BOWIE, Md. – A 42-yard field by Brady Myers lifted the No. 11 Virginia Union Panthers past the Bowie State University football team in overtime, 27-24 Saturday afternoon in front of over 4,500 fans at Bulldog Stadium in Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association action.
The loss dips the BSU’s overall record to 4-3 overall, 3-2 in CIAA action and 1-1 in the North. The Panthers snapped the Bulldogs 22-home game regular season win streak as Bowie State suffered a home loss for the first time since 2017.
The Panthers remain undefeated at 7-0 overall and 5-0 in the CIAA.
The Bulldogs held a 9-3 lead at halftime thanks to an eight-yard run from redshirt sophomore Sam Doku in the first quarter and a 38-yard field goal from redshirt sophomore Justin Zavala in the second quarter
The Panthers lone score in the first half came from a 20-yard field from Myers in the first frame.
Things got interesting in the second half as Virginia Union outscored Bowie State 14-0 in the third quarter, featuring a 23-yard rushing TD for Jada Byers and an 11-yard reception touchdown for John Jiles.
The Bulldogs rallied down the stretch when backup quarterback Larry Williams entered the game to engineer a scoring drive that ended with a four-yard rushing TD that tied the game at 17 with 8:22 left in the fourth quarter.
The Panthers then scored on a flicker to Jahkari Grant who reached over top of a Bulldog defender for a six-yard reception TD to give VUU a 24-17 lead with 6:04 left.
On the next drive, Bowie State scored on an 11-play (79-yards) drive capped by a 10-yard rushing TD for graduate senior Dion Golatt, Jr. with 2:25 remaining in regulation that would ultimately send the game into overtime.
In the extra session, the Bulldogs earned a first down when Golatt, Jr. found redshirt junior Darious Bowman (Fort Washington, MD) for 10-yards. After two straight incomplete passes and third down, BSU got a break when VUU was called for holding penalty that moved them to the seven-yard line and in scoring position.
On the next two plays, Williams combined for five yards and BSU had the ball on the Panthers’ two-yard line and scoring position but VUU would record back-to-back stops to contain a Bowie State score. On the ensuing possession, Byers lost two yards on the first drive but gained them on the Bulldogs’ 25-yard line led to the game-winning field goal for the Panthers.
Golatt, Jr. completed 30-of-44 passes for 303-yards but was sacked five times while Doku recorded a team-best 25 rushing yards on 11 carries and a TD. Hinckley charted 11 catches for 97-yards to lead the receiving unit.
As for the Bulldogs defense, redshirt freshman Jadon Carter led the way with a career-high eight tackles while redshirt sophomore Kennypride Toh posted a career-high six tackles and two tackle for losses. Redshirt junior Uvel Paul, Jr. added six tackles, a sack and a tackle for loss to round out the top defenders statistically for Bowie State
Courtesy: Bowie State Athletics
