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SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Samford place-kicker Zach Williams kicked a 38-yard field goal with 1:38 left in the game, and Wofford's attempt to tie the contest at the buzzer fell short as the Bulldogs held on for a crucial 27-24 Southern Conference road win over the Terriers Saturday afternoon at Gibbs Stadium.
 
Samford improves to 3-3 overall and 2-2 in Southern Conference play with the win. Wofford falls to 1-5 overall and 0-4 in league games. The win was Samford's seventh-straight victory in the series with Wofford.
 
Samford head coach Chris Hatcher said he was proud of his team for finding a way to win after a couple of tough recent losses.
 
"We've had a really tough stretch of games heading into the bye week, but we got ourselves healthy," Hatcher said. "We came out to a fast start and then we had some crucial penalties on both sides of the ball that took points off the board and gave them second chances. At the end of the game, they really milked the clock, but we had a great last drive to kick the field goal, we executed that well. And then we forced them to miss the field goal and got the stop when we needed it."
 
In the game for Samford, Jay Stanton rushed 12 times for 130 yards. Liam Welch completed 26-of-41 passes for 253 yards and two touchdowns. Welch also rushed eight times for 39 yards and a touchdown. Chandler Smith caught seven passes for 52 yards and a touchdown. Montrell Washington had four catches for 69 yards. Michael Vice also caught a touchdown pass for the Bulldogs.
 
Noah Martin led the Samford defense with 13 tackles, including 2.0 tackles for loss. Nathan East finished the game with 12 tackles, including seven solo stops. On special teams, Williams was good on both of his field goal attempts all three of his PAT attempts.
 
For Wofford, Irvin Mulligan rushed 16 times for 135 yards and two touchdowns. For the Terrier defense, Joe Beckett led the way with eight tackles.
 
Samford struck first on its second offensive drive of the game. Welch hit Vice for a 28-yard touchdown pass to give the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead with 7:11 left in the first quarter. Wofford tied the game when Peyton Derrick hit Alec Holt for an 88-yard touchdown pass to knot the score at 7-7 with 3:47 left in the first period.
 
The Bulldogs jumped ahead again when Welch scored on a two-yard run to give Samford a 14-7 lead with 12:25 left in the second quarter. The score was set up by a 52-yard pass from Welch to  Washington, giving Samford the ball at the Wofford two-yard line.
 
On the first play of Samford's next offensive possession, Stanton ran 66 yards to the Wofford four-yard line. Four plays later, Williams kicked a 30-yard field goal to make the score 17-7 with 8:01 remaining in the second quarter. Samford added one more score in the second quarter when Welch hit Smith for a seven-yard touchdown strike to push the Samford lead to 24-7 with 1:23 left before halftime.
 
On the opening drive of the third quarter, Wofford's Mulligan scored on a one yard run to cut the Samford lead to 24-14 with 12:30 left in the period. Early in the fourth quarter, Mulligan scored on a 41-yard touchdown run to bring the Terriers to within three points at 24-21 with 14:25 to go.
 
Wofford's Walker Gliarmis kicked a 31-yard field goal to tie the score at 24-24 with 4:43 left in the fourth quarter. The kick set the stage for the exciting finish.
 
Samford will return home next Saturday, Oct. 23, when the Bulldogs play host to the Chattanooga Mocs. The game is set for a 12 p.m. start from Bobby Bowden Field at Seibert Stadium.
 
For the latest news and information on Samford football, visit the official website for Samford Athletics at SamfordSports.com. Fans can also follow the Bulldogs on social media at /SamfordFootball (Facebook), @SamfordFootball (Instagram) and @SamfordFootball (Twitter).