WASHINGTON – On a chill, damp Wednesday night under the lights at Hotchkiss Field in the nation's capital, the defending club national champions from Gallaudet University opened the 2026 women's flag football season in dominant fashion as the Bison rolled past Lancaster Bible College, 54-0, in a United East conference game.
Gallaudet (1-0, 1-0 United East) scored early and often as the buff and blue celebrated the program's first varsity game with the largest win and highest scoring output in program history. The Bison led 7-0 after the first quarter before they erupted for 29 points in the second to take a commanding 36-0 lead into halftime. GU added six points in the third and 12 more in the fourth to complete the shutout of the Chargers.
A crowd of 59 fans braved the cold and damp conditions to watch the Bison make history in the program's varsity debut.
The Bison offense piled up 258 yards of total offense on 36 plays, averaging 7.2 yards per play. Gallaudet threw for 205 yards and added 53 yards on the ground.
Gallaudet utilized two quarterbacks in the win as sophomore Gianna Visco (Riverside, Calif.) and first year Shaelyn Johnson (Redlands, Calif.) each threw for over 100 yards and three touchdowns.
Visco completed 10 of 15 passes for 104 yards and three touchdowns while also leading the Bison on the ground with 34 rushing yards and a touchdown. Johnson came off the bench and completed 10 of 12 passes for 101 yards and three touchdowns and caught one touchdown pass.
The Bison offense found the end zone on their opening scoring drive when Visco led a four-play, 30-yard march that ended with a touchdown pass at the 8:31 mark of the first quarter. Visco followed with a successful one-point conversion pass to give GU a 7-0 lead.
Gallaudet broke the game open in the second quarter with four touchdowns as the Bison scored 29 points in the period to pull away from the Chargers.
The receiving corps was paced by sophomore Citrine Lummer (Frederick, Md.), who hauled in five receptions for 66 yards and two touchdowns. First year Tiana Starayev (Noblesville, Ind.) added four catches for 53 yards and two touchdowns while sophomore Jada Zarembka (Riverside, Calif.) each caught a touchdown pass.
Lummer, Visco and Zarembka are returning starters from last year's undefeated squad that captured the United East club championship.
On defense, the Bison recorded four interceptions as they held Lancaster Bible to just 34 passing yards.
Lancaster Bible quarterback Cadee Cameron completed 7 of 19 passes for 34 yards with four interceptions. The Chargers (0-1, 0-1 United East) are playing a club season this spring. LBC finished the game with only 17 yards of total offense as the Bison defense swarmed and pushed the Chargers back 17 yards in negative rushing yards.
Lummer led the defensive effort with four tackles, three pass breakups and two interceptions. Visco and Starayev also recorded interceptions for the Bison. Lummer and Starayev had back-to-back pick-six interceptions late in the second quarter to break the game wide open.
Sophomore Dev Sklar (Brooklyn, N.Y.) led Gallaudet with five tackles while first year Brittany Rivera (Hesperia, Calif.) added four stops.
BISON TRACKS
- This was the first varsity game in program history for Gallaudet women's flag football
- GU is the defending United East club champion after posting a perfect 7-0 record last season
- The 54 points scored in a game are the most in program history
- The 54-point margin of victory is the largest in program history
- Gallaudet recorded four interceptions on defense
UP NEXT
Gallaudet will have over two weeks off before returning to action on Saturday, March 21, in Langhorne, Pa. The Bison will face Keystone College in a neutral site United East game at 12:30 p.m. followed by a conference match-up against host Cairn University later that afternoon.
