Samford beats Div. II Mars Hill 77-7 in season opener

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) Devlin Hodges threw five touchdowns as Samford beat Division II Mars Hill 77-7 in a season opener Thursday night. Hodges was 39 of 49 for

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) Devlin Hodges threw five touchdowns as Samford beat Division II Mars Hill 77-7 in a season opener Thursday night.

Hodges was 39 of 49 for 313 yards for the Bulldogs. Roland Adams ran for 89 yards and a score and Drew Couto ran for 46 yards and two touchdowns.

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Hodges threw three touchdowns in the first half, one to Devon Schmitt in the first quarter and one each to TaDarryl Marshall and Adams in the second. Adams also ran for a score and Samford led 28-7 at halftime.

In the third quarter, Hodges threw two more touchdowns to help make it 49-7 with 4:37 left in the period. He was replaced in the fourth by backup Liam Welch who added a 23-yard touchdown pass with 14:20 to play.

The Lions only score came early in the second quarter on a 1-yard touchdown throw from Austin Brown to Craig Rucker.