Western Carolina roars past Samford 56-36

CULLOWHEE, N.C. (AP) Troy Mitchell threw for 352 yards and two touchdowns, and Corey Holloway ran for two more as Western Carolina roared past Samford for a

CULLOWHEE, N.C. (AP) Troy Mitchell threw for 352 yards and two touchdowns, and Corey Holloway ran for two more as Western Carolina roared past Samford for a 56-36 victory Saturday.

The game ended with a wild fourth quarter where the teams scored a combined 41 points, capped by Spearman Robinson's 49-yard return of a failed Samford onside kick attempt with 46 seconds left.

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The Catamounts (5-2, 3-1 Southern) took the lead on Logan Howard's 42-yard field goal early in the second quarter. Mitchell tossed a 9-yard TD pass to Jordan Mathis early in the third quarter. Mathis followed with a 39-yard strike to Karnorris Benson that gave Western Carolina a 35-16 third-quarter lead.

Steffon Hill and Tyler Sexton had 119 and 102 receiving yards for the Catamounts.

Devlin Hodges was 42 of 61 for 399 yards passing with three touchdowns for Samford (3-4, 1-3), and ran 94 yards on 16 carries.