Football 9.20.23

Bulldog Football Set To Host Chattanooga For Family Weekend

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – After back-to-back road games, the No. 20 Samford football team returns to Seibert Stadium as the Bulldogs welcome the Chattanooga Mocs for a pivotal Southern Conference game on Family Weekend.

The SoCon contest is slated for a 2 p.m. CT kickoff on Saturday, September 23. Blake Gardner, Damian Mitchell and Lynden Blake will call the action for ESPN+.

For this week's complete game notes, click here. Tickets can be purchased here.

Despite a valiant effort in the first half, the Bulldogs fell 45-13 to the Auburn Tigers last time out. Michael Hiers found the end zone twice, while Kourtlan Marsh was named SoCon Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts against an SEC foe.

Samford and Chattanooga are meeting for a record 49th time in program history. The Mocs hold a series lead of 33-11-1, but the Bulldogs are looking to cage the Mocs in back-back seasons for the first time since the 1920s.

Marsh Island
Junior Kourltan Marsh was the best Bulldog defender on the field as the defensive back paced the Samford defense by tying his career-high 10 tackles, recovering a fumble and grabbing an interception en route to nabbing SoCon Defensive Player of the Week honors. Marsh is the only Bulldog in the Hatcher era to record double-digit tackles, recover a fumble and have an interception in a single game.

Birmingham Vice
When graduate student Michael Vice found the end zone with 7:03 remaining in the first quarter against Western Carolina, it was Vice's first touchdown in a Bulldog uniform since his 58-yard sprint to the end zone at Florida on Nov. 13, 2021, a span of 665 days. Vice was a freshman All-American and All-SoCon player for the Bulldogs from 2019-21 before transferring to Troy for the 2022 season.

Stanton Leaving His Mark
Despite the #HatchAttack offense being synonymous with throwing the ball all over the field, senior running back Jay Stanton has shot to leave Samford as the second-best rusher in program history. After rushing for 690 yards and seven touchdowns in 2022 and 69 yards over the opening three games, Stanton needs 538 yards on the ground to surpass Jerome Russell's 3,122 yards for the second-most career rushing yards. Chris Evans holds the Bulldog record with 4,575.

Second Quarter Fireworks
Samford broke in the new scoreboards at the south end of Seibert Stadium by scoring 35 points in the second quarter against Shorter. The 35 points are the most in a single quarter surpassing the 32 scored in a 80-0 victory over Troy in 1961.

Samford Against Southern Conference Teams
Since joining the Southern Conference in 2008, Samford has posted a record of 67-51 in conference games. All-time against each current member of the SoCon, Samford has a mark of 93-81-4, including a 14-13-1 record against Mercer. Samford's all-time record against each current SoCon team is: Chattanooga (11-33-3), The Citadel (9-7), ETSU (7-3), Furman (12-13), Mercer (15-13-1), VMI (7-3), Western Carolina (17-4) and Wofford (15-5).

Samford Against Tennessee Teams
Samford has an all-time record of 88-87-9 against teams from the state of Tennessee, including a mark of 11-33-3 against Saturday's opponent, Chattanooga.

Hatcher's Offenses Produce
Through his first eight seasons, Samford head coach Chris Hatcher's offenses have averaged more points than under any other head coach in program history. Entering the season, Hatcher's teams have averaged 34.53 points per game, ahead of Bobby Bowden's 28.57 average. Terry Bowden (1987-1992) averaged 27.92 points per game during his tenure while Bill Gray (2001-06 / 25.68) and Pat Sullivan (2007-14 / 25.50) round out the top five.

Putting Up Points
Over the last eight seasons under head coach Chris Hatcher, the Samford offense has scored at least 30 points 49 times. The unit has put up at least 40 points 27 times, and at least 50 points a total of 14 times.

On This Date
Samford has an all-time record of 6-6 in games played on Sept. 16 with the first game being played in 1932. The last time that the Bulldogs played on Sept. 23 was a 34-38 loss at Western Carolina in 2017. The last victory on Sept. 23 came in 1972 when Samford downed Gardner-Webb, 21-7.

Quick Strikes
In eight seasons under head coach Chris Hatcher, Samford has made a habit of quick scoring drives. In Hatcher's time at Samford, Samford has had 184 scoring drives of two minutes or less and 83 that have lasted one minute or less.

Traversing Red Mountain
The 2023 Samford roster features four transfers from nearby UAB, this is the most transfers from a single school on the current roster. The former Blazers include Chris Noble, Brett Johnson, Jayme Motley-Simmons and Wilson Beaverstock.

Hier Power
After a breakout campaign in 2022, Samford signal-caller spent the summer collecting almost every possible honor that an FCS quarterback could have gotten. In total, the Birmingham native was named to seven different watch lists and All-American teams including the Senior Bowl Watch List, the Walter Payton Award Watch List and the Manning Award Watch List while being named an All-American by Athlon Sports, Hero Sports, Phil Steele and Stats Perform.

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).

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Players Mentioned

#1 Kourtlan Marsh: CB; 5' 11"; Junior

#75 Jayme Motley-Simmons: OL; 6' 7"; Junior

#58 Chris Noble: OL; 6' 4"; Junior

#20 Jay Stanton: RB; 6' 0"; Senior

#10 Michael Hiers: QB; 6' 1"; Junior

#70 Brett Johnson: OL; 6' 4"; Junior

#80 Wilson Beaverstock: K; 6' 0"; Graduate Student

#86 Michael Vice: TE; 6' 4"; Graduate Student

Players Mentioned

#1 Kourtlan Marsh
: 5' 11"; Junior
: CB

#75 Jayme Motley-Simmons
: 6' 7"; Junior
: OL

#58 Chris Noble
: 6' 4"; Junior
: OL

#20 Jay Stanton
: 6' 0"; Senior
: RB

#10 Michael Hiers
: 6' 1"; Junior
: QB

#70 Brett Johnson
: 6' 4"; Junior
: OL

#80 Wilson Beaverstock
: 6' 0"; Graduate Student
: K

#86 Michael Vice
: 6' 4"; Graduate Student
: TE

Samford University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Players Mentioned