POSTGAME LOCKER ROOM   

CONWAY, Ark.—The Samford football team built a big lead and then held on for a 35-29 road victory at Central Arkansas Saturday night at Estes Stadium.
 
"This was a huge win for us," Samford head coach Chris Hatcher said. "I've been very uptight all week. I'm sure the players sensed it. I know how good this team (Central Arkansas) is. So, I knew it was going to be a tough game, and we had just enough there at the end."
 
Samford quarterback Devlin Hodges completed 23-of-35 passes for 282 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Kelvin McKnight caught had seven passes for 108 yards and a touchdown. Emmanuel Obajimi had four catches for 74 yards and a touchdown. Karel Hamilton, after missing the first game of the season with an injury, caught two passes for 52 yards and a touchdown.
 
The Samford defense produced some big plays as well. Tonne Osaigbovo intercepted a pass and returned it 57 yards for a touchdown. Ahmad Gooden recovered a fumble and took it back for a 28-yard score.
 
On special teams, Austin Barnard averaged an impressive 46.0 yards on 10 punts. Obajimi returned four kickoffs for an average of 22.8 yards per return.
 
"We made some big plays offensively," Hatcher said. "And then, defensively, those guys just played outstanding. They were on the field a lot in the second half. The kicking game was solid. This was a team effort. It feels good to be 2-0"
 
For Central Arkansas, Carlos Blackman rushed 28 times for 123 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Hayden Hildebrand completed 26-of-48 passes for 346 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. Jatavious Wilson caught nine passes for 134 yards, while Desmond Smith had six catches for 133 yards and a touchdown.
 
Central Arkansas struck first on its second drive of the game. Matt Cummins kicked a 35-yard field goal to give the Bears a 3-0 lead with 6:06 left in the first quarter.
 
Samford responded on its next drive to take a 7-3 lead with 2:41 left in the first quarter. On a 4^th-and-3 play, Hodges hit Hamilton for a 29-yard touchdown for Samford's first points of the game.
 
UCA took the lead back midway through the second quarter when Blackman scored on a one-yard run to give the Bears a 10-7 lead with 7:48 left in the second quarter. On Samford's next drive, Hodges connected with Obajimi for a 33-yard touchdown to give Samford the lead for good at 14-10 with 4:39 left in the quarter.
 
On the ensuing UCA drive, Gooden picked up a UCA fumble and returned 28 yards to give Samford a 21-10 lead with 3:13 remaining in the second quarter. Hodges then connected with McKnight for a 46-yard touchdown with 1:04 left before halftime to push Samford's lead to 28-10.
 
The lone score in the third quarter came courtesy of Samford's defense. Osaigbovo picked off a UCA pass and returned 57 yards for a touchdown and a 35-10 Samford lead with 3:53 left in the third quarter.
 
UCA put together three scoring drives in the fourth quarter to cut into Samford's lead. Antwon Wells scored on a three-yard run with 12:24 left, but the two-point conversion failed and Samford led, 35-16. Wells then scored on another three-yard run with 8:49 to go, and the two-point try was again no good, and Samford's lead was cut to 35-22.
 
The final score of the game came when Hildebrand hit Smith for an 18-yard touchdown with 2:11 left to make the score 35-29. UCA got the ball back with less than a minute to go, but the Samford defense stopped the Bears, and the Bulldogs held on for the 35-29 win.
 
With the win, Samford improves to 2-0 on the young season. Central Arkansas drops to 1-1 with the loss.
 
Samford will take the next week off from competition. The Bulldogs will play at Chattanooga on Sept. 24. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. (CT) from Chattanooga, Tenn.