WASHINGTON – The Gallaudet University football team dropped its 2026 home opener to Roanoke College, 52-0, on an overcast and rainy Saturday afternoon at Hotchkiss Field.
The Bison (0-4) were held to 176 yards of total offense by a Roanoke defense that has allowed only seven points through its first three games this season.
Roanoke (3-0) scored on its opening possession and built a 21-0 first-quarter lead despite possessing the ball for only 1 minute, 53 seconds. The Maroons' three scoring drives in the opening quarter lasted 1:13, 12 seconds and 28 seconds. Gallaudet controlled the ball for 13:07 in the quarter and put together a 13-play, 64-yard drive that reached the Roanoke 11-yard line before turning the ball over on downs.
The Maroons added two touchdowns in the second quarter to take a 35-0 lead into halftime and returned the opening kickoff of the second half 66 yards for another score. Roanoke added a third-quarter touchdown, its seventh straight in the game, and a 46-yard field goal from Ethan Cyr in the fourth quarter.
Gallaudet's longest play came late in the fourth quarter when junior quarterback
Stevie Oursler (Prince Frederick, Md.) connected with first-year wide receiver
Luke LeFors (Baton Rouge, La.) on a 60-yard completion down the right sideline. The drive ended two plays later, on an interception at the goal line, the only turnover in the game.
Sophomore quarterback
Jayden DeFalco (Indianapolis, Ind.) hung in there against a tough Roanoke defense and completed 14 of 23 passes for 121 yards. LeFors finished with four receptions for a team-high 92 yards while fellow first-year wide receiver
Nemo Jones (Jackson, Ga.) led the Bison with five receptions for 45 yards.
Junior linebacker
Lawrence Rivers (Chiefland, Fla.) and senior defensive lineman
Andrew Suarez (Fairview, Texas) led Gallaudet with nine tackles apiece. Senior linebacker
Dawson Ethington (Baltimore, Md.) and first-year defensive back
Mark Gwynn III (Randallstown, Md.) added eight tackles each.
Roanoke sophomore quarterback Linwood Johnson completed 19 of 20 passes for 275 yards and four touchdowns. Junior wide receiver Khamari Garner caught four passes for 111 yards and one touchdown. The Maroons' defense held the Bison to negative five yards rushing as GU went 0-for-2 in the red zone against Roanoke.
Saturday's home opener also served as Gallaudet football's Mental Health Awareness Game in partnership with Gallaudet University's Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) and was part of the University's annual Rising Stars Day for Deaf and hard of hearing high school students.
BISON TRACKS
- GU held the ball for over 30 minutes (30:04).
- Gallaudet committed only one turnover, it's fewest in a game this season.
- Gallaudet was shut out for the first time since a 45-0 loss at Washington and Lee University on Oct. 11, 2025.
- Roanoke defeated Gallaudet, 38-14, last season in Salem, Va., when the Bison competed as a member of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC).
- The Bison have dropped five consecutive home openers dating back to 2022.
- GU is 5-12 in home openers dating back to 2009.
UP NEXT
Gallaudet has a bye next weekend before traveling to Franklin, Mass., to face Dean College on Saturday, Oct. 10.
