Bowie State 14, Virginia Union 8

After losing their first two games to CIAA opponents by a total of five points, the Bulldogs have earned two hard-fought wins since, including Saturday's 14-8 victory over defending CIAA Eastern Division champion Virginia Union University.

The Bulldogs 1-2 record in the Eastern Division brings them closer to the Panthers, who fell to 2-2, 2-1 CIAA, with the defeat.

"The key today was turnovers. We caused six and only turned it over once ourselves," said head coach Henry Frazier, III.

Panthers' quarterback Jasun Thompson entered the game as the conference's top-rated passer with five touchdowns and no interceptions in three games. But it was the Bulldogs that entered as the league's top-ranked pass defense that won the showdown, pressuring him into four interceptions for the game while sacking him four times.

While by no means alone, freshman Atcheson "AT" Conway spearheaded the Bulldogs defensive attack, and it was his second interception of the day with 1:18 left in the game that clinched the win for the Bulldogs. Along with his two picks, Conway led the team with 10 tackles, three pass breakups, and a forced fumble that he recovered and returned 36 yards.

"The college game is a lot faster than high school and it took some time to get used to it, but I guess I've adjusted quick," understated Conway.

Defensive end Charles Alston recorded three sacks among his nine tackles, forced a fumble and generally made things miserable for Thompson. Harry Brunson recorded seven tackles and forced a fumble while Nathaniel Talley and T-Wuan Prather had the other interceptions.

"Our defensive coordinator John Morgan has done an excellent job prepping against teams we face," said Frazier. "I just stand on the opposite end of the sideline and try to stay out of his way during the game."

The Bulldogs set the tone early when Talley picked off Thompson on the Panthers' first possession of the game. The Bulldogs were forced to punt, but were able to convert when defensive lineman Anthony Mulkey forced a fumble on the Panthers' second possession.

On the second play from scrimmage, quarterback Kernis Faison hit wide receiver Mike Bryant on a 38-yard post pattern for a touchdown, giving the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead.

The offense extended the lead to 14-0 at the 5:23 mark of the first quarter when Kelvin Collins went in from three yards out. The Bulldogs went 51 yards in six plays, the key being Ian Greenlee's 31-yard run on a third-and-six situation.

The sophomore Greenlee gained 54 yards on seven carries. Freshman fullback Caleb Cranke continued to shine, grinding out 84 yards on 18 carries, including rushing five times for 22 yards in the final minute with the Bulldogs trying to run out the clock.

While running the ball 43 times, Faison did a good job with his opportunities to pass, completing 5-12 for 87 yards and a touchdown, extending his streak of not throwing an interception to two games.

After the Bulldogs' second touchdown, the Panthers returned the kickoff to the Bulldogs' 43. They took the momentum and went the 43 yards in seven plays, culminating in a six-yard touchdown run by Larry Edwards. Thompson's rush for a two-point conversion was successful, and the Panthers pulled to within 14-8 right at the start of the second quarter.

Thompson finished the day 10-20 for 95 yards and the four interceptions. Thompson was hurt twice in the waning stages of the second quarter when his passes for apparent touchdowns went through the hands of his receiver Treymayne Hill.

"The football gods looked out for us on those plays and they were big plays. When you score right before halftime, the other team has a long time to think about what happened," said Frazier.

The Panthers had their best chance of the second half after Faison bobbled the snap on a punt; his attempt going for a negative two yards.

Taking over on the Bulldogs' 30 with 28 seconds left in the third quarter, the Panthers first went backward on a personal foul penalty. Then Thompson was intercepted by Prather on the Bowie 19, after Prather seemingly baited Thompson into making the throw.

The Bulldogs would not score, but limited the Panthers' chances the rest of the way by controlling the ball for over 10 minutes in the fourth quarter.

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