BOWIE, Md. — Bowie State (2-3) defeated Shaw (4-2) 34-29 on Saturday at Bulldog Stadium. The Bulldogs answered a 10-point first-quarter deficit with 21 unanswered points across three scoring drives to move in front 21-10 in the third quarter. The ground game helped define the win, with BSU rushing for 287 yards and three touchdowns while finishing with 22 first downs. The result moved the Bulldogs to 2-3 overall and 2-1 in league play, while the Bears fell to 4-2 and 2-2.
After falling behind 10-0, BSU put together 21 unanswered points across three scoring drives, turning the early deficit into a 21-10 advantage early in the second half. That stretch included a late second-quarter lead change, when the Bulldogs moved in front 13-10 after trailing by 10. BSU also kept SU out of the end zone on a long red-zone chance that ended on downs at the BSU 8, preserving a 10-7 game at that point.
The Bulldogs added another quick strike in the third quarter with a one-play, eight-second touchdown drive, then produced a fourth-quarter scoring drive from a 28-23 score state that was capped by Daniel Coles Jr.'s 70-yard touchdown run. The running game supplied much of BSU's production, finishing with 287 yards and three touchdowns on 41 carries, while the passing game added 149 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. Coles Jr. finished with 121 rushing yards and a touchdown on 10 carries, and Joshuah Keith added 113 passing yards, 63 rushing yards and two total touchdowns. SU totaled 433 yards and converted 5 of 6 fourth downs, but the Bulldogs converted 8 of 12 third downs and scored touchdowns on three of their four red-zone trips.
The Bears led 10-7 after the first quarter behind a passing game that went 6-for-9 for 107 yards and a touchdown. BSU's offense produced 66 rushing yards and five first downs in the quarter, with Keith scoring on a 10-yard run and Peter Lipscombe adding the PAT. In the second quarter, the Bulldogs outscored SU 7-0, holding the Bears scoreless despite the visitors controlling possession for 9:48 and reaching the BSU 8 before a turnover on downs. BSU generated 88 passing yards to SU's 46 in the quarter, and Keith's 20-yard touchdown pass to Ibrahim Barry with 2 seconds left, followed by Lipscombe's extra point, sent the Bulldogs ahead 14-10. BSU scored 14 points in the third quarter, with Coles Jr. hitting Devean Byrd for a 34-yard touchdown on a one-play, 8-second drive and Maximus Jones adding a 3-yard rushing score. The Bears produced 136 rushing yards in the quarter, including Trey Thorpe's 66-yard touchdown run, and added a late passing touchdown before the Bulldogs took a 28-23 lead into the fourth. In the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs did all of their damage on the ground, rushing 13 times for 118 yards and converting all three third downs, with Coles Jr.'s 70-yard touchdown making it 34-23. SU held the ball for 8:23 and went 2-for-2 on fourth down while totaling 43 passing yards and 28 rushing yards, but the teams each scored once in the quarter as BSU finished off a 34-29 win.
Chase Francis blocked a punt at 11:15, and his twin brother James Francis recovered at the SU 29 to give the Bulldogs a short field early in the second quarter. Xavier Clark opened the third quarter with a 58-yard kickoff return to the Shaw 32, but BSU turned the ball over on downs at the 23 before Felder broke up two passes on the Bears' ensuing series to help force a punt. After a Shaw face-mask penalty, Coles Jr. hit Byrd for a 34-yard touchdown at 12:06, and Lipscombe's kick made it 21-10. SU answered with Alexander Marsh's 9-yard fourth-down run and Thorpe's 66-yard touchdown at 9:16, but the missed extra point left the Bulldogs ahead 21-16 before Jones capped a 75-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown run and Lipscombe's kick pushed the score to 28-16 at 5:11. The Bears closed the quarter with a 10-play, 71-yard drive, with Marsh finding Zyier Hines for a 9-yard touchdown with :06 left and Benjamin Turner's kick making it 28-23 after the third quarter.
The Bulldogs opened the fourth quarter with a 75-yard drive, overcoming a 15-yard penalty before Coles Jr. broke a 70-yard touchdown run at 11:51 to make it 34-23, though the extra point failed. Shaw put together a 14-play, 66-yard answer, with Deontae Roscoe recording a sack before the Bears converted fourth-and-5 and later scored on Landon Melton's 7-yard pass to Nahseem Deas at 3:28. The conversion pass failed after two delay-of-game penalties, leaving BSU ahead 34-29. The Bulldogs then used runs by Keith and Jones to move the chains twice, including Jones' 11-yard gain into SU territory, before Jaylin Solomon kneeled out the final possession to finish a 34-29 win.
Coles Jr. rushed for 121 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries and completed his only pass for a 34-yard touchdown. Keith completed 9 of 15 passes for 113 yards and a touchdown and added 63 rushing yards and a score on 14 carries. Barry caught three passes for 48 yards and a touchdown. Hemmeian recorded seven tackles to tie for the team lead. For Cool Mac Day/Faculty appreciation Day, it was the perfect ending to a rainy afternoon, Bowie State wins their first home game in over a year.
Up next, the Bulldogs travel to Winston-Salem, NC, to face Winston-Salem State University on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026, at 1 p.m.
For the latest on Bowie State Athletics and its 14 varsity sport teams, visit BSUBulldogs.com and follow the Bulldogs on social media.
