WASHINGTON - It was a different-looking Gallaudet University football team that stepped onto Hotchkiss Field today compared to the one that played here last Saturday. The Bison cleaned up mistakes from Week 1 as they aired things out on offense and physically dominated Greensboro College on defense en route to a 31-14 victory before a crowd of 326.
Gallaudet (1-1) had a balanced offensive attack against Greensboro (0-2) as the Bison tallied 160 yards through the air and 150 yards on the ground for a combined 310 yards of offense. Junior quarterback Nicholas Maccini (San Diego, Calif.) completed 9 of 12 passes for 144 yards and one touchdown and ran the ball a game-high 16 times for 44 yards. Sophomore slot Brandon Washington (Citronelle, Ala.) did a little bit of everything as he caught five passes for a game-high 101 yards, which included a 46-yard touchdown reception from Maccini in the fourth quarter. Washington ran the ball nine times for 32 yards and returned one kickoff for 21 yards.
GU made major improvements on cutting down on penalties and held onto the ball better compared to the season opener when the Bison fumbled away the ball five times. The Bison put the ball on the ground four times today but only lost one fumble and threw no interceptions.
The Bison defense came to play and came through with three interceptions and forced one fumble as GU scored 10 points off turnovers in the first half.
On Greensboro's second possession of the game, Greensboro quarterback David Loughry II (21-for-35, 228 yards) dropped back to pass and threw an interception to Gallaudet junior cornerback Jason Werner (Frederick, Md.) at the Pride's 37 yard line. GU drove 28 yards and got into field goal range where junior kicker Jonathon Waterman (Sebastian, Fla.) drilled a 26-yard field goal to give the Bison the 3-0 lead with under two minutes to play in the opening quarter.
In the second quarter, the Pride got to midfield and were marching into Gallaudet territory when Loughry's pass was picked off by sophomore Zarek Nathanson (Austin, Texas) at the Gallaudet 12 yard line.The Bison then used 13 plays to cover 88 yards and chew up six minutes and 25 seconds of the game clock as Gallaudet scored a touchdown on a trick play. GU faced a 4th down and 2 and trotted out the field goal unit for a 32-yard try. When the ball was snapped to the holder Mitch Dolinar (Las Vegas, Nev.), the starting left guard, he got up with the ball and rolled out to throw a 16-yard touchdown pass to a wide open Jacob Hartman (Petersburg, W.Va.), GU's starting inside linebacker, in the end zone. The play caught everyone off guard and gave the Bison a 10-0 lead with under five minutes left in the first half.
On the ensuing drive, Greensboro got down to the Gallaudet 5 with a minute to play but got denied on a 4th and 2 pass play as Loughry threw an incomplete pass. GU ran out the clock and went into halftime up 10-0.
In the second half, Gallaudet scored on its first drive of the third quarter. GU started at its own 40 yard line and ran its way down into the red zone. The Bison faced a 4th and Goal opportunity from the 2 yard line and handed the ball off to their junior superback DeMichael Shelbon (West Monroe, La.), who barreled his way into the end zone for the touchdown as GU led 17-0 at the 4:42 mark.
The Pride got on the scoreboard on their next drive as two Bison penalties kept things arrive for Greensboro. Loghry threw a seven-yard strike to Ryan Buchanan, who muscled his way into the end zone with 1:38 left in the third.
Gallaudet scored twice in the fourth quarter as Maccini hit Washington with the 46-yard touchdown pass and senior slot D'Mitri Lofton (Gaithersburg, Md.) went airborne to score on an eight-yard run as Lofton leapt over several Pride defenders into the end zone midway through the fourth. GU's lone fumble that it gave way came with a cost late in the fourth where the Bison were backed up near their own end zone. Maccini fumbled the snap and linebacker Tyler Alston picked up the loose ball and ran it in from three yards out as Greensboro cut the lead down to 17 points.
Hartman led the Bison defense with nine tackles, 1.5 tackles for a loss of five yards and forced one fumble. Jason Werner was second with five tackles, one interception and one blocked punt in the first quarter. Three Bison co-captains were next on the defensive ledger as junior inside linebacker Stefan Anderson (Little Falls, Minn.) made four tackles and combined with senior defensive end Rodney Burford Jr. (Brooklyn, N.Y.) on a sack of Loughry and added one quarterback hurry each. Burford Jr. also batted down a Loughry pass at the line of scrimmage. Senior free safety Laron Thomas (Orlando, Fla.) matched Burford Jr. with three tackles and made an interception in the fourth quarter.
Greensboro's Curtez Echols Jr. ran the ball three times for 36 yards while KJ Greer led the Pride with four catches for 43 yards. Sophomore linebacker Max Steele led the Pride defense with a game-high 14 tackles (four solo) and two tackles for a loss of four yards.
BISON TRACKS
- GU was 3-for-3 on 4th down plays
- The Bison held the ball for 40 minutes and three seconds
- Each team punted the ball four times
- Waterman was 4-for-4 on extra point kicks and averaged 31.5 yards per punt
- Greensboro was held to only 62 yards rushing
- The Pride were penalized 12 times for 120 yards
UP NEXT
Gallaudet will hit the road for the first time this season and travel to Maine to face University of New England (2-0) on Saturday, Sept. 17, at noon.