Bulldogs Use Strong Defensive Effort To Earn SoCon Road Win At Furman, 13-6

Saturday, October 24

Greenville, S.C.

1 PM

Samford University

2-6 , 2-3

Furman

2-6 , 1-3

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Samford	6	0	0	7	13
Furman	0	0	3	3	6

Game Notes Final Game Book (PDF)

10.24.26 | Football

Box Score Final Game Book (PDF)

GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Samford football team went on the road and came home with a key Southern Conference win at Furman, defeating the Paladins, 13-6, Saturday afternoon at Paladin Stadium.

"I'm proud of our guys," Samford head coach John Grass said. "This was a good road win. We finally got some breaks, we were plus in the (turnover) margin, we've been talking about that all year. A lot of guys made a lot of plays. Take your hat off to the defense, the defense is playing really, really well."

With the win, Samford improved its record to 2-6 overall and 2-3 in Southern Conference play. Furman fell to 2-6 overall and 1-3 in league play.

The Samford defense was the story of the day, holding Furman out of the end zone and forcing three turnovers. This marked the first time Samford has held a SoCon team without a touchdown since a 27-3 win over VMI in 2024.

Max Steve led Samford in tackles with 13, including seven solo stops, while also forcing a fumble. Maxton Woodward also had a forced fumble, while Noah Holton had a fumble recovery. Dylon Henderson and Jackson Bussey had an interception each for Samford.

For the Samford offense in the win, Gabarri Johnson completed 18-of-26 passes for 206 yards and one touchdown. Cayden Aukerman caught five passes for 68 yards and a touchdown. Ken Cherry rushed 15 times for 64 yards to lead Samford's running game.

For Furman, Connor Ackerley completed 15-of-25 passes for 216 yards and two interceptions. Raleigh Herbert led all players with 16 tackles, including 12 solo stops.

Samford took the lead on the opening drive of the game. The Bulldogs drove to the Furman two-yard-line and Ty Ippolito kicked a 22-yard field goal for a 3-0 Samford lead with 8:49 to go in the first quarter. Ippolito added a 42-yard field goal to push the Samford lead to 6-0 at the 34-second mark in the first period.

In the third quarter, Furman's Nathan Chapman kicked a 24-yard field goal to cut the Samford lead to 6-3 with 3:34 left in the period. With 11:12 to go in the fourth quarter, Chapman kicked a 37-yard field goal to knot the score at 6-6.

Late in the fourth quarter, with the score still tied at 6-6, Woodward forced a fumble and Holton recovered it giving Samford the ball at the Furman 11-yard line. Three plays later, Johnson hit Aukerman for a 14-yard touchdown pass to give Samford a 13-6 lead with 6:42 to go in the game.

Furman had two more possessions to tie the game, but the Samford defense held the Paladins both times to seal the Bulldogs' 13-6 win.

Next up, Samford will return home to play host to Wofford on Saturday, Oct. 31. The game is set for a 6 p.m. start from Pete Hanna Stadium.

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