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Samford University Athletics

OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF SAMFORD UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Stanton_The_Citadel
7
The Citadel CIT 0-8 , 0-5
37
Winner Samford SAM 5-4 , 4-3
The Citadel CIT
0-8 , 0-5
7
Final
37
Samford SAM
5-4 , 4-3
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
CIT The Citadel 0 0 7 0 7
SAM Samford 14 16 0 7 37

Game Recap: Football |

Stanton’s Historic Day Catapults Samford Past The Citadel On Homecoming

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. 
 
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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)
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