NEW BRITAIN, Conn. - Bowie State University football gained much respect on Saturday afternoon, falling short to Division I (FCS) Central Connecticut State University 44-35. The setback puts the Bulldogs record at 1-2 while the Blue Devils when its first game of the season and are now 1-2 on the year.
The Bulldogs were led on offense by sophomore Amir Hall (Bowie, Md.) with 418 passing yards, completing 33-of-50 passes and senior Nyme Manns (Baltimore, Md.) recorded 150 reception yards on 12 catches. Graduate student Antoine Young (Washington, D.C.) and junior Daivon Nixon (Laurel, Md.) paced the Bowie State defense with 14 and 12 tackles respectively.
Bowie State took the lead after an early interception by junior Justice Marriott (Baltimore, Md.). Following the turnover the Bulldogs needed just one play to take a 7-0 lead. Hall hit redshirt sophomore Brandon Britton (Columbia, Md.) from 13-yards for the early lead for the visitors.
The Blue Devils answered with 2:37 left in the first quarter, capitalizing on a long punt return from Dan Hebert. Following the 64-yard return, the Blue Devils needed just five plays to move 26 yards for the tying scoring. Jacob Dolegala rushed it in from four yards out to tie the game.
The Bulldogs wasted little time retaking the lead, driving 77 yards in nine plays to take a 14-7 lead. Abrams ran it in from one yard out for his first score of the game.
The Blue Devils took advantage of the first miscue of the game from the Bulldogs on their next scoring driving. Forced to punt, the punt hit the back of a Bulldog player and was recovered by the Blue Devils deep in Bulldog territory. Lytton ran it in from five yards out to tie the game 14-14.
Central took a 17-14 lead on a 37-yard field goal from Ed Groth with 43 seconds to play before the half.
The Blue Devils forced the second turnover of the game to open the third quarter, and Lytton rushed for his second touchdown of the game to push the lead to 23-14. The Blue Devils went for two but were unsuccessful.
Following an interception by Central Connecticut State’s Tymir Hinton, Dolegala rushed for his second touchdown of the game to push the lead to 30-14. The touchdown marked 23 straight points for the Blue Devils after trailing 14-7.
Hall ran it in from six-yards out to put an end to the Blue Devil run and cut the lead to 30-21 with one minute left in the third quarter.
Nash scored his first touchdown of the season from 16-yards out to push the Blue Devil lead to 37-21 with13:33 left in the fourth quarter. The key play in the drive was a 3rd-and-14 pass completion to Hebert that went for 22-yards and a first down.
Bowie State answered again with a 75-yard drive that resulted in a touchdown pass from Hall to Manns cut the lead to 37-29 with 10:06 left to play. The two-point conversion attempt for the Bulldogs was good, making it an eight point game.
Lytton's third touchdown of the game came from 31-yards out and capped a quick three-play drive that went 65 yards for the score. Central led 44-29 after the extra-point.
Bowie scored one final time as they drove 81-yards in five plays to cut the lead to 44-35 with 5:19 left in the fourth. The Bulldogs had a delay of game penalty and then a bad snap as they attempted the extra point and the lead remained nine after the failed try.
Central Connecticut State was led offensively by Dolegala with 182 passing yards and Nash with 118 rushing yards. Randall LaGuerre was the teams’ leading tackler with 10.
The Bulldogs begin conference play next Saturday (9/24), making a trip to Durham (N.C.) County Stadium to face the Shaw Bears at 1 p.m.
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