SPARTANBURG, S.C. –The Samford football team dropped a hard-fought Southern Conference game at Wofford, 26-16, Saturday afternoon at Gibbs Stadium.
The Samford defense had a strong showing, limiting Wofford to just 191 yards, while Samford's offensive produced 351 yards. The Samford offense, however, turned the ball over four times in the game, including two pick-sixes, which was just too much to overcome.
"Defensively, we played outstanding," Samford head coach Chris Hatcher said. "I think they maybe got three points on us defensively. We went into the game knowing they had struggled to move the ball, but defensively, they had been very opportunistic and they had scored a lot of touchdowns defensively and we gave them some. We had four turnovers, and I think the one that really got us was the one at the beginning of the third quarter. Our lack of ability to sustain drives offensively, something that has plagued us all season, really got us today."
With the loss, Samford fell to 1-8 overall and 1-6 in Southern Conference play. Wofford improved to 3-6 overall and 2-3 in league play.
Samford was led offensively by wide receiver
Calvin Jones with nine catches for 126 yards and one touchdown.
Sam Pickett III had seven catches for 63 yards for the Bulldogs. Quarterback
Quincy Crittendon completed 19-of-25 passes for 219 yards.
Charlie Gilliam completed 15-of-25 passes for 113 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions.
Defensively for Samford,
Donovan Grayson had 11 tackles, including five solo stops and 3.5 sacks.
Jaden Mosley and
Carson Sloan had nine tackles each.
Nahil Perkins had an interception for the Bulldogs.
For Wofford, Ihson Jackson-Anderson rushed 16 times for 85 yards, while Gerald Modest Jr. had 15 rushes for 55 yards and a touchdown. Maximus Pulley had two interceptions for the Wofford defense, while Kade Moledor and Eli Campbell had one interception each.
Samford scored on its opening drive of the game to take an early lead. Gilliam hit Jones for a two-yard touchdown pass to give the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead with 11:49 to go in the first quarter. On Samford's second drive of the game, Wofford's Pulley intercepted a Gilliam pass and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown to tie the score at 7-7 with 9:51 left in the first period.
Pulley picked off another Samford pass on the next Bulldog drive, giving Wofford the ball at the Samford 17-yard line. Three plays later, Modest scored on a five-yard run to give Wofford a 14-7 lead with 8:50 left in the opening period. Samford's Perkins intercepted a Wofford pass, giving Samford the ball at the Wofford two-yard line. Three plays later,
Jake Garner kicked a 23-yard field goal to cut the lead to 14-10 with 3:46 to go in the first quarter.
On Samford's first offensive drive of the third quarter, Campbell intercepted a pass and returned it 42 yards for a touchdown to make it 21-10 with 12:46 left in the third period. Garner kicked a 25-yard field goal to cut the lead to 21-13 with 9:26 left in the third. Garner then added a 30-yard field goal to make it 21-16 at the 4:13 mark in the third quarter.
Wofford's Brandon Maina sacked Crittendon in the end zone for a safety to push the Terriers' lead to 23-16 with 1:01 left in the third quarter. Wofford's Sam Spence kicked a 25-yard field goal with 11:26 to go in the game to make the score 26-16.
Next up, Samford will return home to play host to ETSU on Saturday, Nov. 8. The game is set for a 2:30 p.m. start from Pete Hanna Stadium.
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