PAXTON, Mass. – The Castleton University football team wrapped up its regular season on Saturday afternoon, falling to Anna Maria by a final score of 27-26 in overtime in Eastern Collegiate Football Conference action.
 
The AMCATS (5-3, 3-3 ECFC) scored 13 fourth-quarter points to push Castleton (5-5, 4-2 ECFC) to overtime. Castleton scored on a one-yard rush by Lucas Morse, but a point-after was no good. Anna Maria knotted the score at 26-26 with a 10-yard touchdown pass and hit the extra point to claim the victory, 27-26.
 
The Spartans led 17-0 in the first half, but Anna Maria scored just before halftime to make it 17-10 going into the locker room. Neither team scored in the third quarter, and Castleton extended its advantage to 20-7 with Noah Crossman's second field goal of the day. Anna Maria began its comeback midway through the fourth quarter, with a touchdown pass with 8:10 to play to make it 20-14. With one minute remaining in regulation, the AMCATS found the end zone again, but Castleton blocked the extra point to keep the game tied and head to overtime.
 
Castleton dominated the ground game, out-rushing Anna Maria 220-85 in yardage. The AMCATS threw for 310 yards to Castleton's 165, however, helping Anna Maria outgain Castleton 395-385 on the day. Castleton was 6-of-13 on third down, while Anna Maria went 5-of-11 on third down.
 
Simon Davis Jr. and Lucas Morse carried most of the load on the ground, with Davis Jr. amassing 84 yards and Morse collecting 83. Devin Wollner added 59 yards rushing. Evan Smith completed 10-of-20 passes for 165 yards and a touchdown passing. He also added a rushing touchdown on the day. Chance Fee made just one catch, but it went for 38 yards and a score.
 
Kevin McDonough led the team with 11 tackles on the day, followed by Jacob Griggs with nine and Damiyr Martinez with eight. Jordan Wright had a pair of sacks and a pass breakup on the day. McDonough and Andrew Genier also broke up passes. Crossman had a strong day punting, having two of his three punts finish inside the AMCAT 20-yard line with one 53-yard punt. He was also 2-of-3 on field goals, his only miss coming from 52 yards as time expired in the first half.
 
Ryan Russell completed 25-of-32 passes for Anna Maria for 278 yards and four touchdowns. His top target was Devin Tolbert, who finished with six catches for 72 yards and a score. Justin McMillian added seven catches for 60 yards and a touchdown. Hayden Braga had six catches for 52 yards and a touchdown and Uthman Ajia had four grabs for 46 yards and a score. Alvin Martin and Kyle Couto had 15 tackles each for Anna Maria, with Martin also recording a sack. Joshua Roman registered two pass breakups.
 
Castleton opened the game firing on all cylinders, forcing a three-and-out with a pair of incomplete passes and a sack. The Spartan offense then went to work with Davis Jr. carrying five times for 25 yards to open the drive and put Castleton into 1st-and-Goal. An offside penalty moved Castleton half the distance to the goal line before Davis Jr. carried it to the 1-yard line. Smith finished the drive off with a keeper and the Crossman PAT made it 7-0 just over five minutes into action.
 
Neither side scored again until midway through the second quarter when a 12-play, 70-yard drive that chewed nearly seven minutes off the clock ended in a 26-yard field goal by Crossman. The drive featured a heavy dose of Wollner, who carried nine times in the 11 plays leading up to the field goal attempt. Those carries totaled 59 yards to get the Spartans into field-goal position.
 
Castleton scored again on its following drive, this time in quicker fashion. Davis Jr. carried three times to open the drive before a roughing the passer call gave the Spartans a first down in AMCAT territory. Two more carries by Davis Jr. set up a 38-yard touchdown pass from Smith to Fee and a 17-0 Spartan lead after the extra point.
 
Anna Maria got the ball back with just 1:25 to play in the half, but moved quickly, covering 71 yards in just 54 seconds to get on the board before halftime. The series started with completions of 11 and eight yeards before an 11-yard QB keeper moved the ball inside the Spartans' 30-yard line. A sack pushed Anna Maria back five yards and forced a timeout. An incompletion made it 3rd-and-15 with less than 50 seconds on the clock, but Russell found Tolbert who gained 16 on the play to squeak out a fresh set of downs. Another timeout set up a 15-yard touchdown pass to Ajia to make it 17-7 with 31 seconds on the clock.
 
The AMCATS kicked short to try to force a return before halftime, giving Castleton the ball near midfield. Smith found Jackson Brand for 22 yards to open the drive and move inside the AMCAT 30-yard line. An incompletion and a sack made it 3rd-and-16, and another incompletion brought up fourth down from the 35-yard line. Castleton elected to try the lengthy field goal with time winding down, but on a windy day the attempt came up short sending the game to halftime with Castleton ahead 17-7.
 
Castleton continued to bleed clock on the ground, closing the third quarter and beginning the fourth with a 14-play drive that chewed nearly eight minutes off the clock. The series ended in Crossman's second field goal, this time from just 20 yards as the drive stalled out in the red zone. Evan Keegan had a 28-yard completion early in the drive to convert a third down, and Brand caught a third-down pass to convert as well. Anna Maria buckled down at the goal line, keeping Davis Jr. out of the end zone on three straight carries to force the field goal. The kick made it 20-7 Castleton with 11:39 to play.
 
Anna Maria answered with its own touchdown, putting together a 10-play drive that covered 68 yards in just 3:29. The drive culminated in a touchdown to Braga from seven yards out and the PAT made it 20-14 with 8:10 remaining.
 
Castleton's ensuing drive chewed another five minutes off the clock but ended without points as it stalled just across midfield. Crossman came on to punt on fourth down, pinning Anna Maria at its own 15-yard line after a fair catch by the AMCATS.
 
Needing to go 85 yards with just 3:11 on the clock, Anna Maria answered the bell with completions of 14 and 34 yards to Deandre Wallace early in the drive. After a tackle for a loss, the AMCATS hit back with another long completion, this one for 26 yards, but a holding penalty took away 10 yards back to the Spartans' 14-yard line. An incomplete pass on first down brought up a 2nd-and-10, with Russell finding McMillian for a 14-yard strike to tie the game. A host of Spartans crashed through the line to block the extra point to keep the game tied and send it to overtime.
 
Castleton got the ball first in overtime, leaning on Morse exclusively. The fifth-year back carried four times to get into the end zone, breaking runs of four yards, nine yards, 11 yards and finally one yard to make it 26-20 Castleton. Crossman's extra point was no good, keeping the score set.
 
The AMCATS kept the ball on the ground early in their overtime possession, with Russell rushing for one yard before scrambling for 14 yards and a first down. The next play was a 10-yard touchdown pass to Tolbert. The extra-point was good, giving the hosts a 27-26 victory in overtime.
 
Castleton wraps up the season 5-5 overall and 4-2 in ECFC play, marking the second straight 4-2 season in league play. The Spartans finish in sole possession of second place in the league.