Hatcher Becomes All-Time Wins Leader In Homecoming Victory Over VMI

Saturday, November 5

Birmingham, Ala.

2 PM

Samford University

8-1 , 6-0

VMI

1-8 , 0-6

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
VMI	6	6	3	0	15
Samford	0	7	13	14	34

Final Game Book (PDF)

Photo by: Chase Cochran|Samford Athletics

11.5.22 | Football

Box Score Photo Gallery

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – On a historic homecoming Saturday for the 10th-ranked Samford football team, the Bulldogs scored 27 second-half points to race past the VMI Keydets, 34-15.

With the win, head coach Chris Hatcher moved past Pat Sullivan for the most wins in school history with 48.

"I told the team that I haven't played a snap since 1994 in Florence, Alabama. I have been very fortunate to have a lot of great coaches," Hatcher said. "I've been very fortunate to have a lot of great players on this current team and on former teams. Those are the guys that won those games. I knew going into the year, that to beat the record, we would have to have a very special year and thus far, the guys have come through week in and week out."

Samford moves to 8-1 on the season tying the 2017 squad for the most wins in a season during the Hatcher era. The 8-1 start is also on par with the 1991 team that finished the regular season with a 10-1 record. Also with the victory, the Bulldogs move to 6-0 in Southern Conference play for the first time in program history and matches 2013 for the most league wins in a season since Samford joined the SoCon in 2008.

With the defeat, VMI drops to 1-8 on the season and 0-6 in SoCon play.

Despite a slow start, the two-time SoCon Offensive Player of the Month Michael Hiers completed 30-of-38 passes for 322 yards and four touchdowns on the afternoon. Hiers has tossed four touchdowns five times this season. The junior also scampered for 21 yards.

Chandler Smith paced the Samford receivers against VMI with 10 catches for 134 yards and pair of touchdowns. Kendall Watson added five more receptions for 98 yards that included a 70-yard touchdown catch on the final play of the third quarter to put the Bulldogs up for good.

On the ground, Jaylan Thomas led the way with 97 yards on 18 carries and a 36-yard touchdown that sealed the 34-15 victory

The Bulldog offense collected 436 yards of total offense on the day as a unit. Saturday marked the sixth time this season that Samford has surpassed the 400-yard mark for total offense and the fourth-straight game.

On the defensive side of the ball, Noah Martin backed up his stellar performance at The Citadel with a team-leading nine tackles. The junior linebacker also had a tackle for loss and his first interception of the season in the third quarter.

Nathan East and Wade White each had seven tackles against the Keydets, while Hakeem Johnson hauled a VMI drive in the fourth quarter with an interception.

Saturday marked the first time since 2014 that the Bulldog defense did not yield a touchdown in back-to-back games.

VMI opened the game by making a trio of field goals to take a 9-0 lead before Hiers found Thomas out of the backfield for a two-yard touchdown catch to make it 9-7 with 5:25 left in the first half.

The Keydets kicked another field goal with 14 seconds left in the second quarter to take a 12-7 lead into the locker room at the half.

After the break, it took all of three plays before the second-half fireworks launched when Smith snagged a Hiers pass over the middle and took it 49-yards for a Bulldog touchdown and a 14-12 advantage.

Watson's 70-yarder came after the fifth VMI field of the game and gave Samford a 20-15 lead heading into the final 15 minutes.

Smith added his second touchdown on a third-down play with 9:10 left in the game before Thomas' exclamation mark was added six minutes later for the 34-15 victory.

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