Bowie State Grounds Saint Anselm Hawks 42-28 in Season Opener for Both Teams

MANCHESTER, N.H. – Bowie State University rolled up 483 yards of total offense and held Saint Anselm College to 235 yards of total offense, defeating the Hawks 42-28 Saturday afternoon.

“This was a great start for our team and new offensive coordinator Moses Ware and if Jared (Johnston) continues to play like he did today, we have a very good chance of being a good team”, said fifth year head coach Damon Wilson.

Senior Jared Johnston (Dumfries, Va.) scored the first six points of the season at the 10:16 mark of the first quarter on a six-yard rushing touchdown. Junior Mario Diaz-Aviles (Washington, D.C.) added the extra point for the early 7-0 lead.

The Hawks quickly responded with a 36-yard Andrew Murphy (Franklin, Mass.) to Eric Feehan (Bedford, N.H.) pass and catch. Shane Grayson (Ormond Beach, Fla.) drilled the extra point to tie the game with 9:10 left in the opening period.

 The Bulldogs found the end zone for the second time in the first quarter following a one-yard rush up the middle by redshirt junior Kendall Jefferson (Temple Hills, Md.). Diaz-Aviles converted the extra point, shifting the advantage back over to Bowie State at 14-7.

Saint Anselm capitalized on a Bowie State fumble by junior Keith Brown (Temple Hills, Md.). Murphy flipped a short six-yard pass to Justin Bernard (Cambridge, Mass.) to tie the game at 14-14 at the 1:22 mark of the first.

The Murphy/Bernard combo gave the Hawks their first lead of the game from three yards out with 9:42 remaining in the second quarter. Grayson added the extra point to make the score 21-14.

The Bulldogs evened the score at 21-21 following a five-yard run by Brown and extra point by Diaz-Aviles with 7:14 left in the first half.

Jefferson punched it into the Saint Anselm end zone from one-yard out with 9:47, capping off a 10-play, 78 yard drive to start the third quarter. The Diaz-Aviles extra point gave the visiting Bulldogs a 28-21 lead.  Jefferson racked up a career-best 317 all-purpose yards.

Saint Anselm’s Keith Charles (Laurel, Md.) rushed for a five-yard option touchdown at the 7:08 mark to tie the game at 28-28.

Sophomore Nyme Manns (Baltimore, Md.) caught his first career touchdown pass (from Johnson) at the 7:57 mark of the fourth quarter, putting BSU’s Bulldogs in front 35-28.

Redshirt sophomore Marquise Anderson (Washington, D.C.) picked off a Murphy pass on Saint Anselm’s next possession, giving the Bulldogs a great scoring opportunity at the Hawks’ 10 yard line.  BSU’s Johnson lofted a touchdown pass to freshman Ricardo Smith (Oxon Hill, Md.) in the right corner of the end zone, increasing the Bulldogs lead to 42-28.

Offensively, Bowie State was led by Johnston with 307 total yards (115 rushing and 192 passing), while Jefferson rushed 23 times for a career-high 110 yards and two touchdowns. Brown had 13 carries for 50 yards and one touchdown for the Bulldogs.

Johnston finished the afternoon going 18 of 35 from the air but was intercepted twice. Junior Khari Lee (Baltimore, Md.) led the Bulldogs receivers with seven catches for 64 yards, while Manns and Smith finishing with three catches each for 36 and 27 yards respectively. Sophomore Garry Cropper (Odenton, Md.) had two receptions for 43 yards.

Defensively, redshirt sophomore Antoine Young (Washington, D.C.) came off the Bulldogs bench to lead the team with eight total tackles and one tackle for a loss, while senior Delante White (Temple Hills, Md.) finished with seven tackles. Senior Quentin Walker (Waldorf, Md.) recorded six tackles, half of a tackle for a loss and one pass breakup, while redshirt sophomore Curtis Pumphrey (Laurel, Md.) had five tackles, one interception and one pass breakup. Senior Oladimeji Layeni (Washington, D.C.) also had five tackles to go along with one sack and two tackles for a loss.

Murphy paced the Saint Anselm offense with 165 passing yards, completing 19 of 39 and three touchdowns. However, Murphy was sacked four times and intercepted twice. Bernard was the Hawks’ leader in receptions with seven while Ahkeen Williams (DeWitt, N.Y.) led the team in reception yards with 51 on four catches.

Carroll Bailey (Clinton, Mass.) and Isaac Jorgenson (Eldersburg, Md.) led the Hawks defense with a dozen tackles each.

Bowie State travels to Charlotte (N.C.) next week, as the Bulldogs face the Golden Bulls of Johnson C. Smith University at 2 pm on JCSU’s Irwin Belk Complex.