DOVER, Del. -- Bowie State football (0-2) lost to Delaware State (2-1) 21-6 on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Stadium. The Bulldogs held the ball for 33:48 and converted 7-of-14 third downs but finished 0-for-3 in the red zone and missed both field-goal attempts. BSU totaled 287 yards, with 160 passing and 127 rushing, while the Hornets ran for 224 yards and scored all three of their touchdowns on the ground.
The Bulldogs' three red-zone trips ended without points. DSU produced 224 rushing yards compared with BSU's 127 and reached the red zone six times, while the Bulldogs' defense kept the Hornets out of the end zone on three of those possessions. Bowie State also finished with two turnovers and allowed three sacks.
The Bulldogs picked up one first down on their opening possession behind Maximus Jones before a sack and a false start led to Chris Coleman's 41-yard punt. The Hornets turned the next drive into the quarter's first score, going 57 yards in six plays and moving ahead 7-0 on a 6-yard touchdown run at 9:58 and the extra point. BSU answered with a 13-play, 49-yard possession that included third-down conversions by Jones and Daniel Coles, Jr. and a 14-yard run by Jaylin Solomon, but the Bulldogs' 55-yard field-goal attempt was blocked at 2:26. Delaware State crossed midfield on the final possession, but Chase Francis made a tackle for loss and a holding penalty helped keep the score at 7-0 after the first quarter.
Noah Brannock's runs of 10 and 15 yards pushed the Hornets into BSU territory early in the second quarter, but Romeo Edmonds and Darius Thomas broke up passes before Patrick Fisher-Butler missed a 49-yard field goal at 12:44. The Bulldogs moved the chains on Solomon's 11-yard run on third-and-11, but the drive stalled at their own 40, and BSU later started at its 39 after Acey's 13-yard punt return. A pair of DSU penalties helped the Bulldogs cross midfield, and Coles, Jr. carried for 18 yards to the DSU 16 before the drive ended with Colemans missed 29-yard field goal at 2:52. The Hornets drove from their 20 to the BSU 15 in the closing minutes, but the Bulldogs kept the home team out of the end zone and Fisher-Butler missed from 33 yards at 0:00, leaving DSU ahead 7-0 at halftime.
BSU forced the Hornets to punt from their own 14 on the opening series, then moved 55 yards as Kyle Hawkins hit Devean Byrd for 21 yards on third-and-12 and found Konner Blount-Foster for a 31-yard touchdown at 11:19 to make it 7-6 after the blocked extra point. DSU answered with a 10-play, 75-yard drive, converting twice before the Hornets scored on an 18-yard run at 6:17 and the extra point pushed the margin to 14-6. The Bulldogs put together another drive across midfield, but Solomon was sacked and lost a fumble at the DSU 46, with Quoy Rainey returning the recovery 12 yards to the BSU 42. The Hornets used the short field for Ui Ale's 10-yard touchdown run at 1:53, and BSU closed the quarter by moving to the DSU 25 on Solomon completions to Byrd and John Thompson with DSU ahead 21-6.
The Bulldogs carried an early fourth-quarter possession inside the DSU 5, using Solomon's 10-yard completion to Thompson and an 8-yard Solomon run, but the drive ended on a fourth-down sack at the DSU 6 at 11:52. Khalil Travers intercepted Ui Ale at the DSU 44 at 10:03 after the Hornets picked up two first downs, and BSU drove back to the DSU 1 behind Solomon completions of 3 yards to Carlos Smith and 25 yards to Thompson before another fourth-down stop at 5:03. Delaware State moved out from its 1 on Jayden Jenkins' 30-yard run and punted, and the next Bulldogs series ended when Wayne Favors III intercepted Solomon and returned it 22 yards to the BSU 23 at 2:02. BSU kept the Hornets out of the end zone from there, with Malik Hemmeian dropping Boykins Jr. for a 3-yard loss on first down and DSU's last snap losing a yard at the BSU 16 as the game ended with the Hornets closing out a 21-6 win.
Blount-Foster caught four passes for 55 yards and a touchdown. Hawkins completed both of his pass attempts for 52 yards and one touchdown. Hawkins was inserted into the game after occupying the sideline the most of the game, due to a small injury from starting quarterback Solomon. Ashton Mayeux, on the defensive end led the Bulldogs with 11 tackles total, and seven solo. Travers recorded an interception and added one tackle.
BSU will look ahead and remain on the road as the Bulldogs travel to Huntsville, Ala., to face Alabama A&M University on Saturday, Sept. 19 at 6 p.m. The contest will be the first meeting between the two in program history.
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