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MACON, Ga. – The 15th-ranked Samford football team used a strong performance on both sides of the ball to earn an impressive 20-3 Southern Conference road victory at Mercer Saturday afternoon at Five Star Stadium.
"This was a big win for our team, and we needed it," Samford head coach
Chris Hatcher said. "We didn't play very well last week, but we came out today, and with a lot of guys not making the trip, we had a lot of guys step up today and play very well. I'm really proud of all three phases."
Hatcher, a Macon, Ga., native, said it felt good to win in his hometown.
"As far as coming home to Macon is concerned, it's always good to win in front of your home folks," Hatcher said. "It's a little more special, I guess. But the guys are the ones who did it. They had a good week of preparation, they trusted the process and we came out of here with a hard-fought victory on the road in the Southern Conference, which is always very difficult."
For Samford offensively, junior quarterback
Devlin Hodges completed 36-of-49 passes for 367 yards and two touchdowns.
Chris Shelling caught nine passes for 73 yards and two touchdowns.
Montrell Washington had seven catches for 86 yards for the Bulldogs.
Defensively for Samford,
Aaron Harris led the way with 13 tackles.
Shaheed Salmon had 10 tackles, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. The Bulldogs' defense held Mercer to just 191 yards of total offense, while Samford totaled 465 total yards. The defense also recorded a pair of safeties. The game marks the first time in the modern era of Mercer football that the Bears have failed to score a touchdown.
Mercer's Kaelan Riley completed 18-of-38 passes for 158 yards. The Bears' defense was led by Will Coneway with 11 tackles and a forced fumble.
Mercer got on the scoreboard first when Cole Fisher kicked a 36-yard field goal to give the Bears a 3-0 lead with 12:04 left in the second quarter. Samford tied the score when
Jordan Weaver nailed a 21-yard field goal with 4:24 to go in the second quarter to knot the score at 3-3.
Samford took the lead for good late in the second quarter. Hodges connected with Shelling for a six-yard touchdown to give the Bulldogs a 10-3 lead with 33 seconds to go before halftime.
In the third quarter, Hodges hit Shelling for a 16-yard score, with Shelling making a spectacular catch off of a tipped ball. However, the extra point was missed, giving Samford a 16-3 lead with 8:32 to go in the period. With 4:09 left in the third quarter, a bad Mercer snap went out of the end zone, pushing Samford's lead to 18-3. The game's final points came when Samford's
Brett Granger sacked Mercer's Riley in the end zone for another safety, making the final score 20-3.
With the win, Samford improves to 6-3 overall and 4-2 in Southern Conference play. Mercer falls to 4-5 overall and 3-4 in league games.
Samford will return home next week to host the ETSU Bucs for Samford's homecoming game. The game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. start from Seibert Stadium. To purchase tickets for the game, click here:
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