Saturday, October 19, 2013

Virginia State Nips Bowie State 47-44 in Triple Overtime

ETTRICK, Virginia -- The Bowie State University football team lost a tough triple overtime game on Saturday afternoon at Rogers Stadium, falling by a score 47-44 to host Virginia State University.

The Bulldogs fall to 2-5 overall on the season and 0-4 in conference play.

The Trojans struck quickly to open the game, scoring the games' first three points on a 38-yard field goal by Shawn Hunt (Newport News, Va.) with 10:46 left in the first quarter.

Virginia State's passing game was on point in the first half of play. A pass interference call with just over eight minutes remaining in the first half, gave the Trojans a first down at the Bulldogs five yard line. Three plays later, Jordan Anderson (Houston, Texas) punched it in from two yards out to give Virginia State a 10-0 advantage.

Bowie State put their first points on the scoreboard with 2:17 left in the second quarter following a 33-yard field goal by junior Mario Diaz-Aviles (Washington, D.C.) to close the deficit to 10-3.

On the ensuing kickoff, Bulldogs redshirt sophomore Nkonyeasua Uwandi (Berwyn Heights, Md.) forced a fumble and senior Dwayne Price (Fort Washington, Md.) recovered the fumble in the end zone. Diaz-Aviles added the extra point to tie the game at 10.

The Bulldogs took their first lead of the game after a 22-yard field goal by Diaz-Aviles to send Bowie State into the homecoming halftime with a 13-10 lead.

Redshirt junior Kendall Jefferson (Temple Hills, Md.) busted up the gut of the Virginia State defense for a 19-yard touchdown run to push the Bulldogs lead to 20-10 with 47.9 seconds left in the third quarter.

With 9:07 left in regulation VSU senior quarterback Justin Thorpe (Henrico, Va.) faked a handoff and rushed for an 11-yard TD run. Hunt added the extra point to trim the BSU lead to 20-17.


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The Trojans regained the lead at 24-20 on a 2-yard rushing touchdown by Anderson at the 4:47 mark of the fourth quarter.

Sophomore Garry Cropper (Odenton, Md.) caught a Johnston screen pass and scampered down the Bowie State sideline for a 24-yard score. It was Cropper's first TD reception of his career.

VSU's Hunt drilled a 37-yard field goal as time expired in regulation to send the Trojans and Bulldogs into overtime tied at 27.

Virginia State (6-1, 4-0 CIAA) went on offense first in overtime and Thorpe connected with Jaivon Smallwood (Virginia Beach, Va.) for a 15-yard pass and catch touchdown.

Bowie State junior Keith Brown (Temple Hills, Md.) rumbled 25 yards on the Bulldogs second play from scrimmage in overtime and the Aviles extra point knotted the score at 35 heading into a second overtime.

Johnston threw it up in the right corner of the VSU end zone and freshman Ricardo Smith (Oxon Hill, Md.) out-jumped the VSU defender for a 13-yard touchdown and a 41-34 Bulldogs lead.

Faced with a fourth and five, Smallwood hung in the pocket, which seemed like an eternity, and ran up the middle for a nine-yard touchdown, sending the game into the third and deciding overtime tied at 41 all.

The Bulldogs went ahead 44-41 in the third overtime following a career-long 40 yard Aviles field goal.

However, the Thorpe/Smallwood duo would close it out for the Trojans on a 24-yard pass and catch to lift Virginia State to a 47-44 victory. This marked the third straight year VSU has beaten BSU in overtime. The 91 points were a new combined high between the two teams.

Bowie State accumulated 336 yards of total offense, while Virginia State had 510 total yards.

Brown led the Bulldogs in rushing with a career-high 175 yards on a career-best 32 carries, averaging 5.5 yards per carry. Redshirt junior tight end Khari Lee (Baltimore, Md.) caught a team-high four passes for 55 yards.

Bulldogs senior quarterback Jared Johnston (Dumfries, Va.) was 12-for-24 in the air for 131 yards and two touchdowns.

Redshirt freshman linebacker Kevaugn Townsend (Fort Washington, Md.) led the Bulldogs with 11 tackles. Senior linebacker Antoine Young (Washington, D.C.) had 10 tackles, including one tackle for a loss.

Leading the Virginia State ground and air game was Thorpe with 182 rushing yards and 259 passing yards, completing 20-of-33 passes and two touchdowns.

The top receiver for the Trojans was Smallwood with eight receptions for 131 yards while tight end Gene Holloman (Virginia Beach, Va.) had five catches for 56 yards and one touchdown.

Ronald Lewis (Virginia Beach, Va.) paced the Trojans defense with a team-high 10 tackles. Andre Rawls (Franklin, Va.) had a good afternoon totaling nine tackles to go along with two tackles for a loss, a forced fumble, one pass breakup and two quarterback hurries.

The Bulldogs return home to take on the Panthers of Virginia Union University next Saturday, October 26th at 1 pm in Bulldogs Stadium. This game has been designated as Breast Cancer Awareness Day and anyone that wears pink will be admitted for $5. For additional ticket information, visit the official Bulldogs website at www.bsubulldogs.com.

COURTESY BOWIE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

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