On a day in which multiple players etched their names into both school and conference record books, Samford was able to put together a well-rounded performance to secure a victory against the Furman Paladins by a score of 38-25 this past Saturday.
The Bulldogs were able to put together 479 yards of total offense against the Paladins. A large amount of that sum came by way of senior quarterback Devlin Hodges, who completed 40 of his 52 pass attempts for 402 yards and two touchdowns, adding another score on the ground. In the running game, Hodges also contributed heavily, carrying the ball for 45 yards and his lone touchdown score. Senior Roland Adams added 21 yards on the ground for the Bulldogs.
With Hodges’ successful day through the air, the senior from Kimberly, Alabama became the SoCon’s all time leader in passing yards, breaking the previous record of 13,264 held by Scott Riddle from Elon in 2007-2010. Hodges also broke the SoCon and FCS career record for career completions with 1,168. His 402 yards marked the tenth time in his career that he has reached 400 passing yards in a game, extending his SoCon record.
In the receiving game, senior Kelvin McKnight hauled in seven catches for 106 yards. Sophomore receiver Jai’Rus Creamer had eight catches for 103 yards and a touchdown score. Junior Chris Shelling also added six catches for 48 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively for the Bulldogs, senior Ahmad Gooden had a dominant day, registering nine tackles, four tackles for loss, and two sacks. Gooden also recovered a fumble and took it 58 yards for a touchdown. Junior William Bryant, senior Aaron Harris, and sophomore Tre’Shun Floyd all had eight tackles on the day for the Bulldogs, who held Furman to a total of 370 yards in the day.
Coach Hatcher really liked what he saw out of his team’s performance, especially on the defensive side of the ball.
“Those guys on that side of the ball played outstanding,” Hatcher said in a interview with Samford Athletics. “The spark we needed was the fumble return by Ahmad Gooden, and that got us rolling. Then the offense got on fire and started moving.”
He was also proud of the way his team stayed in the game even when they trailed midway through the third quarter.
“We persevered through some tough times today, but we played well enough to win on the road, and in this conference that is very difficult to do,” Hatcher said.
With the win, the Bulldogs improve to 4-4 (3-2 SoCon). Samford will have a bye week this upcoming weekend before returning home to face Wofford on Nov. 3.for homecoming weekend.
[Photo courtesy of Kevin Young]
Collin is a sports writer for The Crimson. He is a senior finance major.
