HATCHER POSTGAME INTERVIEW

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BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—The Samford football team rolled up 573 yards of total offense on its way to a 77-7 season-opening win over Mars Hill Thursday night at Seibert Stadium.
 
"In the first game, you just never really know what you're going to get," Samford head coach Chris Hatcher said. "Defensively, I thought our line dominated the game. And then I thought our offensive line really came together tonight and that is something we're going to have to have to continue to play good ball. We made a lot of mistakes, but fortunately for us we had a big win, and I'm excited for our boys. They've worked really hard."
 
The score marked the first time Samford scored over 70 points since a 72-10 win over Maryville in 1987. The Samford record for scoring is 87 points in an 87-0 win over Birmingham-Southern in 1907. In addition to the offensive exploits, the Samford defense held Mars Hill to just 136 yards of total offense.
 
Sophomore quarterback Devlin Hodges completed 39-of-49 passes for 313 yards and five touchdowns. Backup quarterbacks Liam Welch and Jes Sutherland also saw time in the game. Welch went 3-for-3 for 39 yards and a touchdown.
 
Freshman TaDarryl Marshall led all receivers with 14 catches for 100 yards and a touchdown. The game was the collegiate debut for the highly-touted freshman.
 
"He had a good night," Hatcher said of Marshall. "He's an outstanding player. He had some trouble with consistently catching the ball early in camp, and he still has a little bit of that going on, but we'll continue to work with him. He's a dynamic play-maker, and he's really stepped up."
 
Emmanuel Obajimi caught seven passes for 51 yards and a touchdown for the Bulldogs. Andrew Harris, Devon Schmitt, Roland Adams and Troy Forrest also caught touchdown passes in the game.
 
Adams led the Bulldogs' running game with 13 carries for 89 yards and a touchdown. Drew Couto, in his collegiate debut, rushed eight times for 46 yards and two touchdowns, while K'rondis Larry had 10 rushes for 41 yards and a score.
 
Defensively for Samford, Omari Williams and Jamerson Blount had seven tackles each. Blount also recorded a fumble recovery. Aaron Harris also recovered a fumble, returning it 43 yards for a touchdown, to go along with his five tackles.
 
For Mars Hill, Craig Rucker caught five passes for 62 yards and a touchdown. Chris Ferdinand recorded 13 tackles for the Lions' defense.
 
Samford scored on its first two drives of the game to grab an early lead. In the opening drive of the contest, Hodges hit Schmitt for a two-yard touchdown with 12:10 to play in the quarter for a 7-0 Samford lead. On the next drive, Adams scored on a four-yard run to give Samford a 14-0 advantage with 9:26 left in the period.
 
Mars Hill got on the scoreboard early in the second quarter. Rucker scored on a one-yard pass from Austin Brown with 12:17 left in the period to cut the Samford lead to 14-7.
 
Samford struck again late in the second quarter. Hodges hit Marshall for a nine-yard score with 1:24 left in the quarter to push the Samford lead to 21-7. The score was Marshall's first career touchdown reception.
 
The Bulldogs added one more score before halftime. Adams scored on a six-yard pass from Hodges with 19 seconds left to send Samford to halftime with a 28-7 advantage.
 
On the first play of the third quarter, Mars Hill fumbled, and Blount recovered at the MHU 34-yard line. Just a few plays later, Samford added to its lead when Hodges hit Obajimi for a six-yard score with 13:16 left in the quarter to make the score 35-7.
 
The Bulldogs struck again quickly in the third quarter when Larry scored on a three-yard run to give Samford a 42-7 lead with 11:27 left in the period. Later in the third quarter, Hodges hit Forrest for a five-yard touchdown with 4:37 left to make the score 49-7.
 
Samford scored four more times in the fourth quarter. Welch hit Andrew Harris for a 23-yard touchdown with 14:20 left in the game to make the score 56-7. Aaron Harris' 43-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown came with 12:02 left to make the score 63-7. Couto then scored a one-yard touchdown with 4:52 left, and on a 13-yard score with 1:40 to go to make the final score 77-7.
 
With the win Samford is now 1-0 on the young season. Mars Hill falls to 0-1 with the loss.
 
Samford will return to action on Saturday, Sept. 10, when the Bulldogs play at Central Arkansas. The game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start from Conway, Ark.