8/3/2019 Entre Nous: Football layout

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Sports Raising the Bar 127

126 Sports Raising the Bar

Against All OddsFootball

All of the media didn'tgive us a chance, andwe ended up at 6-5.

Story: Shafiq IslamPhotos: Evan Chandlee, Julian Hollar

Layout: Lauren Sharpe

redshirt sophomore defensive lineman and exercise science majorPatrick Hatcher were named to First Team All-Conference, whileredshirt senior offensive lineman and biology major Mitchell Waters,junior defensive back and business major Andy Davis and sophomorelinebacker and physical education major Bryce Smith were named toSecond Team All-Conference.Evans was also named the teams offensive MVP. He finished the

season with 1,352 yards and 14 touchdowns and praises not himself,but his team for its effort. We just stuck to the same routine, Evanssaid. We watched films of the other teams games and players, wentto practices and did what we needed to get better. We dont believe inmoral victories, we just put it out on the field. The coaches did a great

job getting us prepared. We had a lot of motivation because a lot of people thought we wouldnt do well. We did a good job stepping up andcoming up with some wins. The inaugural season in the SoCon proved the Bulldogs staminaand potential. The Samford community as a whole was proud of theoutcome, and Sullivan said he cant thank the students, the faculty andthe fans enough for all their support. It means a lot more to our playersthan they know, and we hope to see them in the coming fall.

As the new team in the SoCon, the Bulldog football team hadthe odds against them. They werent expected to do well,much less compete. In fact, the Bulldogs were projected tofinish last and win only two games by the Preseason Coaches Poll.However, the Bulldogs defied the odds, tied for fifth and posed a

winning record of 6-5.It was a situation and an experience that was new for all of us, head

coach Pat Sullivan said. We had a chance to win and lose a lot of games. The intangibles, like the chemistry on the team, were really good. The leadership we got from our seniors was really excellent. Allof the media didnt give us a chance, and we ended up at 6-5. Thelevel of competition in the Southern Conference is really high, and this

season taught us that we can compete against the big teams.One of those big teams was the SECs Ole Miss. The Bulldogs openedtheir season with two non-conference home wins against West Georgiaand Faulkner before hitting the road to play the Rebels. The team saidthat if a few calls went differently, they could have held their ground inOxford. Even though the 10-34 loss wasnt as close as they would haveliked, the game gave them confidence for the rest of the season. While the Ole Miss game was key, senior linebacker and fitness andhealth promotion major Rodney Shepherd thought the games againstElon and Western Carolina were big statements. The Bulldogs fell toeighth-ranked Elon, 17-23, and beat Western Carolina by a margin of 15 points, 21-6.

Western Carolina was one of the teams that scheduled us to be aHomecoming game, defensive MVP Shepherd said. They came intothe game thinking it would be an easy g ame, but we came out with a big

win. With Elon, even though we lost, we were still motivated becausethey were second in the conference, and we felt like we could hang withthe big teams after that. And hang they did. When three-time defending national champions

Appalachian State came to visit, the Bulldogs proved the SoCon to betheir stomping ground. Playing in front of a record crowd of 10,670,Seibert Stadiums third largest in history, the Bulldogs battled the

Mountaineers until the final quarter. The game was closer than the 24-35 score showed. The Furman game was even closer. The Paladins won the previousfour match-ups between the schools, and the Bulldogs fought to endthe streak. Having battled back with 20 points in the fourth quarteralone, the Bulldogs walked away heartbroken, losing 28-27 afterredshirt sophomore and political science major John Paul Fraites extrapoint attempt was blocked with less than two minutes left in the game. The team as a whole contributed to the success, but some playersfinished with added honors. Freshman quarterback and business majorDustin Taliaferro was named SoCon Freshman of the Year. Redshirtsophomore running back and pre-pharmacy major Chris Evans and

Patrick Hatcher Brock Johnson

Chris Evans

Harris Johnson

Kanon Burt

Keith Jones, Thomas Gray, Dustin Taliaferro

Football 5.2..09.indd 2-3 5/2/09 12:57 PM