READING, Pa. – Gallaudet University opened the 2026 football season on the road Friday night as the Bison fell to Albright College, 44-7, at Eugene L. Shirk Stadium.
Gallaudet (0-1) got off to a rough start when its first possession ended with a blocked punt that gave Albright (1-0) the ball at the GU 23-yard line. The Lions capitalized five plays later with a two-yard touchdown run to take an early 7-0 lead.
The Bison defense kept things close for much of the first half and forced two turnovers on the night. Sophomore defensive back
Braxton Heffelfinger (Parma, Idaho) forced a fumble, recovered by senior linebacker
Dawson Ethington (Baltimore, Md.), and later intercepted an Albright pass.
Albright took a 17-0 lead into halftime and scored twice in the third quarter to extend its advantage to 31-0.
Gallaudet broke through late in the third quarter when sophomore quarterback
Jayden DeFalco (Indianapolis, Ind.) connected with first-year wide receiver
Alex Ortman (Norway, Mich.) for a 55-yard touchdown. The play marked the first collegiate touchdown pass for DeFalco and the first collegiate reception and touchdown for Ortman. Sophomore kicker
Hawkins Morgan (Whitesboro, Texas) added the extra point.
Albright quickly answered with a 67-yard touchdown pass on its next offensive play and added another score in the fourth quarter to close out the win.
DeFalco completed 15 of 27 passes for 153 yards and one touchdown and led the Bison with 34 rushing yards. Ortman led GU with 55 receiving yards on his touchdown reception.
Junior linebacker
Lawrence Rivers (Chiefland, Fla.), who was limited to just one game last season due to injury, made an impressive return to the field as he led the Gallaudet defense with a game-high 10 tackles, including seven solo stops, and a quarterback hurry. Senior defensive tackle
Andrew Suarez (Fairview, Texas) added seven tackles to match his career high, a mark he reached twice last season.
Albright finished with 501 yards of total offense compared to 217 for Gallaudet. Albright quarterback Chase Roberts completed 18 of 25 passes for 276 yards and two touchdowns, while wide receiver Shayde Shultz caught seven passes for 118 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, linebacker Isaiah Nunez led the Lions with 10 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss.
The Bison won the turnover battle, 2-1, but were hurt by 14 penalties for 141 yards. The two teams combined for 24 penalties and 265 penalty yards.
BISON TRACKS
- This marked the third straight season Gallaudet and Albright have met in the season opener since 2024.
- Albright leads the young all-time series, 3-0.
- Gallaudet has scored one touchdown in each of the three meetings with the Lions.
- The Bison have dropped five consecutive season openers. GU's last season-opening victory came on Sept. 18, 2021, with a 21-14 win over Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology.
UP NEXT
Gallaudet travels to Anderson, Ind., next Saturday, Sept. 12, to face Anderson University for a noon game. This will mark the first trip to Anderson for the Bison football program.
