CASTLETON, Vt. – The Castleton University football team cruised to a 41-0 win over Keystone College Saturday afternoon at Dave Wolk Stadium, winning the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference game in the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
The Spartans dominated the game in all facets, controlling time of possession 34:02 to 25:58 en route to their fourth win of the season. The Spartans are now 4-3 overall, 2-1 in the ECFC and have three shutouts defensively in 2021. Keystone falls to 0-8 on the season and 0-4 in league play. The Spartans picked up 18 first downs in the win, 13 by way of rushing the ball. Castleton outpaced Keystone 217-4 in rushing yards, though the Giants outgained Castleton through the air, 95 yards to 56. The Spartans were 5-of-11 on third down conversions, and scored on five of their six trips to the red zone on the day.
Lucas Morse led the team with 88 yards on the ground, while
Simon Davis Jr. added 62 rushing yards and two scores for Castleton.
Devin Wollner carried the ball just four times, but gained 20 yards and a touchdown for Castleton.
Evan Smith, starting in his first collegiate game, completed 10-of-16 passes for 56 yards and three touchdowns and no interceptions.
Evan Keegan was on the receiving end of two of those touchdowns, finishing the day with two catches for 10 yards and two scores.
Anthony Martinez hauled in just two passes for eight yards, but one of them found paydirt for the senior.
Caezar Williams had a team-high three catches and 14 yards receiving.
On defense,
Chris Rice continued his superlative senior season, making nine total tackles, three tackles for a loss and 2.5 sacks in the game.
Jacob Griggs added eight tackles and
Dustin Rock chipped in with seven of his own, two of which went for a loss and one of which was a sack.
Andrew Genier also had two tackles for a loss and 0.5 sacks as part of a five-tackle day. Three Spartans forced turnovers in the contest, with
Jayson Gilsinger notching his third interception of the season, and
Damiyr Martinez and
Cole Preavy-Carrier adding interceptions as well.
Keystone was held to minimal yardage on the ground due to five total sacks that cost the Giants 35 yards, as well as a number of negative-yardage rushes. Mujaheed Muhammad led the team with 37 yards rushing, while Kevin Lewis added 16 yards on the ground. Noah Hulslander completed just 4-of-15 passes with two interceptions before giving way to Nick Waslyn. Waslyn was 2-of-4 for 38 yards with an interception. Christopher Diaz led the team in receiving, catching three passes for 43 yards. Chad Jones caught just one pass, but it went for 30 yards.
Three players had six tackles to tie for a team-high for Keystone, as Sean Tocci, Jerrel Springer and Ali Mendoza hit the mark. Tocci had two tackles for a loss and a sack, while Elijah Washington and Maxwell Johnson added a sack apiece. Troy McEwen, Jeremyiah Johnson and Dontez Crawford were credited with pass breakups in the loss.
The game got off to a slow start for both offenses, as Castleton used a 14-play drive that bled 8:15 off the clock to gain just 28 yards. The Spartans converted by mere inches on 4th-and-5 to keep the drive alive, but later turned the ball over on downs at the Keystone 38-yard line. Keystone's offense performed no better on its opening drive, moving the ball just eight yards despite a 15-yard Spartan penalty mixed in. Both offenses went back-and-forth with scoreless drives one more time in the first quarter, but the game remained scoreless after 15 minutes.
The second quarter began as the first one ended, with both offenses coming up empty on their first drives in the new frame. On Castleton's second drive of the quarter, however, the offense began to click. Morse carried the ball on four consecutive plays, gaining a total of 29 yards and two first downs. After an incomplete pass by Smith, the Spartans went right back to Morse for three more carries and 15 more yards, pushing the ball inside the Keystone 10-yard line. On 2nd-and-Goal from the Keystone 5-yard line, Smith found Keegan wide open in the corner of the end zone for a 6-0 Spartan lead. The point-after attempt was blocked, keeping the Spartan lead at six points.
Keystone took over at its own 17-yard line following a penalty on the ensuing kick-off, gaining just two yards on the first play of the drive. On the second play following the Spartan touchdown, Gilsinger picked off Hulslander and ran it back seven yards to give Castleton prime field position at the Keystone 12-yard line. Castleton took advantage of it, as Wollner scampered 12 yards on the second play for Castleton, finding the end zone and giving the Spartans a 13-0 lead after the extra point conversion by
Noah Crossman.
Castleton got exemplary field position once again for its next drive, forcing a three-and-out by Keystone before a bad snap led to a failed punt and a turnover on downs; the Spartans took over at the Keystone 13-yard line following the play. After an incomplete pass to start the drive, Davis Jr. drove forward for 12 yards, coming up just short of the goal line on second down. He found the end zone on third down, however, pushing the Spartan lead to 20-0 after the Crossman PAT.
Keystone received the ball at its own 32-yard line to start the next drive after a 26-yard return by Sean Pettway, but the drive began with a delay of game penalty, pushing the spot back to the Keystone 27. A seven-yard loss on a QB keeper to start the drive and a false start penalty saw Keystone facing a 2nd-and-27 from its own 15 yard line. Muhammad gained five yards on second down, but a 10-yard loss on Rice's second sack of the day on third down killed the drive for Keystone, forcing a punt. A wayward kick and a 15-yard penalty on Keystone gave Castleton great field position once more, as the Spartans started on Keystone's 21-yard line.
Castleton capitalized on the field position once more, as Morse broke off a 16-yard gain to start the drive before a play-action pass led to Keegan's second touchdown of the day for Castleton. Crossman was good on the extra point, pushing Castleton's lead to 27-0 heading into halftime.
Keystone once again went three-and-out on the first possession of the second half, with the Castleton defense forcing the Giants backwards yet again. After a first-down gain of four yards by Muhammad, Rice and Rock combined on a sack for a nine-yard loss to give Keystone 3rd-and-15, which led to an incomplete pass and a punt from the Giants.
Starting its first drive of the second half from its own 42-yard line, Castleton methodically moved the ball down the field. A seven-yard gain on 3rd-and-6 by Smith gave Castleton a fresh set of downs, and a later third-down completion of 13 yards to
Chance Fee picked up another first down for Castleton. After a seven-yard pickup by Davis Jr. put Castleton on the cusp of the red zone, Davis Jr. carried the ball again and broke a number of tackles before finding paydirt for his second touchdown of the day. Crossman added the extra point to make it 34-0 Spartans.
Castleton's final touchdown of the day came early in the fourth quarter, capping a five-play, 70-yard drive that ended in a passing touchdown from Smith to Martinez. With a 1st-and-10 from the Keystone 24-yard line, Morse almost broke into the end zone, but came up short on a 23-yard run that left Castleton on the doorstep. Smith found Martinez on the very next play, giving Castleton another score and a 41-0 lead after the extra point by Crossman.
The Castleton defense continued its dominance the remainder of the game, stopping Keystone with interceptions in the end zone on each of the Giants' final two drives to preserve the shutout.
The Spartans are back at home next weekend, October 30, for a 2 p.m. matchup with Anna Maria.
