Samford 17, Chattanooga 14 (OT)
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—Samford redshirt freshman place-kicker Warren Handrahan kicked a 43-yard field goal in overtime to lift the Bulldog football team to a 17-14 win over 17th-ranked Chattanooga in Samford’s Homecoming game Saturday afternoon at Seibert Stadium.
After Handrahan’s kick, the Samford defense held Chattanooga to a field goal try on its overtime possession. The attempt by Nick Pollard, however, hit the left upright, ending the game in a three-point Samford win.
With the win, Samford improves to 7-4 overall and 5-2 in Southern Conference play. Chattanooga drops to 8-3 overall and 6-2 in league play. If Samford can pull out a win next Saturday against Elon, the Bulldogs would earn a share of the Southern Conference championship.
For Samford offensively, Andy Summerlin completed 13-of-23 passes for 199 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Karel Hamilton caught six passes for 83 yards and a touchdown. Chris Cephus caught one pass for a 92-yard score in the third quarter. Jeremiaha Gates led the Samford running game with 12 rushes for 65 yards.
Defensively for Samford, Jaquiski Tartt tied a career high with 17 tackles. Bobby Wilson and Justin Shade had 11 tackles each, and Shade had 2.0 sacks. Jeremy Towns and Trey Wesley had nine stops apiece, and Brandon Wilkinson had 1.5 sacks. Punter Greg Peranich punted six times for an average of 49.7 yards per kick.
For Chattanooga, Jacob Huesman completed 28-of-34 passes for 265 yards and one touchdown. He was sacked five times by the Samford defense. Marquis Green caught six passes for 60 yards. Tommy Hudson had six catches for 45 yards, while Faysal Shafaat caught six passes for 41 yards and a touchdown.
The teams fought to a scoreless tie for all of the first quarter and most of the second quarter. Chattanooga had a chance to take the lead first, but Pollard’s 45-yard field goal attempt with 8:30 left in the second quarter was no good. Samford put the first points on the scoreboard when Summerlin hit Hamilton for a six-yard touchdown with 5:05 to go in the second quarter. The score gave the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead.
Samford added to its lead when Summerlin hit Cephus for a 92-yard touchdown with 7:04 to go in the third quarter. The play pushed Samford’s lead to 14-0. The play was the longest play from scrimmage by the Samford offense this season.
On Chattanooga’s ensuing drive, the Mocs drove to the Samford 15-yard line. However, on a 4th-and-six play, the Samford defense stopped Chattanooga for just a two-yard gain to the 13-yard line, and Samford took over from there.
Chattanooga scored its first points when Wes Dothard picked off a Summerlin pass and returned it 70 yards for a touchdown with 13:07 to go in the fourth quarter. The touchdown cut the Samford lead to 14-7.
The Mocs tied the score with just under five minutes to play in the fourth quarter. Huesman hit Shafaat for a three-yard score to make the score 14-14 with 4:59 to go. Neither team was able to score for the remainder of regulation, with the game heading to overtime knotted at 14-14.
As a team, Samford finished with 311 yards of total offense, while Chattanooga had 406 total yards. Chattanooga held the ball for 37:32 of the game, compared to Samford’s 22:28 total time of possession. The Bulldogs were 7-of-15 on third-down conversions, and the Mocs were 8-of-17.
Georgia Southern 38, Elon 20
ELON, N.C. -- Playing its final home game of the 2013 season, the Elon football team honored 10 seniors prior to the game, but saw visiting Georgia Southern spoil the festivities in a 38-20 contest from Rhodes Stadium on Saturday evening.
Elon (2-8, 1-6 Southern Conference) jumped out to a 6-0 lead midway through the first quarter after John Gallagher booted field goals of 44 and 24 yards. The maroon and gold racked up 171 total offensive yards in the first 15 minutes of play, including 105 yards on 13 carries in the period.
Georgia Southern (6-4, 4-4) grabbed the lead with 2:09 left in the first quarter on a 53-yard dash by Kevin Ellison. The score came on just the second play of a drive that began at the GSU 43 following an Elon punt.
The Eagles stretched their advantage to 17-6 thanks to a two-yard TD run by Irving Huggins and a 49-yard field goal off the foot of Younghoe Koo.
With GSU up 31-6 late in the third quarter, Elon struck for six on a 23-yard pass from Mike Quinn to Kierre Brown. The Phoenix began that drive at the Elon 47 following Brown's kickoff return of 47 yards. Elon moved to the Eagles' 47 after connections of six and five yards to Doug Warrick and B.J. Bennett, respectively. On third-and-six at the 38, Quinn hit Brown for a 15-yard gain and a first down. The next play saw Quinn drop back and loft a perfectly placed ball to the end zone where Brown snared his second TD of the year.
Elon later added a final touchdown when John Loughery tossed a 27-yard pass to Demitri Allison late in the fourth quarter. The TD was the first for both Loughery and Allison.
Defensively, John Silas posted a career-high 14 tackles to lead all players, while Jonathan Spain made 12 stops, including a sack for the Phoenix. Spain now has 238 career tackles, good enough to rate sixth on Elon's FCS top-10 chart. Tony Thompson also posted a personal-best in the tackles category, making eight stops in his final game in Rhodes Stadium.
Quinn finished the game with 197 passing yards and one TD on 22 completions. Brown lead all receivers with six catches for 54 yards. Brown accounted for 193 all-purpose yards as he added 136 yards on kick returns and three yards on punt returns.
Furman 32, Western Carolina 20
CULLOWHEE, N.C. -- Ray Early booted a Furman single-game record six field goals and quarterback Richard Hayes III rushed for a career-best 144 yards and a touchdown to lift the Paladins to a 32-20 victory over Western Carolina in Southern Conference football action on Saturday at E.J. Whitmire Stadium.
Early connected on field goals of 48, 24, 40, and 39 yards in the first half to give the Paladins a 12-7 lead and booted field goals from 30 and 32 yards in the second half to power Furman (6-5, 5-2 SoCon) to its fourth straight league victory.
Furman will play for a share of the Southern Conference championship next Saturday when it entertains Wofford at noon in Paladin Stadium.
Hayes, the Paladins' freshman backup signal caller, rushed 12 times for his 144 yards — the second highest rushing tally in school history by a quarterback. His 54-yard run in the first half set up a field goal, and his 60-yard scoring burst in the third quarter gave Furman a 26-17 lead after Western Carolina (2-9, 1-6 SoCon) had narrowed the advantage to 19-17.
The victory was Furman's seventh straight over Western Carolina and fourth consecutive triumph in Cullowhee.
Early's six field goals topped the previous Furman record five field goals by Glen Connally versus East Tennessee State in 1990. In accounting for 20 of the Paladins' 32 points, the senior from Darlington, S.C., climbed from sixth to fourth on Furman's career scoring chart (233 points). He also deposited seven of his nine kickoffs into the end zone and averaged 41.3 yards on three punts.
It was all Early in the first half as his four field goals staked Furman to a 12-0 lead.
Western Carolina cut it to 12-7 with a Darius Ramsey 1-yard plunge and extra point with eight minutes remaining in the first half.
The Paladins found the end zone for the first time on the first possession of the second half, converting three third down plays on a 10-play, 60-yard drive. Fullback Ernie Cain covered the final two yards with a run off left tackle to stretch the lead to 19-7.
The Catamounts answered on their next two possessions with a Richard Sigmon 22-yard field goal and 55-yard touchdown strike from quarterback Eddie Sullivan to Karnorris Benson to slice the Paladins' advantage to 19-17.
Furman countered quickly, however, behind Hayes, who took the first snap on the ensuing possession and bolted 60 yards up the middle to the end zone to make it 26-17.
Sigmon's 29-yard field goal pulled the Catamounts to within 26-20, but after Early responded with his fifth field goal of the contest, from 30 yards, Furman's defense stepped up with a stop, taking over on downs at the Paladin 46 with 5:32 remaining.
From that point Furman's offense ground out yards and clock, moving 39 yards to the Western Carolina 15 to set up Early's school record boot from 32 yards with 2:04 remaining in the contest.
Western Carolina registered 48 yards on the their final possession to claim a 434-412 advantage in total offense.
The Paladins rushed for a season high 268 yards with Hank McCloud following Hayes with 18 rushes for 87 yards. Starting quarterback Reese Hannon completed 17 of 31 passes for 144 yards. His favorite target was Jordan Snellings, who registered a career high six catches for 44 yards.
Jairus Hollman led Furman defensively with eight tackles, a sack, a forced fumble, and a pass deflection.
The SoCon leader and ranked 12th nationally in turnover margin entering the contest, Furman played miscue free ball offensively and collected two Catamount fumble recoveries to up its turnover differential to +11 (25 gained, 14 lost).
Appalachian State 33, Wofford 21
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford football team was defeated 33-21 by Appalachian State on Saturday afternoon at Gibbs Stadium. The Terriers had a 14-10 lead at the half, but 23 straight points in the second half by the Mountaineers put the game away.
The Terriers are now 5-5 and 4-3 in the Southern Conference. Appalachian State is 3-8 overall and 3-4 in the SoCon. Wofford was led by Jonny Martin with 66 rushing yards and a touchdown. Evan Jacks started at quarterback and had 63 rushing yards, along with 3-of-5 passing for 22 yards. The Mountaineers were led by Marcus Cox with 119 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Tony Washington added 138 receiving yards and a touchdown.
The Mountaineers had the ball to open the game and picked up three first downs. On fourth-and-one, Tony Washington caught a 13-yard pass from a touchdown. The Mountaineers led 7-0 at 10:21 in the first quarter. Wofford used a 30-yard run by Will Gay to set-up a 5-yard touchdown run by Donovan Johnson to tie the game at 7-7 with 7:29 on the clock.
Appalachian State gained three first downs before punting, which was downed at the one-yard line. The Terriers drove down the field in 13 plays and scored on a 2-yard run by Jonny Martin for a 14-7 lead at 12:23 in the second quarter. The Mountaineers answered with a 20-yard field goal to cut the score to 14-10 with 7:43 left in the quarter. Wofford attempted a 37-yard field goal with 1:13 left in the first half, but it was wide right. Appalachian State did not gain a first down before the half ended.
To open the second half, the Terriers gained one first down before punting. The Mountaineers regained the lead on a one-yard touchdown run by Marcus Cox for a 17-14 advantage with 9:29 left in the third quarter. Wofford was forced three-and-out and punted on their next drive. Appalachian State moved down the field with four first downs, but had to settle for a 30-yard field goal to push the lead to 20-14 at the 2:11 mark of the third quarter.
The Terriers converted a fourth-and-two deep in their own territory, but Michael Weimer fumbled and it was recovered by Adam Scott of Appalachian State at the 17-yard line. The Mountaineers converted the turnover into points on a 3-yard touchdown run by Marcus Cox for a 26-14 lead at 13:49 in the fourth quarter after the failed two-point conversion attempt. Wofford then went three-and-out and punted. Appalachian State then converted two fourth downs on the way to a two-yard touchdown run by Marcus Cox to make it a 33-14 game with 5:43 remaining, as the drive consumed over seven minutes.
On the next drive by Wofford, a 49-yard pass reception by Wade Francis from Michael Weimer on fourth-and-34 set up a one-yard touchdown run by Lorenzo Long. The score was 33-21 with 2:55 left on the clock. The on-side kick was recovered by the Mountaineers. They gained one first down and were able to run out the clock.
Wofford had 345 total yards, with 254 on the ground. Appalachian State had 445 total yards, 305 of which were passing. Wofford had 17 first downs, while Appalachian State had 26. Wofford was 10-of-16 on third downs and 2-of-2 on fourth downs. Appalachian State was 10-of-17 on third down and 3-of-3 on fourth down. Wofford had six penalties and Appalachian State had four. Appalachian State had a commanding 37:00 to 23:00 time of possession advantage.
The Citadel 31, VMI 10
CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel exploded for 21 points in the fourth quarter to seal a 31-10 win over VMI and maintain possession of the coveted Silver Shako trophy for the seventh consecutive time in the Military Classic of the South on Saturday at Johnson Hagood Stadium.
The Citadel won its third consecutive game to improve to 5-6, while VMI drops to 2-9 on the season.
Ben Dupree rushed for two of his three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, while Dalton Trevino capped off the scoring with a five-yard run late in the fourth quarter to keep the trophy the Bulldogs' hands for a 10th straight year.
In their final game at Johnson Hagood Stadium, Darien Robinson and Dupree rushed for 115 and 109 yards, respectively, marking the fifth time that the duo has surpassed the century mark in the same game.
Robinson, who posted the 13th 100-yard game of his career and fourth of the season, moved past Andrew Johnson for fourth in career rushing yards and tied the same former Bulldog in career 100-yard games. The McKeesport, Pa., native has now rushed for 2,890 yards in his career and needs 110 to become just the fourth rusher in Bulldog history to surpass the 3,000-yard mark for his career.
With 79 yards next week, Robinson will become the second player in school history with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, joining Jack Douglas (1991-92).
Dupree, who extended his SoCon scoring lead with 108 points, has now rushed for 18 touchdowns on the year and is one shy of tying the single-season Citadel record set by Tory Cooper in 2007. His 36 career touchdowns move him past Everette Sands for second place, and he trails only Douglas, who accounted for 50 rushing touchdowns between 1989-92.
Trailing 10-7 at halftime, Thomas Warren evened the game at 10 in the third quarter on a 34-yard field goal to begin a run of 24 unanswered points in the second half.
Dupree broke the 10-10 tie early in the fourth quarter when he capped a 15-play, 87-yard drive with an eight-yard touchdown run after a Robinson touchdown rush was called back for an illegal block.
Three plays later, Sadath Jean-Pierre stepped in front of an A.J. Augustine pass to record his first career interception and put the Bulldogs in great field position at the VMI 27 with 11:12 left to play.
A pass interference call against the Keydets in the end zone gave The Citadel the ball with a first-and-goal at the 10. Dupree used just one play to find the end zone for the third time and give his team a 24-10 lead with 10:22 remaining.
The defense stymied VMI with consecutive sacks by Mark Thomas and Derek Douglas, respectively, on third and fourth down to give the ball back to the Bulldogs at the 50 with eight minutes left to play.
The stingy Citadel defense allowed fewer than 100 rushing yards for the third consecutive game and accounted for seven sacks, the most since recording the same number against Chowan in the 2010 opener. The record in one game is eight accomplished three times, most recently against VMI in 2005.
Douglas now has 16 career sacks, moving the senior into sole possession of fifth place in school history, and 38.5 tackles for loss which is good for sixth. He will have the opportunity to jump as high as third in sacks next week with one more and move into fifth in tackles for loss with just a half against Clemson.
Justin Oxendine accounted for 1.5 sacks, giving him 3.5 on the season, while Thomas now has four on the year. James Riley and Ian Thompson also took down the quarterback once, and Mitchell Jeter assisted on a sack with Oxendine.
In his two-year career, Thomas has recorded 9.5 sacks on only 23 tackles.
The Bulldogs used 3:24 to drive 40 yards culminating with the game's final score on a five-yard touchdown run by Trevino, his second of the season.
A final VMI drive that ended with another turnover on downs was followed by a series of quarterback kneel downs, closing out the Bulldogs' 37th win over their military rival. The rivalry will continue next season in Lexington, Va., when they meet as SoCon foes for the first time since 2002.
Both teams exchanged long drives to open the game, but a missed field goal by each kicker left the game scoreless at the end of the first quarter with VMI back on the move. Keydet kicker Dillon Christopher was successful on a 38-yarder on the first play of the second quarter to give VMI a 3-0 lead.
Dupree led his team down the field on the ensuing drive with a 21-yard rush and two completions to senior Matt Thompson and capped the six minute, 14 second drive with a four-yard touchdown.
The senior signal caller was 3-of-8 passing for 55 yards including a 41-yarder to Vinny Miller on what was originally designed as a running play.
The Keydets scored their lone touchdown just before the half on a 27-yard Augustin pass to James Rogers to put VMI up 10-7 at the break. Augustine finished the game with 189 yards on 17-of-25 passing.
The game was the 100th covering nine seasons as head coach of the Bulldogs for Kevin Higgins and the 99th win of his career in 16 seasons overall.