Football beats Samford in 69-14 rout

Tech kept their running game going as they scored nine rushing touchdowns against Samford this past weekend at home. The nine rushing touchdowns set a school record for a single game.

"I challenged our team to go out and set the tempo in the first 10 minutes of the ball game and I thought they did that," said Head Coach Chan Gailey.

Tech started off by holding Samford to a three and out on their first drive. Samford quarterback Jeff Adcock assisted the Jackets when he fumbled the second down snap for a 10 yard loss.

The ensuing Tech drive started with a screen pass to Tashard Choice from Taylor Bennett for 17 yards. Three plays later, Choice took a fourth down handoff nine yards for the score.

Samford went three and out on the following drive as the Jackets held them to just three yards. Tech fielded the punt at their 39. Bennett found fullback Mike Cox who took the ball 19 yards. The following play was a six yard run on a direct snap to Cox, a play they used liberally last week at Notre Dame with Choice.

The drive looked dead when Bennett was brought down at the line of scrimmage on third down, but a facemask personal foul on the defense gave the team new life at the Samford 10. Choice ran the ball three straight times for a total gain of nine yards. Tech decided not to settle for a field goal and made a play on fourth down for the third time, with Bennett running the ball in for a touchdown.

Gailey was hesitant to say if he would be so liberal with the fourth down attempts in a more critical game.

"I don't know. Fourth and 1? Probably, but fourth and 3? Maybe not," Gailey said.

Samford did not make much progress on their next drive but did manage a first down before punting the ball. Freshman Demaryius Thomas caught a pass over the middle for a twelve-yard gain. Choice found a hole up the middle and ran 73 yards for the score.

Samford was unable to score, with the Jackets stopping the Bulldogs on their next drive. Bennett faked a handoff on Tech's possession and handed to Jonathan Dwyer on a reverse. Dwyer rolled around to the left side and broke through the defenders for a forty yard touchdown. That was Tech's fourth rushing touchdown with a score of 28-0 at the end of the first quarter.

"[Dwyer has] good vision, he's powerful. He's got good speed and great instincts. That's a pretty good combination for a 225 pound guy," Gailey said.

Samford again went three and out, a short drive that showed off the Tech defensive line. Vance Walker sacked Jeffery Adcock for an 11 yard loss before Darrell Robertson stopped Chris Evans for a two yard gain. Tyler Evans returned the punt 13 yards after breaking a tackle near mid field.

Taylor Bennett went four out of four on the drive before throwing a lateral pass to receiver Greg Smith for the six yard scoring run. Tech went three and out on their next possession and called on Durant Brooks for the punt.

A 53 yard punt turned into a Samford fumble and Michael Johnson recovered on the Samford six yard line. Jamaal Evans ran for the score on the very next play.

Greg Smith finished the game with one catch for eight yards and a rush for six yards and a touchdown.

"It's great, anytime [Bennett] can get the ball around and get passes off it's a good thing. I feel like we didn't even show the world anything today, it was a real light [passing] day," Smith said.

Bennett finished the game 8-9 for 96 yards.

"I thought [Bennett] managed the game very well, was very accurate with his throws. I thought that was a real plus. We wanted to get some things going in the passing game, but we didn't have to use it," Gailey said.

The third quarter started with a 67 yard kickoff return by Correy Earls to the Samford 27. That set Dwyer up for four straight runs, including a 19 yard fourth down run that resulted in a touchdown.

Samford went three and out on their next possession as well, but this time Samford stopped Tech's drive at the Samford 14. Travis Bell connected on his first field goal attempt from 31 yards.

The next drive went similarly as Samford was stopped after gaining a first down. Tech's first play saw Dwyer ran the ball 65 yards for the touchdown.

Samford finally broke through on the following drive, going 62 yards in eight plays; the drive ended on a four yard Barnett run. Tech answered on their next drive when Jason Davis took a hand off and ran for a five yard touchdown.

"[Davis] busts his tail and gives our defense a look.... Coach Gailey stresses that all the time: everybody's important," said offensive coordinator John Bond.

The next drive saw Samford's Adcock hit receiver Jeff Moore for a 34 yard touchdown for Samford's other score before three scoreless possessions ended the game. Tech used 73 players in the game and six different players scored.