FINAL STATS

(RICHMOND, VA) Virginia Union's Enrique Cox returned a fumble 54 yards for a touchdown and Stephen Velasquez converted the extra point, lifting the Panthers to a stunning 17-16 Homecoming victory over the Bulldogs of Bowie State. The win keeps Virginia Union in the chase for the CIAA Eastern Division title, improving its record to 6-3 (5-1 in the CIAA).

The visiting Bulldogs of Bowie State (6-3, 5-1 in the CIAA) scored the first points of the afternoon on a 14-yard rushing touchdown by sophomore Clifton Budd (Silver Spring, MD, Sherwood). Sophomore Michael Gagne (Baltimore, MD, Parkville) added the extra point, putting Bowie State in front 7-0 at the 1:23 mark of the first quarter.

Virginia Union's Arnold White caught an eight yard touchdown pass from Aris English with 5:56 remaining in the first half. Stephen Valasquez converted the extra point, knotting the score at seven. English completed seven-of-11 first half passes for 71 yards and was the teams top first half ground gainer with 18 yards.

Both teams entered halftime with 120 yards in total offense. The Virginia Union Panthers rushed for 49 first half yards and Bowie State netted 96 rushing yards in the first 30 minutes.

Bowie State freshman quarterback Emmanuel Yeager (Washington, DC, Coolidge) led the Bulldogs first half offense with 24 passing yards and 37 rushing yards.

The only third quarter points came via 24-yard field by Bowie State's Gagne at the 7:48 mark, giving the Bulldogs a 10-7 advantage.

Bowie State junior Rodney Webb (Baltimore, MD, Milford Mill Academy) rushed for a four-yard touchdown run with 8:37 remaining in the game to give the Bulldogs a 16 -7 cushion. The Bulldogs appeared ready to close out the game when Yeager's fumble led to the Panthers tying and eventual game winning points.

Bowie State put together a pretty impressive drive on the ensuing kickoff, taking the ball all the way down to the Virginia Union 12 yard line with 24 seconds remaining in the game. Following timeouts by Bowie State and Virginia Union, BSU's Gagne lined up for a 22-yard field. However, the kick was blocked, saving the day for the Virginia Union Panthers.

Webb led the Bowie State Bulldogs offense with 85 rushing yards on 23 carries. Budd led the Bowie State receivers with 36 yards to go along with 83 return yards. Yeager ended the game as BSU's second leading rusher with 61 yards.

Junior Sterling Grant-Jones (Baltimore, MD, Edmondson) and senior Justin Carey (Laurel, MD, Reservoir) led the Bowie State defense with nine and six tackles each.


Virginia Union's English completed 12-of-24 passes for a game-high 157 yards with Joseph Jean-Pierre hauling in six of the passes for a game-high 78 yards. Stephen Johnson paced the VUU Panthers defense with a game-high 11 tackles.

The Bowie State Bulldogs will wrap up the CIAA regular season next Saturday (10/31), visiting Virginia State University for the Trojans Homecoming. Kickoff time from VSU's Rogers Stadium is 1:30 p.m. Virginia Union will close out their 2009 regular season, hosting Elizabeth City State.