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 (CIAA) Northern Division 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 the Bowie State suffered a loss the first time since 2017 in Bulldog Stadium. The Panthers remain undefeated at 7-0 overall, 5-0 CIAA and 2-0 in the North.

 The Bulldogs held a 9-3 lead at halftime thanks to an eight yard run from redshirt sophomore Sam Doku (Silver Spring, MD) in the first quarter (11:04) and a 38-yard field goal from redshirt sophomore Justin Zavala (Bowie, MD) in the second quarter (4:38). 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 and redshirt junior Larry Williams (Baltimore, MD) entered the game to engineer a four-yard rushing TD that tied the game at 17-all 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. 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. (Largo, MD) 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. 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 that led to game winning field goal for the Panthers.

For the contest, Bowie State tallied 373 yards of total offense (303 passing, 70 rushing) while the Panthers registered 393 yards of total offense on 145 passing and 248 rushing. The Bulldogs accounted for seven penalties for 65-yards compared VUU's 13 penalties (123-yards).
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 (Bryans Road, MD) led the way with a career-high eight tackles while redshirt sophomore Kennypride Toh (Silver Spring, MD) posted a career-high six tackles and two tackle for losses. Redshirt junior Uvel Paul, Jr. (Severn, MD) added six tackles, a sack and a tackle for loss to round out the top defenders statistically for Bowie State.

Bowie State will Chowan on Saturday, Oct. 22 for Breast Cancer Awareness Day. Fans unable to make the game can catch all the action live on the Bulldog Sports Network. Game time is set for 1 p.m. at Bulldog Stadium.

For the most up-to-date information on Bowie State University Athletics and its 13 varsity sports teams, please visit www.bsubulldogs.com.