BOX SCORE
MACON, Ga. – The Samford football team fell in a triple-overtime thriller, 36-33 at Mercer Saturday evening at Five-Star Stadium.
In the third overtime, with the game tied at 33-33, Samford missed a 39-yard field goal. On Mercer's possession, Caleb Dowden kicked a 38-yard field goal, ending the game in a 36-33 Mercer victory.
With the loss, Samford falls to 4-5 overall and 3-3 in Southern Conference play. The game was Samford's fourth overtime game of the season. The Bulldogs are 1-3 in overtime contests so far this season. Mercer improves to 4-5 overall and 3-3 in league play.
For Samford in the game, quarterback
Chris Oladokun completed 27-of-47 passes for 270 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed 20 times for 64 yards and two touchdowns.
Jay Stanton rushed 23 times for a career-high 141 yards.
Robert Adams caught four passes for 111 yards.
John Staton led the Samford defense with a career-high 22 tackles.
Jordan Montgomery tallied 10 tackles for the Bulldogs.
For Mercer, Kaelan Riley completed 21-of-44 passes for 250 yards. Tyray Devezin rushed 38 times for 130 yards and four touchdowns. Yahsyn McKee caught nine passes for 117 yards for the Bears. Sidney Otiwu led the Mercer defense with 21 tackles.
Mercer jumped on top first when Dowden kicked a 22-yard field goal to give the Bears a 3-0 lead with 6:53 left in the first quarter. Samford took the lead when Oladokun scored on a one-yard run to give the Bulldogs a 7-3 edge with 2:28 to go in the first period.
Samford added to its lead when
Mitchell Fineran kicked a 28-yard field goal to make the score 10-3 with 7:57 to go in the second quarter. Mercer tied the score when Devezin scored on a two-yard run to knot the score at 10-10 with 57 seconds to go before halftime.
On the first drive of the third quarter, Oladokun connected with
Kendall Watson for a 12-yard touchdown pass to give the Bulldogs a 17-10 lead with 12:58 left in the third quarter. Devezin scored on a one-yard run with 8:57 left in the third quarter, but the PAT was no good and Samford still led, 17-16.
Fineran kicked a 31-yard field goal to extend Samford's lead to 20-16 with 11:10 left in the fourth quarter. Devezin scored on a two-yard run to give Mercer a 23-20 lead with 5:41 left in the fourth quarter. Fineran tied the game with a 35-yard field goal with 2:20 to go in the fourth quarter, knotting the score at 23-23.
Mercer missed a field goal on the last play of regulation, sending the game to overtime. Samford went on offense first in overtime. Oladokun scored on a three-yard run to give Samford a 30-23 lead. Devezin scored on a one-yard run for Mercer to tie the score at 30-30.
Dowden kicked a 36-yard field goal in the second overtime to give Mercer a 33-30 lead. Fineran added a 23-yard field goal to tie the score again at 33-33, forcing the third overtime and setting the stage for Dowden's game-winning kick.
Samford will return home to host Chattanooga Nov. 9. The game is set for a 2 p.m. start from Seibert Stadium.
