BIRMINGHAM, Ala. –The Samford football team fell behind early and was never able to catch up in a 38-14 loss to ETSU in Samford's homecoming game Saturday afternoon at Pete Hanna Stadium.
"The first quarter looked like it was going to be worse than the final outcome of the ballgame," Samford head coach Chris Hatcher said. "They hit us with some explosive plays, they really had us schemed up in the first quarter. Then offensively, we had a nice drive, then, unfortunately, we had the double pass that got tipped that thwarted another touchdown opportunity. Right now, we haven't shown enough fire power offensively to overcome such a deficit."
 
With the loss, Samford fell to 1-9 overall and 1-7 in Southern Conference play. ETSU improved to 5-5 overall and 3-3 in league games.
 
Sam Pickett III caught three passes for 90 yards, while Calvin Jones had five catches for 54 yards and a touchdown. C.J. Evans also caught a touchdown pass for the Bulldogs. Quarterback Brady Stober completed 12-of-26 passes for 141 yards and a touchdown. Quincy Crittendon completed 9-of-12 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown.
 
For the Samford defense, Jaden Mosley had eight tackles, including seven solo stops. Carson Sloan tallied seven tackles, six solo for the Bulldogs.
 
For ETSU, Devontae Houston had 18 carries for 151 yards and two touchdowns. Jacolby Criswell completed 19-of-30 passes for 261 yards and two touchdowns. Xavier Gaillardetz caught three passes for 113 yard and a touchdown. For the ETSU defense, Dre Delinois had eight tackles, all solo.
 
ETSU scored on the opening drive of the game when Houston scored on a 45-yard run to give the Bucs a 7-0 lead with 13:40 to go in the first quarter. ETSU's Ephraim Floyd threw a touchdown pass for 70 yards on a flea-flicker to Gaillardetz to make the score 14-0 with 12:45 left in the first period.
 
Criswell hit Karim Page for a 26-yard touchdown pass to push the lead to 21-0 with 7:55 to go in the first quarter. Samford put its first points on the scoreboard when Crittendon hit Evans for a 20-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 21-7 with 3:01 left in the opening quarter. ETSU's Ewan Johnson kicked a 46-yard field goal to push the lead to 24-7 with 8:20 to go in the second quarter.
 
Criswell connected with Charlie Browder for a 10-yard touchdown pass with 12:39 to go in the third quarter to make the score 31-7. Houston scored on a 40-yard run to push the lead to 38-7 with 9:57 left in the third period. Stober hit Jones for a 25-yard touchdown pass to make the final score 38-14 with 4:55 to play.
 
Next week, Samford will go back on the road to play at Austin Peay on Saturday, Nov. 15. The game is set for a 1 p.m. start from Clarksville, Tenn.


 
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