Football Falls At #18 VMI, 46-45

Saturday, October 30

Lexington, Va.

12:30 PM

Samford University

3-5 , 2-4

#18 VMI

6-2 , 4-1

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Samford	10	28	7	0	45
VMI	7	13	14	12	46

Liam Welch during Saturday's game at VMI (Photo By: Chuck Steenburgh / VMI)

10.30.21 | Football

Box Score

FINAL STAT BOOK (PDF)

LEXINGTON, Va. – The Samford football team built a 21-point second-quarter lead but was unable to hold on as the Bulldogs dropped a 46-45 decision at 18^th-ranked VMI Saturday afternoon at Foster Stadium.

With the loss, Samford falls to 3-5 overall and 2-4 in Southern Conference play. VMI improves to 6-2 overall and 4-1 in league play.

For Samford in the game, Liam Welch completed 32-of-47 passes for 365 yards and a touchdown. Welch also rushed 14 times for 68 yards and two touchdowns. Chandler Smith caught eight passes for 59 yards for the Bulldogs, while Michael Vice had four catches for 68 yards.

Nelson Jordan led the Samford defense with 13 tackles, including seven solo stops. Sylvaughn Turner and Trimarcus Cheeks had eight tackles each for the Bulldogs.

VMI's Seth Morgan completed 27-of-41 passes for 463 yards and three touchdowns. Michael Jackson caught 10 passes for 211 yards and a touchdown. Stone Snyder led the Keydet defense with 17 tackles.

On VMI's first offensive possession, the Keydets drove deep into Samford territory, but Samford's Kourtlan Marsh recovered a VMI fumble at the Samford one-yard line to end the threat. On the ensuing drive, Samford drove to the VMI eight-yard line and Zach Williams kicked a 26-yard field goal to give the Bulldogs a 3-0 lead with 6:49 left in the first quarter.

On Samford's next possession, Welch hit Jay Stanton for a 25-yard touchdown pass to make the score 10-0 with 4:01 to go in the opening period. VMI answered with a one-yard touchdown run by Korey Bridy to cut the lead to 10-7 with 1:22 left in the first quarter.

Montrell Washington scored on a three-yard run to push Samford's lead to 17-7 with 13:31 to go in the second quarter. VMI's Morgan hit Jakob Herres for a 34-yard touchdown to cut the Samford lead to 17-14 at the 12:24 mark in the second quarter. Welch scored on a one yard run to make the score 24-14 with 10:11 to go in the second period.

VMI's Jerry Rice kicked a 30-yard field goal to make the score 24-17 with 7:26 left in the second quarter. Washington later scored on a three-yard run to push the Samford lead to 31-17 with 4:05 left before halftime. Welch scored on another one yard run to make the score 38-17 with 1:48 left in the second quarter. On the final play of the second quarter, VMI's Rice kicked a 32-yard field goal to make the score 38-20 heading into the locker room at halftime.

On the opening drive of the third quarter, Morgan hit Max Brimigion for a four-yard touchdown pass to cut the Samford lead to 38-27 with 10:06 left in the third period. On Samford's ensuing drive, Stanton scored on a one yard run to make the score 45-27 with 4:34 to go in the third quarter. VMI's Rashan Raymond scored on a two-yard run to make the score 45-34 with 1:01 to go in the third quarter.

VMI's Hunter Rice scored on a two-yard run, but the two-point conversion was intercepted by Hakeem Johnson, keeping Samford's lead at 45-40 with 9:42 to play in the fourth quarter. Morgan hit Michael Jackson for a seven-yard touchdown pass, but the two-point conversion was no good, and the Keydets held a 46-45 lead with 3:14 to go. Samford had two final possessions with a chance to retake the lead, but the Bulldogs were unable to score.

Samford will host The Citadel on Saturday, Nov. 6. The game, which is Samford's homecoming contest, is set for a 2 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).