BOX SCORE (PDF)
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – After a three-hour weather delay at halftime, the 19
th-ranked Samford football team came from behind to earn a season-opening 28-23 win over Kennesaw State Thursday evening at Seibert Stadium.
The Samford offense was led by
Devlin Hodges, completing 16-of-24 passes for 241 yards and four touchdowns. Wide receiver
Kelvin McKnight caught five passes for 106 yards and two touchdowns, while
Andrew Harris had four catches for 100 yards and a score.
Defensively for Samford,
Shaheed Salmon had 16 total tackles, including 12 solo stops and three tackles for loss.
Deion Pierre finished with 12 tackles, six solo, and
Ahmad Gooden tallied 10 tackles, seven solo. Redshirt freshman
Koi Freeman had an interception in his first collegiate game.
For Kennesaw State, Chandler Burks completed 10-of-22 passes for 225 yards. Bronson Rechsteiner rushed nine times for 64 yards, while Jake McKenzie had two rushing touchdowns. The KSU defense was led by Izzy Sam with 10 tackles, eight solo and two tackles for loss.
Samford trailed, 10-7 heading into the locker room at halftime. During halftime, a tornado warning was issued for the Birmingham area and the stadium was cleared. After a three-hour weather delay, the teams resumed play at 10:32 p.m.
Samford took the lead for the first time when Hodges hit Harris for a 28-yard touchdown pass with 10:31 left in the third quarter to give Samford a 14-10 lead. The Bulldogs then made the score 21-10 when Hodges connected with McKnight for an 18-yard touchdown with 1:01 left in the third.
After KSU made the score 21-17 with a touchdown of its own, Hodges completed a 58-yard touchdown pass to McKnight to make the score 28-17 with 8:37 left in the game. KSU scored a late touchdown, but the two-point conversion was no good and Samford held a 28-23 advantage with 4:48 to go in the game. The Samford defense held KSU's offense on one last drive to preserve the five-point win.
Samford will return to action on Thursday, Sept. 7, when the Bulldogs host West Alabama. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at Seibert Stadium. To purchase tickets for Thursday night's game click here:
SAMFORD FOOTBALL TICKETS.
