Wydner accounts for 3 TDs and West Georgia wins in its Division-I debut, 38-29 over Samford

CARROLLTON, Ga. (AP) — Davin Wydner passed for two touchdowns and ran for another to lead West Georgia to a 38-29 win over Samford in the Wolves' Division-I debut on Saturday.

West Georgia left Division II for the FCS this season and gave new coach Joel Taylor the victory.

Wydner, an Ole Miss transfer on a West Georgia team with more than 60 newcomers, was 24-of-35 passing for 271 yards and ran for 58 more.

Karmello English had six catches for a 108 yards and Chase Belcher rushed for a pair of scores.

The Wolves retook the lead at 32-29 on a 4-yard Belcher run that came after Malachi Williams punched the ball loose and West Georgia recovered at the Samford 30-yard line.

On the Wolves’ next possession, Wydner scrambled 21 yards to make it 38-29 with eight minutes left.

Wydner threw a 44-yard Hail Mary to Dylan Gary on the final play of the first half for a 26-14 lead.

The Wolves stayed on top until a scrambling Quincy Crittendon found Brendan Jenkins deep for a 68-yard score with six minutes remaining in the third quarter. A two-point conversion gave Samford a 29-26 edge.

Crittendon was 24-of-41 passing for 302 yards with two touchdowns and an interception while running for 95 yards and two more scores for the Bulldogs.

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The Associated Press