Football Picks Up First Win Over Bowie State
Dolegala rushes for three touchdowns in home victory
Freshman quarterback Jacob Dolegala rushed for three touchdowns and passed for 168 yards and the Central Connecticut football team scored with 1:42 left in the fourth quarter to top Bowie State 21-14 at home on Saturday night. The Blue Devils are now 1-2 on the season, and will travel to New Hampshire next week. Bowie State falls to 2-1 on the season.
Dolegala completed 16-of-31 passes for 168 yards and one interception in his second career start. Bowie State's Matthew Goggans passed 68 times, completing 34, for 373 yards and two touchdowns in the loss. Nyme Manns had 12 catches for 194 yards and a score.
The Blue Devils got on the board first on the first career touchdown run from Dolegala in the second quarter. The rush, from seven yards out, capped an 11-play, 57-yard drive for the Blue Devils. Dolegala rushed for 29 yards on the drive, including a season-long rush of 13 yards.
Central forced a Bowie punt, their fifth of the half, and then put together their most complete drive of the game to build their lead.
Dolegala rushed for his second touchdown of the game, this time from one yard out, making it 14-0 in favor of the Blue Devils with 6:48 left before halftime. The drive went 10-plays for 76-yards and took just over four minutes. Dolegala was 2-for-2 on the drive including a 29-yard pass to junior captain Dan Hebert. Sophomore running back Cameron Nash rushed four times for 21 yards on the drive.
Following a pair of punts, Bowie State got on the scoreboard on a 55-yard pass from Goggans to Manns with under three minutes to play in the half. The Bulldogs missed a field goal at the end of the half and Central led 14-7 at the break.
Bowie tied the game 14-14 with 5:12 left in the third quarter. Goggans hit Brandon Britton from 11-yards out for his second scoring strike of the game. The scoring pass capped a drive that went nine-plays and 38 yards following a Blue Devil punt.
Bowie had a chance for their first lead of the game but missed a 22-yard field goal with 14:50 left in the fourth quarter. The miss was the second of the game for the Bulldogs.
Dolegala's third rushing touchdown gave the Blue Devils a 21-14 lead with 1:42 left in the fourth quarter. The score capped a solid scoring drive for the Blue Devils that went for 15 plays and 77 yards, leaving under two minutes for the Bulldogs to try and score. The Central defense stopped Bowie State on their next possession and held on for the win.
The Blue Devils are back in action next weekend on the road at New Hampshire beginning at 6 p.m.
