FINAL GAME STATS (PDF)

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford football team rolled up 630 yards of total offense on its way to an impressive 55-27 win over Western Carolina Saturday afternoon at Seibert Stadium.
 
With the win, Samford improves to 1-1, all in Southern Conference play. Western Carolina falls to 0-5 overall and 0-2 in league play.
 
"I saw a lot of improvement, but we still have a long way to go in certain areas," Samford head coach Chris Hatcher said. "All-in-all I'm really excited. We forced some turnovers defensively. We made some good plays in the special teams that we didn't make last week. Offensively, we got in rhythm, we ran the ball extremely well, and I thought Liam (Welch) managed the game."
 
For Samford in the win, Liam Welch completed 26-of-36 passes for a career-high 311 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed 18 times for 83 yards and three touchdowns. Jay Stanton had 23 carries for 135 yards and a touchdown. A.J. Toney led all receivers with nine catches for 77 yards and a touchdown. Kendall Watson also had a touchdown reception in the win.
 
Defensively for Samford, Nathan East led the team in tackles with eight, all solo. Coutrell Plair and Chris Edmonds had an interception each for the Bulldogs. On special teams, Ty King returned four kickoffs for an average of 31.25 yards per return, including a long return of 33 yards.
 
For Western Carolina, Ryan Glover completed 25-of-43 passes for 306 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Calvin Jones and Clayton Bardall had a touchdown catch each. Ty Harris led the Catamount defense with 10 tackles, including eight solo stops.
 
Western Carolina struck on the game's opening drive when Glover hit Jones for a two-yard touchdown pass to give the Catamounts a 7-0 lead with 12:33 left in the first quarter. Samford tied the score when Welch scored on a 24-yard run to knot the score at 7-7 with 10:32 left in the opening quarter.
 
On WCU's ensuing possession, the Samford defense stopped the Catamounts on a 4^th-and-4 at the Samford 22-yard line. The Samford offense then marched back down the field and Stanton scored on a four-yard run to give the Bulldogs a 14-7 lead with 5:50 to go in the first quarter.
 
The Bulldogs added to their lead when Welch hit Watson for a 22-yard touchdown to make the score 21-7 with 11:52 left in the second quarter. Western Carolina's Richard McCollum booted a 44-yard field goal to cut the lead to 21-10 with 8:17 to go in the second period.
 
The Catamounts struck again when Glover hit Bardall on a flea-flicker for a 34-yard touchdown to make the score 21-17 with 5:52 left in the second quarter. WCU's McCollum kicked a 45-yard field goal at the second-quarter buzzer to cut the Samford lead to 21-20.
 
On the opening drive of the third quarter, Samford's Dakota Chapman scored on a two-yard run to make the score 28-20 with 12:30 left in the quarter. Welch scored on a five-yard run with 9:35 to go in the third quarter, but the extra point was no good, giving Samford a 34-20 advantage.
 
Welch then connected with Toney for a 31-yard touchdown pass to push the Samford lead to 41-20 with 7:25 left in the third period. WCU's Donnavan Spencer scored on a 24-yard run to cut the lead to 41-27 with 32 seconds left in the third period.
 
Welch scored on a six-yard run to make the score 48-27 with 13:07 left in the fourth quarter. Samford added one final score when Ty Boles scored his first collegiate touchdown on a 57-yard run with 2:18 to go to make the final score 55-27.
 
Samford will play at Furman next Saturday, March 6. The game is set for a 12 p.m. (CT) start from Greenville, S.C.
 
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