Bulldogs No Match for 5th Ranked Rams in 35-3 Loss
(BOWIE, MD) For the second time in as many weeks preseason Northern Division contender Bowie State lined up to face a top Southern Division team in a highly anticipated CIAA Game of the Week. Last week, Saint Augustine’s raced to a 29-0 halftime lead and cruised to a 38-22 win over the Bulldogs. This week, defending CIAA champion, and undefeated Winston-Salem State paid a visit to Bulldogs Stadium and again Bowie State came up short against one of the Southern Division’s elite teams.
Quarterback Kameron Smith threw for 267 yards and four touchdowns as the fifth-ranked Winston-Salem State Rams (5-0, 2-0) powered to a decisive 35-3 win over Bowie State (3-2, 0-2) yesterday in Bowie. The Rams rolled up 500 yards of total offense while limiting the Bulldogs to 246 yards and a single field goal in a dominating defensive performance.
Wideout Jahuann Butler caught five passes for 119 yards, including a 41-yard touchdown from Smith that gave the Rams a 7-0 first quarter lead. Bowie State responded with a 28-yard field goal by Mario Diaz-Aviles that trimmed the lead to 7-3…the closest the Bulldogs would get the rest of the day. Smith then connected with Tehvyn Brantley (3 catches, 50 yards) on a 25-yard scoring pass to stake the Rams to a 14-3 halftime lead.
In the third quarter, the Rams continued to methodically pull away from the Bulldogs. Smith tossed a 25-yard touchdown pass to Jamal Williams (6 catches, 80 yards) and a 5-yard TD to quarterback-turned-fullback Jamie DeGeare as WSSU stretched the lead to 28-3 after three quarters. Backup quarterback Anthony Carrothers’ 22-yard touchdown to Orlando Hatfield in the fourth quarter rounded out the Rams’ scoring.
Winston-Salem State’s defense was in a word, stingy. The Rams forced three turnovers and held Bowie State to 100 rushing yards. Two Bowie State quarterbacks combined to go 12 of 39 for 146 yards, and two interceptions. Most importantly, the Rams held the Bulldogs scoreless after Diaz-Aviles’ field goal in the first quarter.
Despite the score, Bowie State’s defense did a good job slowing down the Rams’ dangerous ground game, holding tailback Maurice Lewis, who leads the CIAA at 107.5 yards a game, to 14 carries for 52 yards. Jared Johnston threw for 121 yards and Doug McNeil caught three passes for 74-yards to lead Bowie State’s offense. Next Saturday, Winston-Salem State will travel to Charlotte to face Johnson C. Smith, while Bowie State travels to Chowan.
CIAA SCOREBOARD
Chowan Hawks 27 Fayetteville State 3
Elizabeth City State 23 Saint Augustine’s 21
Lincoln 55 Johnson C. Smith 53
Livingstone 23 Virginia Union 21
Shaw 16 Virginia State 6
Winston-Salem St. 35 Bowie State 3