Nov. 12, 2005

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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Jacksonville State's Gavin Slaughter intercepted a pass and returned it 54 yards for a touchdown with 4:27 to go in the game to lift the Gamecocks to a 26-20 win over Samford in Ohio Valley Conference football action Saturday afternoon at Seibert Stadium.

"I am very proud of our football team," Samford head coach Bill Gray said. "We showed a lot of heart. Even with the mistakes we made, we still had a chance to be in there at the end."

For Samford, Jefferson Adcock completed 23-of-42 passes for 321 yards and two touchdowns. David Lee caught six passes for 89 yards. Cortland Finnegan led the team in tackles with 10. As a team, the Bulldogs committed six turnovers in the game.

Samford struck first when Adcock hit Jeff Moore on a 20-yard touchdown with 8:22 to go in the first quarter. Shannon Fleming added the PAT to give the Bulldogs an early 7-0 lead. Jacksonville State answered on its next drive when Ty Griswold scored on a one-yard run. The PAT was no good, and Samford held on to a 7-6 lead. JSU added one more first quarter score when Raynodd Zeine scored on an eight-yard score with 1:09 left in the opening period. Brett Rushing made the PAT to give the Gamecocks a 13-7 lead.

Samford came back to take the lead when Adcock connected with Justin Ray for a 25-yard touchdown pass with 10:46 to go before halftime. Fleming's extra point was good to give Samford a 14-13 lead. Maurice Mullins scored on a one-yard run for the Gamecocks with 4:31 to go before halftime, and Rushing's PAT gave JSU a 20-14 lead.

Samford opened the scoring in the second half when Fleming connected on a 23-yard field goal with 8:06 to go in the third quarter to cut the JSU lead to 20-17. Fleming added another field goal with 2:12 to go in the third quarter, this time from 42-yards out to tie the score at 20-20.

The game ends the 2005 season for Samford. The Bulldogs finish with a record of 5-6 overall and 4-4 in the OVC.