Castleton, VT – The Castleton State College football team fell 49-18 to visiting Gallaudet University in front of 3400 on Castleton's Homecoming and Alumni Weekend Saturday afternoon at Spartan Stadium. With the win Gallaudet evens its record at 2-2 overall and 1-1 in Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC) action. The Spartans fall to 1-2 overall (0-1 ECFC).

After both teams spent the opening five minutes of play struggling through three-and-out series, Castleton appeared to gain the advantage when Cameron Laundry (Hartford, VT) forced and recovered a fumble at the Gallaudet 25 yard line. The momentum was short-lived. On the ensuing possession, Richard Bailey (Willingboro, NJ) blasted through the line and sacked Castleton quarterback Shane Brozowski (Rensselaer, NY). Brozowski fumbled, Johua Doudt (Medina, OH) scooped up the loose ball and rumbled 68 yards down the sideline for a 6-0 lead. Justin Wilson (Phoenix, AZ) tacked on the extra point and the Bison never looked back.

Gallaudet added two more touchdowns before Castleton could get on the board. Quarterback Jimmy Gardner (St. Augustine, FL) made it 13-0 when he hooked up with Ryan Lentz (Fremont, CA) for a 29-yard touchdown pass. The completion was Gardner's only of the day, and capped a two-play drive that spanned 64 yards. Cole Johnson (Edina, MN) capped a five-play, 61-yard drive with an 11-yard run into the end zone. Wilson's extra point made it 21-0 with 13:33 remaining in the first half. Justin Arrigo (Trenton, NJ) carried the load on the drive, ripping off first-down runs of 13, 21 and 12 yards in succession to set up the score.

Castleton broke through for a touchdown on its next drive, as Tyler Carpenter (Fort Edward, NY) plunged in from the one-yard line to finish off a 42-yard drive. Brozowski keyed the drive, completing two passes to Evan Cassidy (South Burlington, VT) for 29 yards, and one to Thomas Cole (Florence, VT) for 12 yards to set up the score. Once again the Bison answered, marching 70 yards on just four plays to score yet another touchdown. Rushes by Johnson, Phillip Hayes (Baton Rouge, LA) and Michael Gimeli (Deerpark, NY) ripped off runs of 15, 22 and 22 yards respectively to set up Gardner's 11-yard touchdown scamper.

After a Louis Robitaille (Poughkeepsie, NY) field goal cut the lead to 28-9, but Hayes added a two-yard touchdown run to push the lead to 35-9. Mike Jabour (South Burlington, VT) gave Castleton hope just prior to halftime, hauling in a 45-yard pass from Brozowski for a touchdown. The Spartans failed on the two-point try making it 35-15 entering intermission.

Gallaudet tacked on a pair of third quarter touchdowns to push the lead to 49-15, before Robitaille added a fourth-quarter field goal for the final margin.

Castleton struggled stopping the Gallaudet ground game as the Bison reeled off 448 net rushing yards on 53 carries for an 8.5 average. Arrigo led the attack with 145 yard on 11 carries. Hayes had three touchdowns to go along with his 128 yards on 10 carries, while Gimeli added 70 yards and Gardner 64. Tom Pangia (Hammonton, NJ) led the defense with 13 tacjkes, while Calvin Doudt (Medina, OH) added 11. Joshua Doudt added six tackles and a sack to go along with his touchdown return, and even returned a kick-off late in the contest. Bailey spent a lot of time in the Spartan backfield, collecting six tackles, including 1.5 sacks, and 2.5 tackles for a loss.

Carpenter ended the day with 54 yards on 12 carries, running the ball effectively. The early deficit proved to be the end of the Spartan ground game, however. Brozowski finished 24-37 for 242 yards. The freshman threw a pair of interceptions to go along with his lone touchdown strike to Jabour. Cassidy's eight catches for 61 yards led the receiving corps. Safety Cody TanCreti (Hartland, VT) and linebacker Dustin Young (Dunnellon, FL) led the Spartans with seven tackles. Adam Chicoine (South Burlington, VT) had three tackles, one of which went for a sack and two were for negative yards.

Castleton will travel to Mount Ida College next Saturday for a 1:00 pm ECFC contest. The Bison are likewise in action next Saturday hosting a 12:00 pm ECFC bout with Husson.