Benedict Falls To Bowie St. On National TV, 28-14

COLUMBIA, S.C. (BC SID) — The Bowie State Bulldogs jumped out to a 28-0 first-half lead and cruised to a 28-14 victory over the Benedict College Tigers in a nationally-televised NCAA Division II football game on Thursday night at Charlie W. Johnson Stadium. The Bulldogs gained 431 yards of total offense, with 321 yards on the ground. Two Bowie State running backs, Keith Brown and Corwin Acker, eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark. The Tigers, on the other hand, gained 120 yards of total offense for the game. The offense failed to score, with linebacker DeMonta’ Searcy capitalizing on two fumble recoveries for Benedict’s only touchdowns. “Offensively, we’ve got to find a way to play better,” Benedict head football coach James Woody said. “It’s our job as coaches to find a way to get this offense rolling. This has been two straight weeks with a lack of offense. You can’t win football games like that.” The Benedict coaches continue to search for a quarterback who can consistently move the offense. Christopher Thomas started and was 4-of-6 for 12 yards. Marcus Graham was 7-of-13 for 28 yards and Teddy Joseph saw playing time in the fourth quarter and was 3-for-4 for 32 yards. The three quarterbacks combined to throw for 72 yards. On the ground, Benedict rushed 25 times for 31 yards, for a 1.9 per carry average. Last week in the loss to Virginia Union, the Tigers averaged 0.9 yards per carry. The Bulldogs opened the game with a 10-play, 72-yard drive, with Brown scoring on a 9-yard run. Brown broke loose for a 76-yard touchdown run later in the first quarter. The Tigers were moving the ball at the start of the second quarter, when Chris Thomas fumbled the ball and Bowie State’s Eric Walters picked up the recovery and returned it 59 yards before Emmanuel Houston dragged him down at the 3-yard line. After a Bowie State penalty, Brown ran in from eight yards out for his third score of the night. Brown gained all of his 130 yards in the first half. The Tigers failed to gain a first down on their next possession, and the Bulldogs went on a 76-yard drive over nine plays, with Acker scoring on a 15-yard run to push the score to 28-0. The Bulldogs were driving late in the third quarter when Dyrell Porcha forced a fumble on Bowie State quarterback Tyrae Reid, and DaMonta’ Searcy scooped up the loose ball and ran 74 yards the other way for Benedict’s first score with 1:03 left in the third quarter. Late in the fourth quarter, a Brian Curry punt pinned the Bulldogs inside their 10-yard line. Reid fumbled again on a hard hit from Joshua Wade, and the ball dribbled back into the Bowie State end zone and Searcy jumped on the ball for his second defensive touchdown of the game. Benedict knocked out Bowie State starting quarterback Jared Johnson, who threw for 274 yards last week, early in the first quarter. But the Bulldogs kept the ball on the ground, rushing 28 times in the first half. “We knew they were a very, very good football team and had a lot of speed, and that concerned me,” Woody said. “We couldn’t stop their run game and that put us in a hole early, and it didn’t help that the offense didn’t give any help as well.” Reynard Parks and Wade led the defense with seven tackles each. Searcy had six total tackles, one tackle for loss, one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries for touchdowns. The Tigers (0-2) will look for their first win of the season when they face Virginia State University in the Palmetto Capital City Classic at Charlie W. Johnson Stadium on September 15. Kickoff is 4 p.m.