ALFRED, N.Y. – An unfortunate second half saw Gallaudet University's hope of playing in the 2024 Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC) championship game go up in smoke as Alfred State College rallied to win, 28-26, here Saturday at Pioneer Stadium.

Gallaudet (4-4, 2-1 ECFC) entered the game with its own destiny in its hands and for the first 20 minutes things couldn't have been drawn up better for the Bison.

GU scored touchdowns on three of its first four possessions as all three scoring drives covered at least 63 yards as the Bison led 20-7 with 10:31 left before the half.

Alfred St. (4-5, 2-1 ECFC) responded with its own lengthy touchdown drive and went on to score twice in the final 5:29 of the second quarter to take a 21-20 halftime lead.

After a scoreless third quarter, the host got on the scoreboard at the 13:13 mark in the fourth on an 8-yard pass from quarterback Justin Horvath (22 for 32, 208 yards, two touchdowns) to Noah Currier (eight receptions, 50 yards, two touchdowns). The Pioneers scored 21 unanswered points against the Bison.

Gallaudet was not out of it as senior quarterback Brandon Washington (Citronelle, Ala.) capped a 13-play drive that covered 63 yards and ended with Washington in the end zone for the third time in the game. Washington plunged in from 1 yard out at the 7:23 mark in the fourth but the Bison didn't convert the two-point conversion as GU was down two, 28-26.

Washington finished the game with a season-high 187 rushing yards on 22 carries and three touchdowns on the ground. The senior signal caller threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Jaylen Johnson (Redlands, Calif.) on the first possession of the game.

Gallaudet's defense was able to force two punts from the Pioneers late in the fourth quarter to give the Bison offense two chances to try and win the game.

On both occasions, the Bison threw interceptions from two different players. Junior slot Zack Parsons (Reading, Pa.) threw up a floater on a trick play that was picked off at midfield with just over a minute left.

GU used its three timeouts to stop the clock as the defense forced a quick three-and-out. The Bison got the ball at its own 18 with 43 seconds left. First-year quarterback Trevin Adams (Riverside, Calif.) completed a short pass to Washington and after a false start penalty, Adams threw an interception to end the game.

The Bison finished the game with 385 yards of offense as 61 percent of those yards (235) came in the first half. GU ran for 304 yards on the ground while the Pioneers were held to 155. Alfred State finished the game with 363 yards of offense.

The detractors of Gallaudet's triple-option offense got their wish as the Bison aired things out in the second half and finished with a season-high three interceptions. Washington threw a pick in the third quarter. The trio of Washington, Adams and Parsons completed 3-of-9 passes for 58 yards and each player had one interception in the second half.

Gallaudet's defense was led by junior defensive back Zefan Nathanson (Manor, Texas) with 11 tackles (eight solo) followed by 10 tackles each from junior linebacker Jacob Hundley (McKee, Ky.) and senior linebacker Jacob Hartman (Petersburg, W.Va.). Hundley (eight solo tackles) added 1.5 sacks for a loss of 11 yards.

Alfred State's Silas Egenlauf tallied a game-high 14 tackles (12 solo) and 1.0 tackles for a loss of two yards. Pioneer Nicholas Cuomo ran for a team-high 81 yards and two first-half touchdowns of 45 yards and a 1-yard score.

The Pioneers will travel to top-seed Anna Maria College for the ECFC championship game in two weeks. Alfred State is the defending ECFC champion.

Anna Maria won the tiebreaker between Alfred State and Gallaudet with its overall NCAA Division III record of 4-4. The Bison are 3-4 in Division III play this season as George Mason is a club team. That left Alfred State and Gallaudet to break the tie for the No. 2 seed but due to the head-to-head result the Pioneers won their way into the conference championship game.

The Bison had their chances today and throughout the season to change their fortunes. Every game matters during a season and one win here or there would've made a big difference for the buff and blue.

UP NEXT
GU will host an ECFC consolation game on Saturday, Nov. 16, at noon against Dean College (0-8, 0-3 ECFC) at Hotchkiss Field.