Hodges throws 2 TDs, Samford defense shuts down Mercer, 20-3

MACON, Ga. -- Devlin Hodges threw a pair of touchdown passes to Chris Shelling and the Samford recorded a pair of second-half safeties as the Bulldogs handled Mercer, 20-3 in a Southern Conference battle Saturday. Hodges, the SoCon offensive player of the month for October, threw a six-yard strike to Shelling with :33 left in the first half to give Samford a 10-3 halftime lead, then padded it with a 16-yard toss midway through the third quarter. On second down at its own 10 yard line, Mercer was caught for a 10-yard loss for the first safety. On third-and-9 from his own 9, Kaelan Riley was sacked by Brett Granger with 2:37 left to complete the scoring. Hodges completed 36 of 49 passes for 367 yards and two touchdowns to lead Samford (6-3, 4-2). Riley was 18 of 38 for 158 yards. Mercer (4-3, 3-4) managed just 184 yards of offense.