WASHINGTON – There was no secret to what Gallaudet University was going to do on offense here Saturday afternoon at Hotchkiss Field. The question was if Alfred State College would be able to stop the Bison triple-option rushing attack in this key Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC) game.

The answer would be no as GU rolled up 403 yards on the ground en route to a 38-24 homecoming victory before a crowd of 1,802 gathered on a blustery day in the nation's capital.

Gallaudet (3-4, 2-0 ECFC), the defending conference champions, have now won three straight games after starting the season 0-4.

Junior super back Dre'Vaughn Mackall (Prince Frederick, Md.) ran wild over and through the Pioneer defense. Mackall ran for a career-high 184 yards on 26 carries and scored three touchdowns. Mackall was held to 63 yards in the first half but Alfred State forgot about Dre in the second half. Mackall ran for 121 yards and scored two touchdowns in the final 16 minutes of the game to put the game out of reach.

GU surpassed 400 rushing yards for the first time since Oct. 19, 2019, when the Bison ran for 590 yards on the ground against, you guessed it, Alfred State.

The Bison finished today's game with 403 yards of offense, as only four players recorded rushing statistics. GU did not attempt a pass against the Pioneers for a second straight year.

Junior slot Mikka Harvey (Prince Frederick, Md.) finished the day with 112 rushing yards on eight carries (14.0 average per rush) with a long run of 62 yards. Junior quarterback Brandon Washington (Citronelle, Ala.) finished with 81 yards on 17 carries and two 1-yard touchdown runs on the goal line in the second and third quarters. Sophomore slot Zack Parsons (Reading, Pa.) was the fourth Bison with offensive statistics as he ran the ball four times for 28 yards.

Alfred State (4-4, 1-1 ECFC) got on the scoreboard first with a Maxwell DeMare 27-yard field goal just minutes into the contest. GU responded with a Mackall eight-yard run at the 7:28 mark in the first quarter as the Bison led 7-3.

Pioneer senior running back Jake Palmer (13 carries, 29 yards) scored the first of two 1-yard runs at the 4:18 mark and later at the 5:54 mark in the second quarter. Washington's first touchdown was sandwiched between the two Palmer scores.

The Pioneers took a 17-14 lead into halftime behind the offensive prowess of quarterback Justin Horvath, who completed 10 of 14 passes for 195 yards. Horvath finished the game with 284 passing yards on 19 of 32 attempts and a 32-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Ben Ba (seven receptions, 126 yards, one score).

A large credit to Gallaudet's offensive success is attributed to its offensive line of sophomore Kyle Albertson (Pierre, S.D.), sophomore Arif Begani (Chesapeake, Va.), junior Conner Egan (Houston, Texas), first-year Alejandro Gonzalez (Marietta, Ga.), junior Billy Haynes (Pasadena, Texas) and junior John Scarboro (Austin, Texas) along with the outside blocking made by the Bison wide receiving corps.

GU regained the lead in the third quarter with back-to-back lengthy touchdown drives that totaled over 11 minutes. Washington scored his second touchdown to complete a nine-play, 65-yard drive at the 9:38 mark in the third quarter. Mackall scored the second of three scores with a two-yard run with 31 seconds left in the third quarter.

Senior kicker Jonathon Waterman (Redding, Calif.) went 5-for-5 on extra-point attempts and added a 35-yard field goal with 3:54 left in regulation as GU led 31-17.

Alfred State continued to battle late in the game when Horvath hit Ba on a 32-yard touchdown pass with minutes left in the game. The Pioneers had an unsuccessful onside kick as sophomore defensive back Andrae' Green (Washington, D.C.) came up with the ball around midfield.

Two plays later, Mackall made a house call as he ran 39 yards up the middle to the end zone with 1:35 left in the game to put things out of reach as GU led 38-24.

Junior linebacker Jacob Hartman (Petersburg, W.Va.) led the Bison defense with eight tackles (five solo) while Green made three pass breakups to go with five tackles.

The Bison are now 5-1 all-time against Alfred State and 3-1 at Hotchkiss Field against the Pioneers.

UP NEXT
Gallaudet will travel to Anna Maria College (3-4, 1-1 ECFC) in Paxton, Mass., next Saturday, Oct. 28, for a noon conference game.