JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. –The Samford football team led for the majority of the game, but eventually fell to ETSU, 31-28 Saturday afternoon at William B. Greene Jr. Stadium.
 
With the loss, Samford fell to 2-3 overall and 1-1 in Southern Conference play. ETSU improved its season record to 4-3 overall and 2-1 in league play.
 
"I thought defensively, we played well enough to win the ballgame," Samford head coach Chris Hatcher said. "Offensively, we just couldn't muster much momentum in the second half. We made some crucial mistakes at crucial times on special teams play. We missed on some very routine opportunities there that came back to cost us in all three phases."
 
For Samford in the loss, Quincy Crittendon completed 27-of-36 passes for 306 yards and four touchdowns. E. Jai Mason caught five passes for 70 yards and two touchdowns. Rayf Vinson and Wesley Carlock also caught touchdown passes for the Bulldogs.
 
On defense, Jaden Mosley led Samford in tackles with 12. Jalik Yancey, Xavier Lanier and Dontae Pollard each had an interception for the Bulldogs.
 
For ETSU, Jaylen King completed 15-of-27 passes for 268 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions. A.J. Johnson had seven receptions for 146 yards and two touchdowns.
 
On the opening drive of the game, ETSU drove to the Samford four-yard-line, but the Bulldog defense stopped the Bucs on a 4^th-and-2 play. Three plays later, Crittendon hit Vinson for an 89-yard touchdown pass. Forrest Taylor added the extra point to give Samford a 7-0 lead with 10:11 to go in the first quarter.
 
ETSU put its first points on the scoreboard when King hit Hakeem Meggett for a 31-yard touchdown, and Ewan Johnson added the PAT to knot the score at 7-7 with 3:17 left in the first quarter. Samford answered quickly as Crittendon hit Mason for a 41-yard score and Taylor added the PAT for a 14-7 Samford lead with 1:32 left in the opening period.
 
Crittendon connected with Carlock for a 23-yard touchdown pass with 12:55 to go in the second quarter and Taylor added the extra point to push the Samford lead to 21-7. ETSU's King hit A.J. Johnson for a 15-yard touchdown and Ewan Johnson added the PAT to cut the lead to 21-14 with 2:18 left before halftime.
 
With 10:35 to go in the third quarter, Crittendon connected with Mason for a seven-yard touchdown pass and Taylor kicked the PAT for a 28-14 Samford advantage. ETSU's King hit Johnson for a 75-yard touchdown pass and Ewan Johnson added the PAT to cut the lead to 28-21 with 6:54 left in the third quarter.
 
ETSU's Ewan Johnson kicked a 23-yard field goal to cut the Samford  lead to 28-24 with 14:13 to go. Neither team was able to score for most of the rest of the fourth quarter until ETSU's Gino English scored on a one-yard run with 1:46 to go and Ewan Johnson kicked the PAT to make the final score 31-28.
 
Samford will next play host to the Mercer Bears on Saturday, Oct. 19. The game is set for a 2 p.m. start from Pete Hanna Stadium.


 
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