BOWIE, Md. — The No. 19 Bowie State Bulldogs (6-0, 3-0 CIAA, 1-0 North) made it six wins in a row following Saturday’s 41-10 CIAA Northern Division victory over visiting Chowan University. The Bulldogs rolled up 591 yards of total offense and Bowie State’s defense held the Hawks to 298 yards of total offense.
Junior Air Hall threw for 346 yards (26-35-0) and three touchdowns to lead Bowie State. Hall also led the team in rushing yards with 93 on 11 carries and one score in only three quarters of play. Redshirt junior Brandon Britton tied a BSU single-game school record for receptions with 12 for 175 yards and two touchdowns. Senior Johnny Littlejohn and junior Taylor Johnson accounted for five tackles each to pace the stingy Bulldogs defense.
Bowie State racked up a season-high 35 total first downs compared to 15 for Chowan and the Bulldogs held a 32:10 to 27:50 clock advantage.
Chowan (2-4, 2-1 CIAA, 0-1 North) was paced on offense by Michael Offutt with a game-high 104 rushing yards on 19 carries. Isaiah Alexander completed just 5-of-14 passes for 80 yards but was sacked twice and Torry Baker was the Hawks’ leading receiver with 74 yards on three catches.
Dre Terry and Tyler Bembry led the Chowan defense with eight and seven tackles respectively.
Chowan took the games’ opening kickoff 73 yards in nine plays for the first points of the afternoon at the 10:18 mark. Alexander rushed for a one-yard score and Conner Killeen added the extra point to give the Hawks the early 7-0 lead.
Bowie State trimmed the Chowan lead to 7-3 on the Bulldogs first possession of the game when sophomore Gene Carson (Accokeek, Md.) booted a 40-yard field goal with 5:02 left in the first quarter.
The Bulldogs defense forced Chowan to a three and out and scored on the final play of the opening period. Hall connected with Britton for a six-yard touchdown pass, capping off a 10-play, 76-yard drive to shift the advantage back over to Bowie State at 10-7.
Hall and Britton teamed up again at the 6:54 mark of the second quarter, this time for a 21-yard touchdown and a 17-7 lead. The Bulldogs defense clamped down again on Chowan’s next possession forcing another three and out. Hall rushed for a five-yard touchdown with 3:02 remaining before halftime and Carson’s PAT pushed Bowie State’s lead to 24/7.
The Hawks scored what would be their final points of the contest with 28 seconds remaining in the second quarter following a Killeen 31-yard field goal.
However, the Bulldogs found the Hawks end zone in just 19 seconds, going 70 yards in just three plays. Hall completed a 17-yard pass to redshirt senior Kerrick Pollock, a 27-yard pass to Britton and a 26-yard touchdown pass to junior Lansana Sesay to send Bowie State into halftime with a 31-10 cushion.
Bowie State put together another 13-play scoring drive, to start the third quarter with Carson kicking a 28-yard field goal to increase the Bulldogs’ lead to 34-10.
Just like the first half, the Bulldogs defense forced the Hawks into yet another three and out to set upBowie State’s final scoring drive of the game.
The Bulldogs took over with 9:40 on the third quarter clock, using up 4:14 that ended with a six-yard rushing touchdown by redshirt senior Robert Chesson (Annapolis, Md.) that accounted for the final margin of 41-10.
Bowie State will play perhaps their biggest game of the season next Saturday traveling to also unbeaten Virginia State for the Trojans Homecoming. Virginia State (5-0, 3-0 CIAA, 1-0 North) manhandled Elizabeth City State 56-0, spoiling the Vikings’ Homecoming celebration on Saturday afternoon.
Courtesy: BSU Athletics
