BOX SCORE (PDF)
KENNESAW, Ga. – The Samford football team dropped a hard-fought non-conference contest at fourth-ranked Kennesaw State, 24-10, Saturday night at Fifth Third Bank Stadium.
"Offensively, we had a hard time finishing drives, which is kind of what's happened to us all season," Samford head coach
Chris Hatcher said. "And then when we do get rolling, we have silly penalties or we turn the ball over. We're just missing some big plays really on both sides of the ball. But, our guys fought hard tonight. I thought the effort was the best it's been since Florida State."
For Samford in the loss,
Devlin Hodges completed 21-of-34 passes for 150 yards and one touchdown. Hodges also led the team in rushing with 45 yards on 13 carries.
Chris Shelling caught five passes for 44 yards and a touchdown.
The Samford defense was led by
Ahmad Gooden with 10 tackles, including eight solo stops.
Horace Roberts and
Aaron Harris had nine tackles each.
For Kennesaw State, Chandler Burks completed 5-of-12 passes for 66 yards and a touchdown. Burks also rushed 15 times for 55 yards and two touchdowns. The KSU defense was led by Anthony Gore, Bryson Armstrong and Cole Loden with nine tackles each.
Samford took the lead on the opening drive of the game.
Mitchell Fineran kicked a 20-yard field goal to give the Bulldogs a 3-0 lead with 8:14 to go in the first quarter. The kick capped a 16-play, 72-yard drive that took six minutes and 46 seconds off the clock.
Kennesaw State answered with a 15-play, 65-yard drive that took seven minutes and six seconds. Burks scored on a one-yard run to give the Owls a 7-3 lead. The Owls added to their lead late in the second quarter when Burks hit T.J. Reed for a nine-yard touchdown to make the score 14-3 with 4:40 to go before halftime.
The only score in the third quarter came on the opening drive of the period. Burks scored on a three-yard run to push KSU's lead to 21-3.
KSU's Justin Thompson kicked a 33-yard field goal to make the score 24-3 with 7:11 left in the contest.
Samford put up a touchdown late in the fourth quarter. Hodges hit Shelling for a one-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 24-10 with 1:33 to go. Following the touchdown, Samford tried an on-side kick, and the Bulldogs recovered at the Samford 43-yard line. Samford, however, was unable to score on the final drive and the game ended in a 24-10 KSU win.
With the loss, Samford falls to 1-4. Kennesaw State improves to 4-1 with the win.
Samford will return home to play host to Western Carolina Saturday, Oct. 6. The game is scheduled for a 12:30 p.m. (CT) kickoff from Seibert Stadium.
