BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford football team rallied from a 21-point halftime deficit, but came up just short in a 35-27 loss to Chattanooga Saturday afternoon at Seibert Stadium.
With the loss, Samford falls to 4-6 overall and 3-4 in Southern Conference pay. Chattanooga improves to 5-5 overall and 4-2 in league play.
"We played very poorly and coached very poorly in the first half," Samford head coach
Chris Hatcher said. "In the second half, I challenged the guys and we came out and played a much better second half. But, the deficit was just too much for us to overcome."
For Samford in the game,
Kendall Watson caught eight passes for a career-high 129 yards and a touchdown.
Robert Adams has five receptions for 71 yards.
Liam Welch completed 14-of-27 passes for 196 yards and a touchdown.
On defense for Samford,
Joshua Carter had 10 tackles, including six solo stops.
Nathan East recovered a fumble to go along with his seven tackles.
Chattanooga was led by running back Elijah IbitokunHanks, rushing 27 times for 139 yards and two touchdowns. Quarterback Nick Tiano had 12 rushes for 100 yards and a touchdown. He also completed 17-of-28 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns. Chris James caught five passes for 71 yards and a touchdown.
Chattanooga struck first when Tiano scored on a one-yard run to give the Mocs a 7-0 lead with 7:22 left in the first quarter. Samford answered on its next drive when
Chris Oladokun hit
A.J. Toney for a six-yard touchdown pass to knot the score at 7-7 with 3:41 to go in the first period.
Chattanooga retook the lead on the first drive of the second quarter when IbitokunHanks scored on a four-yard run to give the Mocs a 14-7 lead with 14:25 to go in the second quarter. Tiano hit James for a one-yard touchdown pass to push Chattanooga's lead to 21-7 with 6:47 left in the second quarter. IbitokunHanks added a 32-yard touchdown run to make the score 28-7 with 2:58 left in the second period.
On the first drive of the third quarter, Samford's Welch scored on a two-yard run to cut the lead to 28-14 with 9:37 to go in the third period. On Chattanooga's ensuing drive, Samford's East recovered a Chattanooga fumble, giving the Bulldogs the ball at the UTC 27-yard line. Two players later, Welch hit Watson for a nine-yard touchdown, but the extra point was no good and Chattanooga led, 28-20.
Chattanooga's Tiano hit IbitokunHanks for a four-yard touchdown pass to push the Mocs' lead to 35-20 with 2:45 left in the third quarter. Welch scored on a four-yard run to cut the lead to 35-27 with 55 seconds to play. The ensuing on-sides kick was recovered by Chattanooga and the Mocs were able to run out the clock from there.
Samford will play at Western Carolina Saturday, Nov. 16. The game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. (CT) start from Cullowhee, N.C.
