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POSTGAME INTERVIEWS

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio.—The 23^rd-ranked Samford football team was eliminated from the NCAA Division I-FCS Playoffs when the Bulldogs dropped a 38-24 decision at 13^th-ranked Youngstown State Saturday night at Stambaugh Stadium.
 
With the loss, Samford ends its season with a record of 7-5. Youngstown State improves to 9-3 and will advance to the second round of the playoff where the Penguins will play at Jacksonville State next Saturday.
 
"I thought in the first half we played really well," Samford head coach Chris Hatcher said. "In the third quarter, we gave up some big plays and couldn't get much going on offense. I thought our guys played hard, we didn't give up. It's disappointing that our season's over. We had a good season, and these seniors laid a good foundation for our culture moving forward."
 
Offensively for Samford, Devlin Hodges completed 33-of-51 passes for 372 yards and three touchdowns. Hodges' three touchdown passes give him 36 for the season, breaking the previous school record of 34 set by Jimbo Fisher in 1987. Kelvin McKnight caught 11 passes for 144 yards and three touchdowns, while Karel Hamilton had 11 catches for 147 yards.
 
The Samford defense was led by Jamerson Blount and Carter McManes with nine tackles each. Tonne Osaigbovo had eight tackles, and Deion Pierre had a fumble recovery to go along with his six tackles.
 
For Youngstown State, Jody Webb rushed 27 times for 174 yards and two touchdowns. Hunter Wells completed 8-of-12 passes for 142 yards. The YSU defense was led by David Rivers with eight tackles.
 
Youngstown State struck first. The Penguins' Shane Kuhn scored on a one-yard to give YSU a 7-0 lead with 4:37 left in the first quarter. Samford answered on the ensuing drive. Hodges hit McKnight for a 19-yard touchdown pass to knot the score at 7-7 with 1:57 to go in the first quarter.
 
The game remained tied through most of the second quarter. Youngstown State's Zak Kennedy kicked a 25-yard field goal to give the Penguins a 10-7 lead with just eight seconds to go before halftime.
 
Youngstown State received the second-half kickoff, and the Penguins' offense produced a one-yard touchdown run by Tevin McCaster to push YSU's lead to 17-7 with 13:03 left in the third quarter. YSU's Martin Ruiz scored on a one-yard run with 5:41 left in the third quarter to stretch the Penguins' lead to 24-7.
 
Webb of Youngstown State scored on a four-yard run to make the score 31-7 with 12:13 remaining in the game. Samford's Reece Everett then kicked a 20-yard field goal to cut the Penguins' lead to 31-10 with 10:37 left in the contest. Webb then answered with a 62-yard touchdown run to make the score 38-10 with 9:49 to go.
 
Hodges connected with McKnight for a 34-yard touchdown pass with 6:42 left in the game to cut the YSU lead to 38-17. Hodges and McKnight connected for a third touchdown, this one from four-yards out with 28 seconds to go to make the final score 38-24.