Football Secures Winning Season With 30-7 Win At Chattanooga

Chris Evans set the school single-season rushing record with 1,284 yards for the season

Nov. 22, 2008

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The Samford football team secured its first winning season since 2003 with a 30-7 win at Chattanooga Saturday afternoon at Finley Stadium in the season finale for both teams. Samford ends the season with a record of 6-5 overall and 4-4 in Southern Conference play.

"This was a great win for us for all the right reasons," Samford head coach Pat Sullivan said. "With the way they won it and the way they've practiced, I couldn't be happier for our seniors."

Chris Evans rushed for 134 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries. With the performance, Evans broke the Samford single-season rushing record. Evans finishes with 1,284 yards, breaking the previous record of 1,270 yards set by Surkano Edwards in 1992.

Quarterback Dustin Taliaferro completed 13-of-18 passes for 190 yards and one touchdown. Harris Johnson caught five passes for 24 yards. Riley Hawkins had one reception for 65 yards and a touchdown.

Defensively, Rodney Shepherd led Samford with 12 tackles, including three sacks. Mark Brown had eight tackles and two sacks.

For Chattanooga, Sloan Allison completed 8-of-13 passes for 54 yards and two interceptions. Clint Woods caught five passes for 36 yards in the game.

Samford finishes the season tied for fourth in the Southern Conference after being picked to finish ninth out of nine teams in the league's preseason polls.

Samford struck first on the second play from scrimmage when Taliaferro hit Hawkins for a 65-yard touchdown with 14:06 to play in the first quarter. Bob Hooper's extra point attempt was blocked and Samford held a 6-0 lead.

Evans scored on a nine-yard run with 1:42 to go in the first quarter. Evans scored the two-point conversion to make the score 14-0. UTC's Erroll Wynn scored on a nine-yard run with 10:51 to go in the second quarter and Craig Camay added the PAT to cut the Samford lead to 14-7.

Evans scored his second touchdown of the day on a five-yard run with 7:14 to go in the second quarter and Hooper added the PAT to make the score 21-7. Hooper kicked a 29-yard field goal with 2:23 to go before halftime to give Samford a 24-7 lead.

Evans scored for a third time, this time on a six-yard run with 11:00 to go in the fourth quarter. The PAT attempt was no good to make the final score 30-7.

As a team, Samford outgained Chattanooga 359 to 196. Samford held the ball for 31:41 to UTC's 24:52.