CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. –  The Samford football team fell behind big, but fought back in the fourth quarter, but eventually dropped a 30-16 decision at Austin Peay Saturday afternoon at Fortera Stadium.
 
With the loss, Samford's record dropped to 1-10 on the season. Austin Peay improved to 7-4 with the win.
 
"I told the guys in the locker room, it really came down to about three critical plays," Samford interim head coach Scot Sloan said. "And in a football game, you never know when they're going to happen. It may happen in the first quarter, or it may happen at the end in a two-minute drive when the game's on the line. I thought our guys did fight. It was good to see us get the turnovers on defense and then for  the offense to get some points off of those turnovers."
 
For Samford in the loss, Brady Stober completed 29-of-41 passes for 266 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Stober also had one rushing touchdown. Calvin Jones caught 10 passes for 117 yards, while Sam Pickett III had nine catches for 70 yards. Preston Bird caught three passes for 46 yards and one touchdown.
 
Defensively for Samford, Carson Sloan had seven tackles. Jaden Mosley followed with six tackles and one fumble recovery. Luke Wattenbarger had an interception he returned 30 yards.
 
Austin Peay was led by Chris Parson, completing 16-of-30 passes for 265 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Nate Garnett Jr. caught two passes for 80 yards and a touchdown. Antori Hamilton led Austin Peay in tackles with six.
 
Austin Peay struck first when Parson hit Garnett for a 70-yard touchdown pass to give the Governors a 7-0 lead with 7:49 to go in the first quarter. APSU's Motreze Smith Jr. picked off a Samford pass and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown to make the score 14-0 with 5:11 left in the first period.
 
Samford got on the scoreboard late in the second quarter. Jake Garner kicked a 36-yard field goal to cut the lead to 14-3 with 1:14 left before halftime. Austin Peay's Carson Smith kicked a 50-yard field goal as time expired in the second period, sending the Governors to halftime with a 17-3 lead.
 
Austin Peay's Kaden Williams scored on an 11-yard run to push the lead to 24-3 with 12:52 to go in the third quarter. Smith kicked a 42-yard field goal with 8:21 left in the third quarter to make the score 27-3.
 
Wattenbarger intercepted an Austin Peay pass and returned it 30 yards to the Austin Peay one-yard-line. On the next play, Stober scored on a one-yard run and the two-point conversion was no good, cutting the lead to 27-9 with 9:27 to go in the game. Smith added a 42-yard field goal for Austin Peay to push the lead to 30-9 at the 6:13 mark in the fourth quarter.
 
Stober connected with Bird for a 10-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 30-16 with 3:13 to play. Following the touchdown, Samford recovered an on-side kick, giving the Bulldogs the ball at the Samford 47-yard line. Samford, however, was unable to score and the game ended in a 30-16 Austin Peay win.
 
Samford will wrap up the 2025 season with a game at third-ranked Texas A&M on Nov. 22. The game is set for an 11 a.m. start from Kyle Field.


 
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