BOWIE, Md. — Bowie State (3-4, 3-2) lost to Virginia Union (6-1, 5-0) 48-7 on Saturday at Bulldog Stadium. The Bulldogs were held scoreless through three quarters before scoring their lone touchdown in the fourth. BSU ran for 92 yards and passed for 45, while VUU scored on all six of its red-zone trips.
BSU had limited sustained offense, finishing with 137 total yards while punting seven times and converting 5 of 14 third downs. The ground game produced 92 yards on 41 carries, while the passing game finished with five completions for 45 yards and four sacks taken. The Bulldogs did avoid turnovers, with no interceptions thrown and no fumbles lost, but went 0-for-2 on fourth down.
The Bulldogs' defense stopped the Panthers' opening possession after it crossed midfield, with multiple VUU penalties and Dezmond Porter's sack pushing the drive into a punt. The Bulldogs went three-and-out on their first series, and the Panthers took advantage of the next possession as Travon Tensley's run plus a face-mask penalty moved the ball to the BSU 30 before RJ Rosales hit Zyaire Tart for 26 yards to the 4. Rosales finished the drive with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Juelz Cooper at 6:22, and Gage Miller's kick gave VUU a 7-0 lead. The Bulldogs' next drive lost six yards before Chris Coleman's punt, and the Panthers moved from their 47 to the BSU 10 before the first quarter ended with BSU trailing 7-0.
Starting the second quarter at the BSU 10, VUU scored on Ramon Brown's 10-yard run at 14:48 and added the extra point for a 14-0 lead. The Bulldogs picked up one first down on their next possession before punting, and James Francis' interception return for a touchdown on the Panthers' following drive was wiped out by an offside penalty before RJ Rosales later hit Latrell Sutton for a 17-yard touchdown to make it 21-0. VUU added another score after a BSU punt, converting fourth-and-2 from the BSU 34 on Brown's touchdown run at 3:26. Chase Francis and Alijah Miller combined on a late sack to push the Panthers back, but Miller made a 25-yard field goal with 16 seconds left, sending the Bulldogs into halftime down 31-0.
BSU finished its opening fourth-quarter possession with a 3-yard Markeith Hines touchdown run at 14:03, and Peter Lipscombe's extra point made it 41-7. VUU immediately answered on the ensuing kickoff, with Tart returning it 82 yards for a touchdown at 13:49 before Miller's kick pushed the score to 48-7. The Bulldogs put together a 14-play drive from their 40, converting three third downs and reaching the VUU 2 after a pass interference penalty, but the possession ended on downs at the 5 when Joshuah Keith's fourth-down pass was broken up by Jessiah Gildersleeve. After the teams traded punts, the Panthers started at their 13 and moved across midfield behind a 30-yard Raphael Tucker run before Malik Wade made a tackle for loss on the final snap, closing out the 48-7 final.
Solomon finished with 45 passing yards on 5-of-8 passing and rushed for a team-high 31 yards on eight carries. Hines scored the Bulldogs' rushing touchdown and finished with 13 yards on five carries. Aaron Anderson recorded 10 tackles, tying for the team lead. Francis also tallied 10 tackles to share the team lead.
Tensley rushed 20 times for 124 yards and one touchdown and added two receptions for 18 yards. Rosales completed 13 of 15 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. Brown scored two rushing touchdowns and finished with 76 yards on seven carries. Tart caught three passes for 52 yards, recorded a kickoff-return touchdown and added 23 yards on four punt returns.
Up next, the Bulldogs host Johnson C. Smith University, for the 91st Homecoming on Saturday, Oct. 24, at 1 p.m. in Bowie, Md.
For the most up-to-date information on Bowie State Athletics and its 14 varsity sport teams, please visit bsubulldogs.com.
