Saturday, Oct. 22, when the Bulldogs host Western Carolina. The game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. kickoff from Seibert Stadium. To purchase tickets for the game click here: WCU GAME TICKETS.