The Samford defense had an impressive showing in the Bulldog football team’s first scrimmage of fall practice Saturday morning at Seibert Stadium.

“I thought we saw some good things today,” Samford head coach Pat Sullivan said. “I think the defense is a little ahead of the offense right now. The offense had a couple of key players out in Riley Hawkins and Brock Johnson, but don’t take anything away from the defense, they played well.”

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In the first half of the scrimmage, the defense had three sacks, with Jeremy Towns, Patrick Hatcher and Erik Peterson each producing a sack. In the second half, Seth Harkness and Mason Wald had an interception each. For the entire scrimmage, the defense kept the offense out of the end zone.

“The defense ran to the ball and really did some nice things,” Sullivan said. “It’s never as good as you think or as bad as you think, but I am looking forward to watching the film.”

Both of Samford’s quarterbacks saw extensive action during the scrimmage. Sophomore starter Dustin Taliaferro completed 11-of-17 passes for 81 yards. Redshirt freshman backup Connor Lowery completed 10-of-19 passes for 60 yards and two interceptions.

Junior running back Chris Evans rushed four times for 22 yards in the scrimmage. Junior Alex Barnett had seven rushes for 22 yards, while senior Harris Johnson rushed four times for 13 yards.

“I thought our running backs ran the ball well today,” Sullivan said. “Alex and Chris both did a nice job.”

Junior wide receiver DeMarcus Covington caught three passes for 30 yards on Saturday. Senior Jonathan Lowery had three catches for 24 yards, while freshman Marquel Franklin caught four passes for 15 yards. Sophomore Jacobi Rodriguez had three catches for 16 yards during the scrimmage.

Freshman place-kicker Cameron Yaw had a strong showing in his first Samford scrimmage. Yaw made 4-of-5 field goals on the day. He made kicks from 47, 41, 25 and 22 yards out, with his only miss of the day coming on a 49-yard try.

“It’s obvious our field goal kicker did well,” Sullivan said. “I thought Cameron had a good scrimmage.”

Samford will take Sunday off from practice. The Bulldogs will practice again Monday at 9 a.m. in full pads.

Samford opens the 2009 season on Saturday, Sept. 5, when the Bulldogs travel to Orlando, Fla., to take on the UCF Knights. The game is scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. (CT) start from Bright House Networks Stadium.

SCRIMMAGE STATISTICS

PASSING
Dustin Taliaferro: 11-of-17, 81 yards
Connor Lowery: 10-of-19, 60 yards, 2 interceptions

RUSHING
Chris Evans: 4 rushes, 22 yards
Alex Barnett: 7 rushes, 22 yards
Harris Johnson: 4 rushes, 13 yards

RECEIVING
DeMarcus Covington: 3 receptions, 30 yards
Jonathan Lowery: 3 receptions, 24 yards
Marquel Franklin: 4 receptions, 15 yards
Jacobi Rodriguez: 3 receptions, 16 yards

INTERCEPTIONS
Seth Harkness (1), Mason Wald (1)

SACKS
Jeremy Towns (1), Patrick Hatcher (1), Erik Peterson (1)

FIELD GOALS
Cameron Yaw: 4-of-5 (made-47, 41, 25, 22; missed-49)

By Samford University Sports Information