PAXTON, Mass. - Despite falling short of the offensive fireworks produced in the teams' first matchup of the season, the Spartans and AMCATS still combined for 73 points as Castleton rode the arm of junior Shane Brozowski (Rensselaer, N.Y.) to a 39-34 victory over Anna Maria on Saturday evening at AMCAT field.

Brozowski threw for 452 yards, his second 450-yard performance of the season and the fourth of his career, helping the Spartans improve to 3-4 overall and rack up 554 yards of total offense. The junior added four touchdowns to four different receivers and junior Tyler Carpenter rushed for two scores and 79 yards on 18 carries to pace the running game. Sophomore Brandon Boyle (Springfield, Vt.) led the receiving corps with 98 yards and one touchdown on a career-high tying 11 catches.

Though the offense put Castleton on top, it was the defense which secured the victory. With just 1:05 remaining, corner Brandon Bergeron (Hartford, Vt.) intercepted quarterback Santino Simone (Worcester, Mass.) at the Spartans' 42-yard line to put an end to the AMCATS hopes of a lfourth-quarter comeback. The pick was the second of the game for Bergeron and his third of the year.

Anna Maria put up 417 yards of offense, including 208 on the ground, but still dropped to 0-7 on the season. Freshman Ken Woods led the AMCAT rushing attack with 123 yards on 24 carrries while Simone added 69 and two touchdowns on 17 touches.

Bergeron was part of a ball-hawking secondary which picked off a school-record five passes on Saturday and limited Simone to 18-for-25 passing and 209 yards. Freshman Josh Sparveri (Coventry, Conn.) had two of the picks and Chris Mooney (Hazlet, N.J.) added the other. Freshman Todd Carr led the team with ten tackles, while classmate Akeem Bell (Allentown, Pa.) added nine tackles from his defensive line position.

The Spartans got the ball to start the game and promptly marched 65 yards down the field in ten plays, the final three of which came on Carpenter's ninth rushing touchdown of the season. Senior Luis Robitaille (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) had his extra point blocked, leaving Castleton with the early 6-0 advantage.

Anna Maria countered with a lengthy drive of its own, going 70 yards in 13 plays and was punctuated by a one-yard touchdown run by Simone. The AMCATS succeeded on their extra point attempt to take the 7-6 lead.

Neither team was able to score again in the quarter. The Spartans finally took back the lead 1:48 into the second period as Brozowski hit junior Zach Waitkus (Stafford Springs, Conn.) for a 14-yard touchdown strike. Robitaille's extra point attempt was good, giving the visitors the 13-7 lead.

Mooney picked off Simone on the AMCATS next drive and returned the ball to the Anna Maria 35-yard line. Castleton took advantage of the short field and Boyle made it 19-7 with his seven-yard touchdown reception, though the two-point conversion attempt failed.

The teams traded possessions before Simone was able to lead another scoring drive for the AMCATS. The quarterback capped the four-play drive with his second rushing touchdown of the season to make it 19-14 going into the half.

Castleton found its offense stride in the second half, scoring on two of its first three drives in the third quarter. Sophomore Mike Patterson (Jackson, N.J.) caught a four-yard touchdown from Brozowski and another failed extra point attempt made it an 11-point contest, 25-14. Carpenter's 11-yard rushing touchdown with 6:40 left in the quarter pushed the lead to 31-14 and was set up by a 64-yard reception by Waitkus. Robitaille connected on the extra point for the 32-14 advantage.

After a missed field goal attempt by the Spartans, Anna Maria found the endzone once again, going 80 yard in just five plays, the final being a 23-yard touchdown catch by Dom Concepcion (Middlebury, Conn.) with 1:28 in the third. The extra point cut the AMCAT deficit to 32-28.

The Castleton offense responded immediately, needing just 1:49 and five plays to go 45 yards for the touchdown. Brozowski finished off the drive with a 10-yard pass to freshman Chris Miner-Dorman, his first career touchdown. Junior Dave Fox (Troy, N.Y.) connected on the extra point for the 39-28 lead.

Anna Maria wouldn't go down quietly, and after forcing the Spartans to turn it over on downs, Simone led a 10-play 65-yard drive to cut the lead to 39-34. However on the two-point conversion attempt, Simone tried to rush it himself and was stuffed by the Castleton defense, keeping the five-point advantage for the visitors.

Fox missed a 30-yard field goal on the Spartans next drive, fortunately, the AMCATS attempt for the go-ahead touchdown was denied with a pick from Bergeron.

Waitkus finished the game with seven receptions for 96 yards while Patterson added 52 yards on six catches. Defensively, Junior Dustin Young (Dunnellon, Fla.) finished with nine tackles while Mooney added eight.

Castleton returns to the friendly confines of Spartan Stadium next Saturday when they host Gallaudet at noon.

Notes: Brozowski has thrown for 19 touchdowns this season, breaking the program single-season record of 16 he set last season ... Boyle (7) and Waitkus (6) have both surpassed the previous single-season school record of five touchdown passes ... Seven different players have caught a touchdown pass for the Spartans this season.