Samford 44, Gardner-Webb 23

Published Sep. 15, 2012 7:53 p.m. ET

foxsports

Fabian Truss ran for three touchdowns and returned a kickoff for another as Samford eased past Gardner-Webb 44-23 on Saturday to stay unbeaten on the young season, keeping the Runnin' Bulldogs winless in the process.

Truss opened the scoring with a 3-yard run and, after Gardner-Webb's Kenny Little answered with an 11-yard rushing TD, Andy Summerlin's 14-yard connection with Riley Hawkins put Samford up 14-7 early in the second quarter.

Samford (3-0) would lead the rest of the way as Truss, who finished with 84 yards rushing, added another 3-yard TD on the ground to put his squad up 21-10 at halftime.

Juanne Blount's 6-yard touchdown run pulled Gardner-Webb (0-3) to within four points right after the break, but Truss returned the ensuing kick for a 97-yard score to re-establish the cushion. He added a 42-yard run late in the third quarter to put the game out of reach.