BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – To open the home slate for the 2024 season, the Samford football team blanked the Alabama State Hornets in the second half to prevail 12-7 on Saturday night at Pete Hanna Stadium.

With the win, Samford improved to 1-2 on the campaign and now has won three straight home games dating back to last season. The Hornets of Alabama State fell to 1-2.

Damonta Witherspoon paced the Bulldog offense on Saturday with 126 rushing yards on 23 carries and a touchdown. Witherspoon's 126 yards on the ground are the most by the senior in a Bulldog uniform.

In the air, Quincy Crittendon completed 19-of-25 passes for 185 yards with one touchdown and one interception. The junior quarterback added 16 more rushing yards on 11 carries.

Iaan Cousin led the Bulldog receiving core in the home opener by catching four balls for 75 yards and a score. Not to be outdone, Brendan Jenkins almost matched Cousin's output by hauling in four passes of his own for 74 yards.

Noah Martin captained a Bulldog defense that only allowed 49 total yards in the second half. Martin tallied 11 tackles for this third-straight game to open the season. Saturday also marked Martin's fifth-straight game with a double-digit tackle performance.

Alongside Martin, fellow linebacker Jaden Mosley collected seven tackles with two going for a loss. Makhi Gilbert, who missed the Florida game due to injury, provided a sack in the second quarter while the duo of Conroy Cunningham II and Jaylin Rainey each had half a sack in the victory.

To open the defense battle on Saturday, the two teams traded punts for the first three drives of the contest before the Hornets found the end zone for their only score of the evening with 7:58 remaining in the first quarter to make it a 7-0 ballgame.

Following the Alabama State scoring drive, The Bulldog defense held the Hornet offense in check the rest of the night only allowing 148 total yards during the rest of the game.

Samford got back to within a point when Crittendon found Cousin in the back corner of the north end zone to break the seal for the Bulldog offense with 5:46 remaining in the first half. A missed point after attempt following the Samford score made it a 7-6 contest heading into the locker room at halftime.

The lone touchdown of the second half came with just over seven remaining in the third stanza when Witherspoon muscled in from a yard out to put the Bulldogs up for good at 12-7. Witherspoon's second score of the season capped off a 13-play, 54-yard scoring drive that lasted nearly seven minutes.

In the fourth and final quarter, the Samford defense held the Alabama State offense to only 30 yards of total offense and forced a pair of punts to help secure the first victory of the season.

Samford will have a week off before opening Southern Conference play at Furman to close out September.

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