Football 10/9/2021 12:00:00 AM

Strong second half keeps Gallaudet on the winning path

Box Score

WASHINGTON - There was a point in the second quarter of Saturday's Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC) game between Gallaudet University and Keystone College where the host Bison could feel the pressure building against the Giants, a first-year program.

Gallaudet (4-0, 2-0 ECFC) had turned the ball over on back-to-back possessions with a fumble and interception, the latter of which led to Keystone's second score of the day to tie the game at 14-14, as the team's went into halftime.

The Bison regrouped at intermission and flexed its muscle in the third quarter with back-to-back drives of nine+ plays, 70+ yards and chewed up over five minutes of clock. The two drives ended with a Bison touchdown run to give Gallaudet some breathing room in the fourth quarter.

Gallaudet remains perfect on the 2021 season as it defeated Keystone (0-6, 0-2 ECFC) by 20 points, 34-14, before 213 at Hotchkiss Field.

The Bison, the No. 2 rushing attack in NCAA Division III, ran for a season-high 396 yards on 62 carries (6.4 average per rush) and five touchdowns. Gallaudet's offensive line of senior Daniel Tanielu (Federal Way, Wash.), freshman John Scarboro (Austin, Texas), senior Cress Fisher (Boyertown, Pa.), sophomore Jay Waters (Cape Coral, Fla.) and junior Mitch Dolinar (Las Vegas, Nev.) had another strong game upfront as they made running lanes and took down defensive linemen in the process.

Senior quarterback Timel Benton (Columbia, S.C.) led the offense with 167 yards on the ground and two first-half touchdown runs of 1 and 10 yards as GU led 14-0 early in the second quarter. Benton ran the ball 19 times for an 8.8 yards per rush average and completed both of his passes for 38 yards.

GU's defense stepped up in the second half as it forced four turnovers (two interceptions, two fumbles), one punt and one turnover on downs as Keystone was held scoreless.

Freshman strong safety Miguel Pavao (Frederick, Md.) picked off Keystone quarterback Tom Roach (14-for-30, 122 yards) midway through the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Roach got sacked by freshman linebacker Jacob Hartman (Petersburg, W.Va.), who forced the fumble, as sophomore linebacker Stefan Anderson (Faribault, Minn.) jumped on the ball to give GU great field position on the Keystone 37-yard line.

The Bison came away empty handed on that drive but forced the Giants to punt on their next drive before the visitors ended their day with back-to-back turnovers.

Roach got picked off by freshman linebacker John Werner Jr. (Frederick, Md.) at the Gallaudet 44 with 2:35 left in regulation.

Gallaudet ran down the clock and punted the ball away in the waning seconds as Keystone muffed the punt and fumbled it away as junior Marc Wallace Jr. (Panama City Beach, Fla.) fell on the loose the ball to end the game at the Keystone 11.

Pavao (nine solo) and Anderson (seven solo) led the Bison defense with 11 tackles. Werner Jr. added nine tackles (seven solo) and three tackles for a loss of nine yards, one sack and two pass breakups. Hartman finished with six tackles, 1.5 tackles for a loss of seven yards, one sack, one forced fumble and one pass breakup. Junior linebacker Rodney Burford Jr. (Brooklyn, N.Y.) finished with five tackles.

Keystone running back Mujah Muhammad finished with a game-high 172 yards on 24 carries and two touchdowns as he scored on runs of 60 and 3 yards in the second quarter. Inside linebacker Sean Tocci led the Giants defense with seven tackles (four solo).

BISON TRACKS