SAMFORD 37, MILES COLLEGE 7
The Samford football team opened the 2006 season with a 37-7 win over Miles College in front of 10,386 fans, the third-largest crowd in Seibert Stadium history.
For Samford, Jeff Moore caught three passes for 105 yards and a touchdown while Joe Jones caught five passes for 88 yards and a touchdown. Dante Williams completed 9-of-15 passes for 135 yards and a touchdown, while Jefferson Adcock completed 10-of-14 passes for 141 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.
Samford (1-0) jumped ahead early, scoring a touchdown on its first possession when Jefferson Adcock hit Joe Jones on a 38-yard touchdown with 13:20 to go in the first quarter. The point-after by Shannon Fleming gave Samford an early 7-0 lead. Justin Ray scored on a five-yard run with 5:32 to go in the opening quarter and Fleming’s PAT made the score 14-0.
Miles (0-1) got on the scoreboard with a touchdown at the 5:45 mark in the second quarter. Joseph Moncur scored on a 14-yard run. The PAT by Justin Madison cut the Samford lead to 14-7. Fleming connected on a 23-yard field goal with 1:01 to go in the second quarter to push the Samford lead to 17-7. The teams went to halftime with Samford holding a 17-7 advantage.
Samford’s Dante Williams hit Jeff Moore on a 53-yard touchdown pass with 6:15 to go in the third quarter for the first points of the second half. Fleming’s extra point increased Samford’s lead to 24-7. Fleming added a 42-yard field goal with 2:05 left in the third quarter to make the score 27-7.
The Bulldogs made the score 30-7 when Fleming booted a 22-yard field goal with 10:32 remaining in the fourth quarter. Alex Mortensen hit Jonathan Lowery on an eight-yard touchdown pass with 1:47 to go in the game. Fleming’s PAT made the final score 37-7.
CHATTANOOGA 31, TENNESSEE TECH 7
The Chattanooga Mocs scored three times on long touchdown runs en route to posting a 31-7 non-conference victory Thursday night over Tennessee Tech in Tucker Stadium in the season opener for both schools.
UTC senior Eldra Buckley, who rushed for 204 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries, broke free on TD scampers of 76 and 63 yards in the first half, and Erroll Wynn added a 52-yard run in the fourth quarter as UT rushed for 336 yards in the game.
After Buckley's 63-yard run to open the scoring, Tech drove 80 yards in 11 plays and Anthony Ash scored on an 11-yard run to tie the score at 7-7 with 8:23 to play in the first quarter.
Buckley capped a 52-yard drive with an 11-yard run for a 14-7 Moc lead, and he exploded for a 76-yard score later in the second period to make it 21-7.
Esteban Lopez kicked a 30-yard field goal in the third quarter to make it a 24-7 lead, and Wynn's run finished the scoring.
Tech finished with 165 yards of total offense while UTC had 434 yards.
Redshirt freshman Aaron Williams led Tech's defense with a 10 tackles in his first career action, while senior Craig Simonton had nine stops and Geoffrey Woods had eight.