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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Samford senior quarterback Liam Welch passed for a school-record 570 yards, but it was not enough as the Bulldog football team dropped a 38-37 decision to 19^th-ranked VMI Saturday afternoon at Seibert Stadium.
 
The 570 yards breaks the old record of 562 set by Devlin Hodges against Western Carolina in 2018.
 
The teams entered overtime tied at 30-30. Samford went on offense to begin the extra period. Welch hit Montrell Washington for a 13-yard touchdown, and Mitchell Fineran kicked the extra point to give Samford a 37-30 lead. VMI's Reece Udinski connected with Jakob Herres for an 18-yard touchdown on the Keydets' OT possession. VMI decided to go for the two-point conversion, and Udinski hit Michael Jackson in the end zone to give VMI the 38-37 win.
 
"We killed ourselves," Samford head coach Chris Hatcher said. "We had too many times to put the game away, but we didn't do that and let them hang around and when you do that with a good team, it usually ends up that way."
 
Welch completed 37-of-59 passes for his school-record 570 yards. He tossed four touchdown passes and two interceptions. Ty King caught three passes for 135 yards, including a 96-yard touchdown pass. A.J. Toney hauled in eight passes for 122 yards, while Washington had eight catches for 108 yards and three touchdowns.
 
Nathan East led the Samford defense with 17 total tackles, including eight solo stops. Trimarcus Cheeks had 12 tackles and an interception on the day. Fineran was good on all four extra-point attempts, and he made 3-of-4 field goal attempts.
 
For VMI, Udinski completed 40-of-57 passes for 353 yards and three touchdowns. Herres had 14 catches for 166 yards and two scores. Connor Riddle and Josh Sarratt had an interception each for the Keydet defense.
 
VMI got on the scoreboard first when Jerry Rice kicked a 24-yard field goal to give the Keydets a 3-0 lead with 12:27 left in the first quarter. On the first play of Samford's ensuing drive, Welch hit King over the middle, and King made a defender miss and went 96 yards for the touchdown to give Samford a 7-3 lead with 12:14 left in the opening quarter. Late in the first quarter after a VMI interception ended a Samford drive, the Keydets scored on a one-yard run by Korey Bridy to give VMI a 10-7 lead with 31 seconds left in the first quarter.
 
After being pinned at the Samford one-yard line, Welch led the team on an 88-yard drive that ended in a 28-yard Fineran field goal to knot the score at 10-10 with 5:56 left in the second quarter. On Samford's next offensive drive, Welch connected with Washington for an eight-yard touchdown pass for a 17-10 Samford advantage with 3:23 to go in the second period. VMI's Udinski scored on a one-yard run to tie the score again at 17-17 with 1:14 left in the second quarter.
 
On the opening drive of the third quarter, Samford's Cheeks picked off a VMI pass, giving Samford the ball at the Bulldogs' 35-yard line. Three plays later, Welch hit Washington for a 60-yard touchdown to give Samford a 24-17 lead with 11:12 left in the third period. Fineran kicked a 29-yard field goal to push Samford's lead to 27-17 with 5:13 left in the third quarter.
 
Fineran added a 22-yard field goal with 8:34 left in regulation to push Samford's lead to 30-17. Udinski hit Jackson for a 16-yard touchdown with 5:25 to go to cut the Samford lead to 30-24. Udinski later connected with Herres for a 17-yard score, but the PAT was missed, leaving the game tied at 30-30 with 1:11 left in the fourth quarter, setting the stage for the overtime.
 
Samford will travel to Charleston, S.C., to take on The Citadel Bulldogs next Saturday, March 27. The game is set for a 12 p.m. (CT) start from Johnson Hagood Stadium.
 
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