Saturday, October 28
Birmingham, AL
2:00 PM
Samford University
5-4 , 4-3
37
vs
7
The Citadel
0-8 , 0-5
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Citadel | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Samford | 14 | 16 | 0 | 7 | 37 |
Stanton’s Historic Day Catapults Samford Past The Citadel On Homecoming
10.28.23 | Football
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – On a day where Jay Stanton claimed the second-most career rushing yards and tied the career rushing touchdown mark, the Samford football team pulled out a 37-7 dismantling victory over The Citadel on Homecoming.
With the win, Samford will enter the bye with an overall record of 5-4 and 4-3 against teams in the Southern Conference. The Citadel drops to 0-8 and 0-5 in league play.
The win also moves Samford to 12-3 on Homecoming since joining the SoCon in 2008 and marks the fifth-straight win over the Bulldogs from Charleston.
To continue his impressive senior campaign, Stanton rushed for 96 yards on 13 carries with a pair of rushing touchdowns and a receiving score.
Entering the contest with The Citadel, the running back only needed 23 yards on the ground to surpass Jerome Russell's career mark of 3,122 yards. Chris Evans holds the Bulldog record with 4,575 yards.
Through the air, Michael Hiers tossed for a game-high 353 yards on 26-of-36 passing with a trio of touchdowns. Hiers also ran five times for 15 yards.
Not to be outdone by Stanton's historic performance, Samford wideout Chandler Smith led the Bulldog receiving corps with seven catches and a career-high 167 receiving yards. Smith's 167 yards are the most by a Bulldog since Kendall Watson had 187 in the season-opening upset victory over Kennesaw State in 2022.
Freshman sensation Brendan Jenkins caught six passes that went for 53 yards, while Iaan Cousin and E. Jai Mason each were on the receiving end of a Hiers' touchdown in the Homecoming contest.
The Samford defense also came to play on Saturday as the unit only allowed seven points in the game, which is the fewest that Samford has allowed all season.
Samford's linebacker duo of Noah Martin and Jaden Mosley each had eight tackles on the day and led the defense that forced two turnovers to solidify the victory.
The defense set the tone on the opening drive of the game as the Bulldogs stuffed The Citadel on a fourth-down attempt. Samford's offense then took the ball 60 yards on eight plays concluding when Hiers found Stanton out of the backfield for the first score of the game to give a 7-0 lead to Samford.
After a three-and-out by The Citadel, Stanton made it a 14-0 game on a six-yard dart to the end zone with just over four minutes remaining in the opening quarter.
In the second quarter of action, Hiers found Cousin down the Bulldog sideline for a 43-yard score and Mason in the back of the end zone for a nine-yard touchdown to put the game out of reach at 27-0.
Wilson Beaverstock connected on a 37-yard field goal as the first half expired to put Samford up by 30 heading into the locker room.
In the first half alone, Samford outgained The Citadel 321-80 and held the Bulldogs from Charleston to zero yards passing.
The Citadel found the end zone with just under four minutes remaining in the third quarter for the lone score of the game.
Despite scoring twice in the first quarter, Stanton did not surpass Russell until a 19-yard scamper in the final stanza. Four plays later, the senior scored on a 37-yard sprint to the end zone for the final Samford touchdown of the day.
Stanton's second rushing touchdown gave him 34 in his illustrious Samford career and tied him with Brady Jones for the most rushing touchdowns in a career.
To put an exclamation mark on the day, Kiylan Miller forced a fumble that Tyrese Ross returned 24 yards to The Citadel 31 before Nik Scalzo kneed out the clock.
The Samford Bulldogs will have a week off before hitting the road to Mercer for the final road game of the season on Nov. 11.
FOLLOW THE BULLDOGS:
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).
With the win, Samford will enter the bye with an overall record of 5-4 and 4-3 against teams in the Southern Conference. The Citadel drops to 0-8 and 0-5 in league play.
The win also moves Samford to 12-3 on Homecoming since joining the SoCon in 2008 and marks the fifth-straight win over the Bulldogs from Charleston.
To continue his impressive senior campaign, Stanton rushed for 96 yards on 13 carries with a pair of rushing touchdowns and a receiving score.
Entering the contest with The Citadel, the running back only needed 23 yards on the ground to surpass Jerome Russell's career mark of 3,122 yards. Chris Evans holds the Bulldog record with 4,575 yards.
Through the air, Michael Hiers tossed for a game-high 353 yards on 26-of-36 passing with a trio of touchdowns. Hiers also ran five times for 15 yards.
Not to be outdone by Stanton's historic performance, Samford wideout Chandler Smith led the Bulldog receiving corps with seven catches and a career-high 167 receiving yards. Smith's 167 yards are the most by a Bulldog since Kendall Watson had 187 in the season-opening upset victory over Kennesaw State in 2022.
Freshman sensation Brendan Jenkins caught six passes that went for 53 yards, while Iaan Cousin and E. Jai Mason each were on the receiving end of a Hiers' touchdown in the Homecoming contest.
The Samford defense also came to play on Saturday as the unit only allowed seven points in the game, which is the fewest that Samford has allowed all season.
Samford's linebacker duo of Noah Martin and Jaden Mosley each had eight tackles on the day and led the defense that forced two turnovers to solidify the victory.
The defense set the tone on the opening drive of the game as the Bulldogs stuffed The Citadel on a fourth-down attempt. Samford's offense then took the ball 60 yards on eight plays concluding when Hiers found Stanton out of the backfield for the first score of the game to give a 7-0 lead to Samford.
After a three-and-out by The Citadel, Stanton made it a 14-0 game on a six-yard dart to the end zone with just over four minutes remaining in the opening quarter.
In the second quarter of action, Hiers found Cousin down the Bulldog sideline for a 43-yard score and Mason in the back of the end zone for a nine-yard touchdown to put the game out of reach at 27-0.
Wilson Beaverstock connected on a 37-yard field goal as the first half expired to put Samford up by 30 heading into the locker room.
In the first half alone, Samford outgained The Citadel 321-80 and held the Bulldogs from Charleston to zero yards passing.
The Citadel found the end zone with just under four minutes remaining in the third quarter for the lone score of the game.
Despite scoring twice in the first quarter, Stanton did not surpass Russell until a 19-yard scamper in the final stanza. Four plays later, the senior scored on a 37-yard sprint to the end zone for the final Samford touchdown of the day.
Stanton's second rushing touchdown gave him 34 in his illustrious Samford career and tied him with Brady Jones for the most rushing touchdowns in a career.
To put an exclamation mark on the day, Kiylan Miller forced a fumble that Tyrese Ross returned 24 yards to The Citadel 31 before Nik Scalzo kneed out the clock.
The Samford Bulldogs will have a week off before hitting the road to Mercer for the final road game of the season on Nov. 11.
FOLLOW THE BULLDOGS:
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).
Players Mentioned
K
/ Football
WR
/ Football
QB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
LB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
LB
/ Football
LB
/ Football
S
/ Football
QB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
RB
/ Football
WR
/ FootballTeam Stats
CIT
SAM
Total Yards
308
504
Pass Yards
122
353
Rushing Yards
186
151
Penalty Yards
30
50
1st Downs
16
25
3rd Downs
4
5
4th Downs
2
0
TOP
34:46
25:14
1st Quarter
CIT 0, SAM 7
SAM - Stanton,Jay 7 yd pass from Hiers,Michael (Beaverstock,Wilson kick) 8 plays, 60 yards, TOP 01:53
CIT 0, SAM 14
SAM - Stanton,Jay 6 yd run (Beaverstock,Wilson kick), 4 plays, 27 yards, TOP 00:59
2nd Quarter
CIT 0, SAM 20
SAM - Cousin,Iaan 43 yd pass from Hiers,Michael () 7 plays, 84 yards, TOP 01:55
CIT 0, SAM 27
SAM - Mason,E. Jai 9 yd pass from Hiers,Michael (Beaverstock,Wilson kick) 6 plays, 91 yards, TOP 01:47
CIT 0, SAM 30
SAM - Beaverstock,Wilson 37 yd field goal 14 plays, 59 yards, TOP 03:56
3rd Quarter
CIT 7, SAM 30
CIT - Graves-Billips,Jay 40 yd pass from Underwood,Graeson (Kintner,Colby kick) 6 plays, 65 yards, TOP 02:34
4th Quarter
CIT 7, SAM 37
SAM - Stanton,Jay 37 yd run (Beaverstock,Wilson kick), 5 plays, 74 yards, TOP 02:44
Game Leaders
CMP
26
TD
3
YDS
353
INT
0
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