WASHINGTON – The loud bass drum echoed throughout Hotchkiss Field here Saturday as the Gallaudet University football team danced and celebrated a 37-15 victory over Dean College to end its 2024 season.

Gallaudet (5-4) hosted the winless Bulldogs (0-9) in the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC) consolation game on a blustery and sunny autumnal day in the nation's capital.

Senior quarterback/wide receiver Brandon Washington (Citronelle, Ala.) put on a show in his final game in the buff and blue. Washington ran for a game-high 164 yards and two touchdowns, caught four passes for 85 yards and a touchdown and completed one pass for 13 yards. He finished with 249 all-purpose yards and leaves as the program's rushing leader in the modern era with 2,421 yards and 30 rushing touchdowns (46 touchdowns combined rushing, passing, receiving).

The game started off with a bang as Dean's Brayden Prasse returned the opening kickoff 76 yards for a touchdown just 13 seconds into the game as the Bulldogs took an early 6-0 lead after a failed two-point conversion. That was Dean's first lead in a game all season but it didn't last long.

GU answered on its first play from scrimmage when first-year quarterback Trevin Adams (Riverside, Calif.) connected with junior Zack Parsons (Reading, Pa.) with a pass over the middle and Parsons turned it up the field and down the far sideline for a 53-yard touchdown at the 14:28 mark in the first quarter. Bison kicker Adem Mahassini (Long Island City, N.Y.) made the point after attempt as Gallaudet led 7-6.

The back-to-back touchdowns took place 32 seconds into the game.

The game and teams settled down from there as the defensive units went to work and forced punts and turnovers until late in the second quarter.

GU had 1st and 10 at the Dean 40-yard line when Washington made an errant pitch to the left and Dean defender Joe Penton nabbed the ball in the air and ran 56 yards down to the Gallaudet 3.

Two plays later, Dean's quarterback Josiah Morales punched it in from the 1-yard line. The Bulldogs failed on their two-point conversion attempt, after it amassed 20 yards in penalties, but led 12-7.

Gallaudet recovered a pooched kickoff attempt thanks to a heads-up fair catch signal by junior Joshua Saaty (Ada, Okla.) which led to a kick catching interference penalty on Dean, who thought it had recovered an onside kick.

The Bison quickly marched 29 yards on four plays before Adams hit Washington for an 18-yard touchdown right before halftime. Mahassini made the extra-point and GU led 14-12 at intermission.

The Bison defense flexed its muscle in the second half as Gallaudet picked off Dean on four of five drives, including three consecutive possessions in the fourth quarter.

Gallaudet got interceptions from senior Antonio Mendoza (Waco, Texas), junior Zefan Nathanson (Manor, Texas), Saaty and senior Zarek Nathanson (Manor, Texas).

Mendoza returned his interception 27 yards to the Dean 41 in the third quarter. That turnover set-up a nine-play touchdown drive that was capped by a Kylar Sicoli (Austin, Texas) 2-yard touchdown run.

GU limited Dean to only three points in the second half when kicker Griff Sullivan made a 24-yard field goal at the 1:24 mark in the third quarter to cut the deficit to six, 21-15.

Washington scored on a 22-yard run to begin the fourth quarter and later added a four-yard run to cap the scoring in the game.

GU sophomore superback Marcus Brown-Gabriel (Beeville, Texas) finished the game with a career-high 103 yards on 16 carries. Washington and Brown-Gabriel combined for 267 of GU's 289 yards rushing.

Adams completed 7 of 9 passes for a career-high 154 yards and two touchdowns.

The Bison defense held the Bulldogs to 11 yards rushing on 31 carries as GU made nine tackles for a loss of 37 yards which included three sacks for a loss of 21 yards.

Zefan Nathanson led the team with eight tackles (four solo), two sacks for a loss of 13 yards, one forced fumble, two pass breakups and one interception. Junior linebacker Jacob Hundley (McKee, Ky.) made seven tackles (three solo) and 1.5 tackles for a loss of two yards. Zarek Nathanson added six tackles (two solo) and a pick.

Gallaudet finished the season 4-1 at home and the Bison won five of their last six games.

This was the final Eastern Collegiate Football Conference game in the conference's 15-year history. The consolation game ended at 3:12 p.m. while the ECFC championship game, which started at the same time (noon) concluded at 3:02 p.m. Alfred State College defeated Anna Maria College, 39-37, to earn the conference's automatic qualifier into the NCAA tournament.

UP NEXT
This concludes the season for the Gallaudet football team, who finish the season with a winning overall record of 5-4 (4-4 vs. Division III teams) and went 2-1 in ECFC play.