MACON, Ga. – The Samford football team fell behind early and fought back in the second half, but eventually fell at 24^th-ranked Mercer, 45-21, Saturday afternoon at Five Star Stadium.
 
With the loss, Samford fell to 0-6 overall and 0-4 in Southern Conference play. Mercer improved to 4-1 overall and 4-0 in league play.
 
"In the first half, Mercer just dominated us in the trenches," Samford head coach Chris Hatcher said. "We played soft all the way across the board. We had a hard time blocking them, we missed a lot of tackles on the defensive side of the ball. In the second half, we came out with some spunk about us. We started moving the ball well offensively. We played a little better on the defensive side of the ball. We had a chance to cut the lead a little closer and the guys didn't quit, which I am very proud of."
 
Freshman wide receiver Sam Pickett III caught three oases for 112 yards and a touchdown, while sophomore Preston Bird hauled in four passes for 78 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Brady Stober completed 14-of-22 passes for 234 yards and two touchdowns, mostly in the second half. Quincy Crittendon was 8-of-11 passing for 47 yards in the first half of the game. Running back Cam Bland rushed 11 times for 52 yards and a touchdown.
 
On the defensive side for the Bulldogs, Carson Sloan led the way with nine tackles. LaShon Young had seven tackles and one interception for the Samford defense.
 
For Mercer, quarterback Braden Atkinson completed 22-of-35 passes for 365 yards and five touchdowns. Drew Clare led the Mercer defense with 12 tackles.
 
After each team went three-and-out in their first offensive series, Mercer struck when Atkinson connected with Samuel Albee for a 64-yard touchdown pass to give the Bears a 7-0 lead with 12:18 to go in the first quarter. Mercer's Antonio Butts, Jr. scored on a one-yard run with 2:36 left in the opening quarter to push the Bears lead to 14-0.
 
In the second quarter, Atkinson hit Javarius George for a three-yard touchdown pass to make the score 21-0 with 11:09 left in the period. Atkinson connected with Brayden Smith for a seven-yard touchdown pass with 6:00 to go before halftime to push the Mercer lead to 28-0.
 
On the opening drive of the third quarter, Stober hit Bird for a 63-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 28-7 with 12:50 to go in the period. Mercer answered when Atkinson hit Smith for a 38-yard touchdown pass to make it 35-7 with 10:57 to go in the third quarter.
 
Atkinson connected with Ty Doughty for a 66-yard touchdown pass to push the lead to 42-7 with 5:30 left in the third. Samford's Bland scored on a 13-yard run to make it 42-14 with 2:44 remaining in the third quarter.
 
Stober connected with Pickett for a 77-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 42-21 with 11:29 left in the contest. Mercer's Reice Griffith kicked a 34-yard field goal with 5:36 to go to make the final score 45-21.
 
Samford will take the next week off from competition. The Bulldogs will next play at VMI on Saturday, Oct. 18. The game is set for a 12:30 p.m. (CT) start from Lexington, Va.


 
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