Football preview: Samford hosts SE Louisiana in FCS playoffs; Troy battles Coastal Carolina for Sun Belt Championship
Samford's double-overtime win over Mercer on Nov. 19 was one of the most exciting games Chris Hatcher has seen during his eight years coaching the Bulldogs, he says. The game capped a 10-win regular season, with Samford's only loss coming against FBS No. 1 Georgia. (Samford Athletics)
Chris Hatcher has seen a lot in eight seasons as the head football coach at Samford University.
He’s seen record-setting quarterbacks play for the Bulldogs and he’s seen Samford win its first Southern Conference championship. But neither Hatcher nor anyone else has seen Samford host a game in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.
Until this week.
At 2 p.m. Saturday, No. 8 Samford (10-1) welcomes No. 17 Southeastern Louisiana to Seibert Stadium for its first home game in the FCS postseason. The nationally televised game is available on ESPN Plus.
The Lions (9-3) outlasted No. 18 Idaho 45-42 in the first round of the playoffs last week.
“We need a lot of people out there at this historic event,” the Samford coach said. “We’re excited about the opportunity. There are only 16 teams left, all of them are really good and we’re very fortunate to be one of them.”
Samford coach Chris Hatcher on the playoffs from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
The momentous nature of the game this week has sparked a heightened level of excitement on the Homewood campus on Lakeshore Drive. Or at least that’s what Hatcher’s heard.
Chris Hatcher coaches the Bulldogs during the season-capping double-overtime game with Mercer. (Samford Athletics)
“I just never leave my office during the season, but everybody tells me there’s a lot of buzz around campus,” he said with a laugh. “But when I walk over here and I leave late at night or get here early in the morning, it just seems like the trees have a little bit more buzz and excitement about them. I think everybody’s excited.
“All season, I felt it,” the coach continued. “Our double-overtime win versus Mercer was probably one of the most exciting games that I’ve been a part of as the head coach at Samford. The fans stormed the field afterward, so this has kind of been building. Hopefully this week we can do our part and play a really good football game on Saturday.”
Hatcher said this Samford team has a “find-a-way” attitude. The squad includes players who have been around a while and experienced some highs and lows. There are also a number of players who have been with the team only one season.
A much-improved defense has been a key element in Samford’s success this season, coach Chris Hatcher says. (Samford Athletics)
“I think the biggest thing is how they’ve integrated with one another with a very selfless attitude that do whatever they need to do to help the team be successful,” Hatcher said. “Sometimes when you have a mix of old guys and you have transfers come in, it doesn’t always work that way. That’s a great testament to our players willing to be great and then the assistant coaches holding our guys to a certain standard that has definitely paid off each Saturday we played this season.”
While the Samford offense has long garnered headlines, it is a new and improved defense that has allowed the Bulldogs to be undefeated except for their lone loss on the road to 2022 national champion Georgia.
“We wouldn’t be in this situation if we hadn’t been playing good defense,” Hatcher said. “Last season, I think we got beat five or six times by one score or less and most of those were shootouts.
“First of all, you’ve gotta give credit to our players because they’re the ones that go out and do it each week,” the coach continued. “But you also gotta give credit to coach (Chris) Boone and our defensive staff. They came in, changed the culture on that side of the ball and it’s really paid big dividends for our football team.”
Coastal Carolina at Troy: The Sun Belt Conference Championship will be on the line at 2:30 p.m. Saturday as the Trojans (10-2) host the Chanticleers (9-2) at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
“We’ve got a great challenge in front of us,” Troy coach Jon Sumrall said. “Coastal Carolina is 31-5 the last three years, 20-4 in conference the last three years, so they know how to win. We’ve got to prepare really well to put ourselves in position to have a chance to win this football game.”
HIGH SCHOOLS
Class 7A: Thompson (10-4) became the first program to win the Class 7A championship four years in a row as it knocked off Auburn 49-24 Wednesday night in Auburn. The Warriors, No. 3 in the Alabama Sports Writers Association poll going into the playoffs, outgained the No. 4 Tigers (13-1) 378 yards to 219. Quarterback Trent Seaborn completed 12 of 14 passes for 207 yards, five touchdowns and an interception. The eighth grader was named the most valuable player, but he handed the plaque to Korbyn Williams, the wide receiver who caught six passes for 142 yards and four of those TD tosses.
— THS Athletics (@athletics_ths) Dec. 1, 2022.
Here’s the remaining Super 7 lineup at Auburn University’s Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Class 6A: No. 7 Mountain Brook (12-2) takes on No. 4 Saraland (13-1) at 7 p.m. Friday. The Spartans are bidding for their first championship since winning back-to-back titles in 1975 and 1976.
Class 5A: No. 4 Ramsay (11-2) faces No. 10 Charles Henderson of Troy (11-1) at 7 p.m. Thursday. The Rams won their only state title in 2016; the Trojans won in 1980.
Class 4A: No. 10 Cherokee County (12-2) meets No. 5 Andalusia (13-1) at 11 a.m. Friday. The Bulldogs won back-to-back titles in 1976 and 1977. The Warriors won in 2009.
Class 3A: No. 3 Piedmont (12-2) plays No. 7 St. James (11-2) at 11 a.m. Thursday. The Bulldogs have won five state titles since 2009, the most recent last year.
Class 2A: No. 6 B.B. Comer (12-2) faces No. 1 Fyffe (14-0) at 3 p.m. Friday. Since 2004, Fyffe has won five titles.
Class 1A: Pickens County (12-3) meets No. 6 Leroy (12-1) at 3 p.m. Thursday. Leroy earned titles in 2004, ’06, ’07, ’08 and 2010. The lone title to date for Pickens County came in 2013.
