Samford Football defeated #7 Mercer, 55-35

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. –The Samford football team used big plays on both sides of the ball to earn an impressive 55-35 victory over the seventh-ranked Mercer Bears on Saturday afternoon at Seibert Stadium.

“It’s always good to win,” said Samford head coach Chris Hatcher said. “When you beat an opponent from the top 10, that’s particularly nice. I am very proud of our football team. There were a lot of momentum changes, especially in the third quarter, and we came out strong, especially on defense. “We forced a lot of turnovers on that side of the ball and scored a lot of points, and when you defend like that, you always have one Chance.”

With the win, Samford improved to 3-3 overall and 2-1 in Southern Conference play. Mercer lost 6-1 overall and 3-1 in SoCon play. The game marked the first time Samford scored 50 points against a Southern Conference team since a 50-44 overtime win over Mercer in 2022. Prior to Saturday’s game, Mercer had allowed just 46 points in their last six games combined.

For the game for Samford, Quincy Crittendon completed 23 of 37 passes for a career-high 378 yards and four touchdowns. The four touchdown passes all came in the first quarter, setting a Southern Conference record for touchdown passes in a quarter.

DJ Rias caught eight passes for 61 yards and two touchdowns. E. Jai Mason And Ian Cousin also caught touchdown passes for the Bulldogs. Damonta Witherspoon ran for 47 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries.

Defensively for Samford, Noah Martin led the team with 10 tackles, along with a fumble recovery and an interception returned 26 yards for a touchdown. Gavin Morris Recovered a fumble and returned it 55 yards for a score. Jaden Mosley also had an interception to go along with his six tackles.

For Mercer, DJ Smith completed 17 of 28 passes for 263 yards and a touchdown. Kelin Parsons caught 11 passes for 106 yards, leading all receivers. Dwayne McGee rushed for two touchdowns for the Bears. Myles Redding led the Mercer defense with eight tackles and two interceptions.

On Samford’s first drive of the game, Crittendon hit Rias for a 15-yard touchdown pass and Wilson Beaverstock added the extra point to give Samford a 7-0 lead with 12:15 left in the first quarter. About Mercer’s subsequent possession, Samford’s Dontae Pollard recovered a Mercer fumble at the Bears’ 15-yard line. On the next play, Crittendon hit Rias for another 15-yard score and Beaverstock kicked the PAT for a 14-0 Bulldogs lead with 11:32 left in the first period.

On Mercer’s next drive, Samford’s Mosley intercepted a pass from Mercer and Samford took over at the Mercer 26-yard line. Three plays later, Crittendon hit Mason for a 24-yard touchdown and Beaverstock’s PAT gave Samford the lead with 10:59 left in the first quarter. On the first play of Samford’s next drive, Crittendon hit Cousin for a 77-yard touchdown pass and Beaverstock added the PAT for a 28-0 Samford lead with 8:25 left in the first quarter.

Mercer put its first points on the scoreboard when quarterback Smith scored on a one-yard run and Reice Griffith added the extra point to cut the lead to 28-7 with 18 seconds left in the first period. With 4:22 left in the second quarter, Witherspoon scored on a two-yard run and Beaverstock added the PAT for a 35-7 Samford lead. Samford added another score in the first half when Witherspoon scored on a one-yard run and Beaverstock’s PAT headed into the locker room at halftime made it 42-7.

Mercer scored on its first drive of the third quarter when McGee scored on a one-yard run and Griffith added the PAT to cut the Samford lead to 42-14 with 11:38 left in the third period. Late in the third quarter, Mercers Redding intercepted a pass from Samford at the 50-yard line and returned it to the Samford two-yard line. On the next play, McGee scored on a two-yard run and Griffith added the PAT to make the score 42-21 with 5:38 left in the third quarter.

With 2:25 left in the third quarter, Mercer’s Smith hit Samuel Albee for a five-yard touchdown and Griffith kicked the PAT to cut the Samford lead to 42-28.

With 11:43 left in the fourth quarter, Samford’s Morris returned a Mercer fumble 55 yards for a touchdown, but the PAT was no good as Samford extended its lead to 48-28. Samford’s Martin intercepted a pass from Mercer and returned it 26 yards for a touchdown, and Beaverstock added the PAT to extend Samford’s lead to 55-28 with 6:33 to play. Mercer added a final score when Whitt Newbauer hit Brayden Smith for a five-yard touchdown with 1:42 left and Griffith added the PAT to make the final score 55-35.

Next week, Samford travels to Charleston, SC to take on the Citadel Bulldogs. The game is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m. CT at Johnson Hagood Stadium.

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