FINAL STATS

(ETTRICK, VA) Virginia State held off a late game rally by Bowie State and defeated the Bulldogs 14-12. The Bowie State loss, its second in as many weeks, puts the Bulldogs into a three-way tie for the CIAA Eastern Division title along with Elizabeth City State and Virginia Union.

Virginia State (6-4, 4-3 CIAA) drew first blood when Antwain Lyde rushed for a 20 yard touchdown run. Justin Parker added the extra point, giving the Trojans an early 7-0 first quarter lead.

Bowie State sophomore Michael Gagne (Baltimore, MD, Parkville) kicked a 27-yard field goal as time expired in the first half, trimming the deficit to 7-3 at intermission. Virginia State recorded 164 total offensive yards (164 rushing) with Lyde leading the Trojans ground game with 84 yards in the first 30 minutes of play. Freshman Ramono Flowers (Largo, MD) was Bowie State's top rusher in the first half with 36 yards on six carries.

Penalties really hurt Bowie State in the first half as the Bulldogs were penalized six times for 77 yards, compared to just two penalties against Virginia State for 28 yards.  By the end of the game Bowie State was penalized 11 times for 144 yards. 

Rahoo Walker pounded in from two yards out for a third quarter Virginia State touchdown. The touchdown was setup after Bowie State sophomore Clifton Budd (Silver Spring, MD, Sherwood) fumbled a punt at the Bulldogs 14, which was recovered at the Virginia State four yard line by VSU's Jamal Gourdine. Parker's extra point was good, pushing the VSU Trojans lead to 14-3. Gagne kicked his second field goal of the afternoon at the 4:31 mark of the third quarter, closing the gap to 14-6.

Bowie State (6-4, 5-2 CIAA) missed a huge opportunity following an interception by Kyle Jackson (Baltimore, MD, Edmondson) just after the start of the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs ran off 10 plays and 5:47 off the game clock, but Virginia State stopped the Bulldogs three straight times at the one yardline during that drive. The Bowie State defense made three stops on the Trojans' next two plays from scrimmage. Faced with third and 10 from the BSU one, Bowie State senior Joseph Embree (Baltimore, MD, Milford Mill Academy) was called for pass interference, giving Virginia State a first down and some better real estate to work with. BSU's defense held the Trojans to six yards on Virginia State's next three plays and forced the home team to punt. The punt was blocked by sophomore Delano Johnson (Baltimore, MD, Dunbar) and recovered by Bowie State's freshman Gregory Jackson (Accokeek, MD, Gwynn Park) at the Virginia State 14 yard line.

Flowers was given the ball on each of Bowie State's next two plays before punching it in for a two-yard touchdown with 2:49 left in the game, narrowing the score to 14-12. Andre Johnson's two-point conversion pass was incomplete, leaving Bowie State to play the wait game regarding who goes to the conference championship game next Saturday (11/7) in Durham.

Flowers' was Bowie State's top rusher, netting 114 yards on 20 carries and junior Terence Peete, Jr. (Memphis, TN, Northwest) led the Bulldogs defense with a team-high eight tackles.

Lyde was Virginia State's top ground gainer, ending the game with a team-high 89 yards on 14 carries. Alfred Ngauja paced the Trojans defense with a team-high eight tackles.

The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association will host a three-way tiebreaker tomorrow (11/1) at the CIAA Office; 1:00 pm. The accounting firm of Cavanaugh & Nelson, PC will be administering the coin toss tiebreaker.

The tiebreaker became necessary when Elizabeth City State defeated Virginia Union, 21-13 combined with the Bowie State loss. All teams have a 5-2 record in the conference's Eastern Division and are 2-1 versus the common opponents of Lincoln, St. Paul's and Virginia State.

The coin toss will be streamed live on www.livestream.com/CIAA.