Posted by Joey Mullins on 2007-08-13

The defense highlighted the Samford football team's first scrimmage held Saturday, August 11 at Seibert Stadium.

"The defense creating turnovers and our kicking game, I thought, were the highlights of the day," Samford head coach Pat Sullivan said. "The negative part was the offense turning the ball over. We are not ready to play a game yet, but we have two and a half weeks to get ready. We were a little sluggish getting started, but I thought we saw some really positive things."

Jeremy Richardson, Sean Hill, Kyle Morton, C.J. Brown and Andy Davis each came up with an interception for the Bulldog defense. Hill also recovered a fumble late in the scrimmage.

"Defense is where it all starts," Sullivan said. "We have to be good on defense if we are going to have a chance to win."

Offensively, running back Chris Evans rushed eight times for 80 yards on the day. Evans also had a 70-yard kickoff return during the scrimmage. Freshman place-kicker Mark Prevost connected on 3-of-4 field goals. Prevost made field goals from 31, 20 and 30 yards out.

"I thought Chris Evans had a heck of a day for us," Sullivan said. "Our kickers did a good job, which was something that concerned me in the spring."

Starting quarterback Jefferson Adcock completed 11-of-17 passes for 94 yards on the day. Freshman Richie Fordham completed 4-of-6 passes for 21 yards. Jeff Moore caught three passes for 26 yards, and Jonathan Lowery had three catches for 18 yards. Freshman Ryan McDaniel had two catches for 63 yards, one catch going for 47 yards from Alex Mortensen.

"We turned the ball over too many times today," Adcock said. "We just need to be mentally focused on every play. We need to keep working and keep getting better."

The Bulldogs practiced again Sunday afternoon and will practice twice today.

Samford opens the 2007 season on Thursday, Aug. 30, when the Bulldogs play host to West Alabama. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. kickoff.

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.