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BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—The 21
st-ranked Samford football team built a big lead early and held on late for a 24-19 win over Mercer on the team's homecoming and Senior Day games Saturday afternoon at Seibert Stadium.
With the win, Samford improves to 7-3 overall and 5-2 in Southern Conference games. Samford wraps up its home schedule with a 5-0 record. This marks the first time Samford has gone undefeated at home since 1998.
"Wins are very difficult to come by, especially when you get to this point in the season," Samford head coach
Chris Hatcher said. "We did not play very well today. We made a lot of uncharacteristic mistakes. We didn't have a lot of energy. I think we relaxed a little when we got out to that big lead. Give Mercer great credit, they hung in there and fought. But we'll take them any way we can get them."
Samford built a 21-0 lead in the first quarter. Mercer, however, clawed back to cut the lead to 21-19 in the fourth quarter. Following a Samford field goal, the Bulldog defense came up with one last stop on Mercer's final drive to seal the win.
"I'm very proud of our guys," Hatcher said. "It's a great feeling to get number seven (wins), especially for the seniors that have played so well. This team has fun, they play together, and as a coach it's very gratifying to see them be successful."
For Samford in the game, quarterback
Devlin Hodges completed 39-of-43 passes for 401 yards and three touchdowns. Hodges has now completed 328 passes so far this season, breaking the old record of 300, set by Andy Summerlin in 2003. He also has thrown for 33 touchdowns so far this season, just one short of the single-season record of 34 set by Jimbo Fisher in 1987.
Karel Hamilton caught 16 passes for 154 yards and two touchdowns. Hamilton now has a school-record 264 career receptions, breaking the previous mark of 250 set by Kelsey Pope (2010-13). He also has 31 career touchdown receptions, tying the current record set by Efrem Hill (2001-04).
Emanuel Obajimi had 12 catches for 137 yards and a touchdown.
K'rondis Larry led the Samford running game with nine rushes for 59 yards.
Defensively for Samford,
Deion Pierre and
Christian Stark had eight tackles each. On special teams,
Austin Barnard averaged 44.5 yards on four punts.
For Mercer, Josh Russ completed 13-of-30 passes for 183 yards and a touchdown. Russ also rushed 41 times for 185 yards in the game.
Samford jumped on top on the first drive of the game. Hodges hit Hamilton for a five-yard touchdown pass to give Samford a 7-0 lead with 12:37 to go in the first quarter. On Samford's next offensive possession, Hodges connected with Hamilton again, this time for a two-yard score to make the score 14-0 with 7:11 to go in the opening period.
The Bulldogs added to their lead again late in the first quarter. Hodges hit Obajimi for a 47-yard touchdown pass to push the Samford lead to 21-0 with 2:20 to go in the quarter.
Mercer put its first points on the scoreboard early in the second quarter. Russ connected with Chandler Curtis for a seven-yard touchdown to cut the Samford lead to 21-7 with 12:48 left in the second quarter. Mercer's Cole Fisher kicked a school-record 50-yard field goal to make the score 21-10 with 8:27 to go in the second quarter.
After a scoreless third quarter, Mercer cut into the lead even more when C.J. Kleckley scored on a two-yard run. The two-point conversion try, however, was unsuccessful, and Samford maintained a 21-16 lead with 11:16 to go in the fourth quarter. Fisher added a 20-yard field goal to cut the lead to 21-19 with 7:07 to play.
The final points of the game were scored when Samford's
Reece Everett kicked a 37-yard field goal with 3:36 left, pushing Samford's lead to 24-19. Mercer had one final possession, but the Samford defense held to secure the win.
Samford will wrap up its regular season on Saturday, Nov. 19, when the Bulldogs play at East Tennessee State. The game is scheduled for a 2:30 p.m. (CT) start from Johnson City, Tenn.
