WASHINGTON, DC – Behind a stellar defensive showing, the Greensboro College football team picked up their first win of the season on Saturday afternoon. The Pride jumped on the Bison of Gallaudet early and did not look back coming away with a 42-20 victory.
 
The Bison started the game with the football, but Greensboro was able to quickly force Gallaudet into a punting situation. The Bison's, Ramon Johnson, got a 42 yard punt away that pushed Cortez Vernon back to his own 36 yard line, but Vernon quickly turned the ball up the field to give Greensboro the ball on the Gallaudet 17 yard line.
 
Following the big return by Vernon, it only took the Pride four plays to find the end zone. Vernon, who returned the punt, opened the drive with a three yard rush before losing ground two plays later. On fourth down, junior quarterback, Mac Graham zipped a pass to a wide open Armani Williams from 19 yards out to put the Pride on top 7-0 following a Ryan Campbell point after attempt.
 
Two possessions following the Pride touchdown, the Greensboro defense started their surge of takeaways. Greensboro's senior defensive back, Micah McMaster, intercepted the Bison's Ramon Johnson before scampering 87 yards to extend the Pride margin to 14-0.
 
On the next possession for Gallaudet, the Pride defense, led by Tyrone Barber, forced the Bison to turn the ball over on downs on the Greensboro 34 yard line.
 
Once Greensboro got the ball back, it only took two plays for the Pride to find the goal line once again. Meleck Thorton opened the drive with a one yard rush before Graham connected with the big Williams once again. After catching the pass from Graham, Williams sprinted down the sideline to extend the Greensboro lead to 21-0 heading into the second quarter of play.
 
The Pride was able to strike one more time in the second quarter to take a 28-0 lead into the intermission period. With just over five minutes left in the first half, Graham threw his third touchdown strike of the day this time to John McCaffity from 40 yards out.
 
"We were able to come out and set the pace early," Head Coach Bill Young remarked following the game. "The big plays on the both offensive side of the ball and on special teams helped us keep the momentum."
Coming out to the half time break, Gallaudet was able to stop the shutout as they cut the Greensboro advantage to 28-6 following an eight play 40 yard drive.
 
 
However, Greensboro was able to extend their lead back out on the ensuing possession. On third down and twelve to go, Graham connected with freshman wide receiver Troy Hill across the middle of the field before winning the race to end zone to make the score 35-6 following the point after by Scott Gaston.
 
Greensboro would be able to hold their 29 point margin until the 8:41 mark in the fourth quarter of play when the Bison scored to make the score 35-14.
 
Following the Bison touchdown, Gallaudet was able to recover an onside kick to get the ball right back. However, the Greensboro defense was able to take the ball right back. William Heiligenthaler picked up his first interception of the season.
 
On the second play of the drive, Cortez Vernon picked up his second rushing score of the season following a 42 yard scamper to make the score 42-14.
 
The Bison then put one final score on the board but it was not enough to overcome the Pride as Greensboro came away with the 42-20 victory.
 
"The guys up front did an amazing job to help lead to the turnovers," Young continued to say. "On the offensive side of the ball, we had some young wide receivers really step up. When they came into the game, they made the most of the time."
 
Mac Graham finished the day with 285 yards through the air along with four touchdowns and one interception.  Armaini Williams hauled in a team high 111 yard receiving while Troy Hill recorded 76 yards.
 
On the defensive side of the ball, Chase Sams and Micah McMaster led the way with nine total tackles while combining for 2.5 tackles for loss, .5 sacks, and one interception. Herbert Bridges and Darrell Ashley accounted for the last two interceptions on the day.
 
With the victory, the Pride improves to 1-2 overall on the season heading into conference play in two weeks. Greensboro will have a bye week before traveling to Ferrum College to open USA South play on October 3^rd. For the latest on Pride athletics, continue to follow www.greensborocollegesports.com.