Samford Football Falls At UT Martin, 33-27

Saturday, September 11

Martin, Tenn.

6 PM

Samford University

1-1

UT Martin

1-1

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Samford	17	3	0	7	27
UT Martin	0	24	7	2	33

Final Game Book (PDF)

9.11.21 | Football

Box Score

FINAL STAT BOOK (PDF)

MARTIN, Tenn. – The Samford defense forced five turnovers, but it was not enough as the Bulldog football team dropped a 33-27 decision at UT Martin Saturday evening at Hardy M. Graham Stadium.

With the loss, Samford falls to 1-1 on the season. UT Martin improves to 1-1 with the win.

The Samford defense produced three interceptions and two fumbles from the Skyhawks. Ty Herring, Hakeem Johnson and Lamar Anderson had an interception each, with Herring returning his 61 yards for a touchdown. Dakota Chapman and Nick Jackson each recovered a fumble for the Bulldogs.

For the Samford offense, Liam Welch completed 22-of-38 passes for 217 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Montrell Washington caught five passes for 72 yards and a touchdown.

For UT Martin, Keon Howard completed 18-of-30 passes for 229 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. John Ford led the UT Martin defense with six total tackles.

After each team had a three-and-out drive to open the game, Samford's Chapman recovered a fumbled punt return at the UT Matin nine-yard line. Two plays later, DeMarcus Ware scored on a four-yard run to give Samford a 7-0 lead with 12:21 left in the first quarter.

On the Skyhawks' next drive, Anderson picked off a UTM pass, giving Samford the ball at the UT Martin 29-yard line. Zach Williams later kicked a 26-yard field goal to make the score 10-0 at the 8:55 mark in the opening period. Late in the first quarter, Herring intercepted a UT Martin pass and returned it 61 yards for a touchdown to push the Bulldogs' lead to 17-0 with 1:45 left in the quarter.

UT Martin put its first points on the scoreboard when Howard hit Peyton Logan for a 60-yard touchdown to cut the Samford lead to 17-7 with 12:33 left in the second quarter. Samford's Williams added a 36-yard field goal to push the Samford lead to 20-7 with 9:56 remaining in the second period.

UT Martin scored on a seven-yard run by Howard to cut the lead to 20-14 with 4:25 left in the second quarter. Howard later hit Peyton for a 51-yard score to give the Skyhawks a 21-20 lead with 2:13 left before halftime. After an interception gave the Skyhawks the ball back with 33 seconds left in the half, UTM's Tyler Larco kicked a 31-yard field goal as time expired, sending the Skyhawks to the locker room with a 24-20 lead.

On UT Martin's first drive of the third quarter, Zak Wallace scored on a two-yard run to make the score 31-20 with 5:13 left in the quarter. The score capped a 14-play, 57-yard drive that took 8:20 off of the third-quarter clock.

A UT Martin safety made the score 33-20 with 9:54 left in the fourth quarter. Welch hit Montrell Washington for a 24-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 33-27 with 3:36 left in the contest. Samford got the ball back with 1:34 left and a chance to win the game, but the Bulldogs were unable to score, and the game ended in a 33-27 UT Martin win.

Samford will open Southern Conference play when the Bulldogs play at Western Carolina on Saturday, Sept. 18. The game is set for a 1:30 p.m. (CT) start from E.J. Whitmire Stadium in Cullowhee, N.C.

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).