JOHNSON C. SMITH WINS A 51-48 SHOOTOUT OVER BOWIE STATE

Senior Jared Johnson Throws for a New School Record 394 Yards

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Bowie State University dropped a 58-41 shootout to Johnson C. Smith University Saturday afternoon at Irwin Belk Complex. This tied the highest point total between the two schools since Bowie State claimed a 58-41 victory back in 1989.

“We’re not going to win any ballgame giving up 58 points and turning the ball over three times certainly hurt as well” said Bowie State head coach Damon Wilson

Johnson C. Smith (2-0) lit the scoreboard first with an 8-yard run up the gut by LeAnder Barney (Erie, Pa.) at the 12:31 mark. Erik Amaya (Kannapolis, N.C.) converted the extra point for an early 7-0 lead.

Bowie State (1-1) answered with a 10-play, 75 yard drive, capped off by a three yard run around the right side for six  by senior quarterback Jared Johnston (Dumfries, Va.) at the 10:12 mark of the first quarter. Junior Mario Diaz-Aviles (Washington, D.C.) added the extra point to tie the game at 7-7.

Amaya booted a 25-yard field with 5:57 remaining in the opening period, giving the lead back to JCSU at 10-7.

Johnson C. Smith’s Keahn Wallace (Miami, Fla.) tossed a 14-yard TD pass to Fred Scott (Stone Mountain, Ga.) at the 10:59 mark of the second quarter. Amaya converted the extra point to push the Golden Bulls lead to 17-7.

JCSU extended their lead to 23-7 with 7:15 left in the first half following a 24-yard scamper by Barney. The extra point was blocked.

Wallace threw his second touchdown pass of the first half, completing a 15-yard pass to Jayson Leverette (Orangeburg, S.C.) to give the Golden Bulldogs a cushy 30-7 advantage.

Bowie State’s third quarter opening drive resulted in a one-yard touchdown run by redshirt junior Keith Brown (Temple Hills, Md.) to cut the Golden Bulls lead to 30-14 at the 10:14 mark.

Brown found paydirt again on Bowie State’s next possession, pounding in from 10 yards out and the Diaz-Aviles extra point trimmed the deficit to 30-21.

BSU’s Johnston threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Nyme Manns in the left corner of the JCSU end zone for the Bulldogs’ 21 unanswered point of the third quarter. The Diaz-Aviles extra point closed the gap to 30-28 with 11:44 remaining in the game.

Johnson C. Smith capitalized on a Bowie State fumble with just over eight minutes left in the Eddie McGirt Classic. Two plays later, a quarterback keeper by Wallace and Amaya extra point gave the Golden Bulls a little breathing room at 37-28 with 7:27remaining.

The Golden Bulls sealed the deal when JCSU’s Damion Miles picked off a Johnston pass and scampered down the Bowie State sideline for an 84 yard touchdown. The Amaya extra point made the score 44-28.

However, Bowie State was not quite down as Brown scored his third rushing touchdown of the afternoon with 3:29 left on the clock. Unfortunately, the two-point conversion pass was no good, setting the score at 44-34.

Twenty-two seconds later, Johnson C. Smith responded with 51-yard Wallace to Scott pass and catch to set the score at 51-34.

The Bowie State combo of Johnston and Manns hooked up again on the next Bulldogs possession, this time for an 8-yard pass and catch. Diaz-Aviles added the extra point, but the Bulldogs trailed 51-41.

Johnson C. Smith put the final nail in the coffin with 32.9 second left when Wallace found a wide open Jimmy Drye, Jr. for a 40-yard touchdown and the final score of 58-41.

Bowie State amassed 522 yards of total offense in the loss, compared to 519 by the Johnson C. Smith.

Johnston completed a career-best 27-of-43 passes for a Bowie State record 394 yards and a pair of touchdowns for the Bulldogs.

Brown topped the Bulldogs in rushing (99 yards) and Manns led the Bowie State receivers with eight catches for 143 yards and two touchdowns.

The BSU defense was led by redshirt sophomore Curtis Pumphrey (Laurel, Md.) and senior Delante White with seven tackles each. Senior cornerback Quentin Walker added six stops.

JCSU linebacker Jerel Miller tallied a game-high 12 tackles, including half a tackle for a loss, and a pass break-up.

Wallace completed 28-of-37 passes for 425 yards and four touchdowns for the Golden Bulls. His favorite target was Scott, who caught a game-high 10 passes for 131 yards.

Bowie State returns to action on Sept. 21^st, playing at home for the first time this season, hosting Concord University at 1 pm in BSU’s Bulldogs Stadium.