Gallaudet drops ECFC opener on the road to Mount Ida

NEWTON, Mass. – The Gallaudet University football team dropped its Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC) opener 43-12 here Saturday to Mount Ida College before a crowd of 541 at Alumni Field.

Gallaudet (0-3, 0-1 ECFC) scored two fourth quarter touchdowns after it fell behind 43-0 after three quarters. Mount Ida (1-3, 1-0 ECFC) led 20-0 at halftime before scoring 23 points in the third quarter.
The Bison put together their longest drive of the season as they marched 81 yards on 17 plays, using nearly seven minutes of the clock, to score GU's first touchdown of the game. Freshman quarterback Ramon Johnson (Sylmar, Calif.) threw a five-yard touchdown pass to freshman wide receiver Lawrence Watson (Fayetteville, N.C.) at the 11:18 mark in the fourth quarter.

On Gallaudet's next possession, Johnson threw a nine-yard strike to freshman tight end Austin Hundley (McKee, Ky.) for the score on a seven play, 26-yard drive. The Bison failed on both two-point conversions.

The Bison punted on their first three possessions of the game and only trailed 6-0 late in the second quarter. Gallaudet turned the ball over on three consecutive possessions with the final two leading to Mount Ida touchdowns as the Mustangs led by 20 at the break.

Mount Ida put the game away in the third quarter as the Mustangs scored on touchdowns on their first three possessions and Gallaudet gave up a safety on a botched snap into the end zone.

Mustang quarterback Jack Sheehan completed 12-of-19 passes for 184 yards and three touchdowns, two of them to wide receiver Matt Greenman (six receptions, 100 yards).

BISON TRACKS 

• Junior linebacker Shawn Benavente (Fremont, Calif.) led the GU defense with eight tackles (seven solo), two sacks for a loss of eight yards
• Junior free safety Carneilus Smith (Chesapeake, Va.) had two pass breakups and five tackles
• Freshman linebacker Louie Akuffo (Bowie, Md.) tied Benavente with eight tackles
• Johnson was 15-for-28 for 74 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions
• Junior running back John Anderson (Clarksville, Tenn.) was GU's leading rusher with nine carries for 30 yards
• Watson and senior Braxton Baker (Webb City, Mo.) had a team-high 24 receiving yards
• Freshman linebacker Daequan Taylor (Hampton, Va.) had the team's third sack for a loss of seven yards
• Gallaudet has lost eight games dating back to last season
• The last time GU lost three games to begin a season was in 2008
• GU is now 2-7 vs. Mount Ida since the Bison returned to Division III status in 2007
• The 31-point margin of loss ties the highest in the series, GU lost 38-7 to the Mustangs in 2008

UP NEXT
The Bison will host Norwich University (1-3, 1-0 ECFC) at Hotchkiss Field on Saturday, Oct. 10, at noon.