CASTLETON, Vt. – The Vermont State University Castleton football program dropped a nail-biter on Saturday evening, falling to Dean by a 19-18 margin in Eastern Collegiate Football Conference action at Dave Wolk Stadium.
 
The Spartans honored 17 seniors prior to the contest, along with five senior members of the Castleton Spirit Band. Ethan Coarse, Noah Crossman, James Galarneau, Jacob Gonzalez, Caleb Graves, Robert Guerin, Mark Howland, Wyatt Jackson, Collin Moriarty, Matt Mumford, Dawson Pierson, Alix Prouty, Evan Smith, Hunter Swan, Caezar Williams, Devin Wollner and Jordan Wright were recognized for their contributions to the Castleton football program.
 
The Spartan defense and special teams units accounted for all 18 VTSU Castleton points in the contest, with Ian DeTulleo and Max Fair each returning interceptions for touchdowns. The Spartans logged two points after CJ Childs blocked an extra-point attempt and Tyler Buxton collected it and ran it back for a touchdown, and Dean took a safety late in the contest to give Castleton its final points of the night.
 
VTSU Castleton (2-5, 0-2 ECFC) netted 246 yards of total offense thanks to 93 yards on the ground and 153 through the air. They held Dean (2-6, 1-2 ECFC) to negative rushing yardage on 27 attempts thanks to three sacks and a 23-yard loss charged on the safety. Dean's passing attack was effective enough on this day, collecting 312 yards with two touchdowns despite four interceptions.
 
Christian Keeling ran for 69 yards on 14 carries while Wollner added 30 yards for the Spartans on the ground. Jackson had a field-flipping play that set Castleton up in prime scoring territory late in the fourth quarter, catching a 65-yard pass deep down the field. The play put him at 97 yards receiving on the day, but also knocked him out of the contest with an injury at the end of the run. Williams caught five passes for 43 yards.
 
Pierson led the team with 10 tackles from the safety position and intercepted a pass near the Bulldogs' goal line before returning it 38 yards out towards midfield. Joshua Peters, Kevin McDonough and Tyler Buxton had seven tackles apiece. Wright logged 2.5 tackles for a loss and a sack, and Childs nabbed an interception in addition to blocking a pair of point-after attempts. Noah Crossman was solid in the punting game, averaging 38.7 yards on six punts, pinning Dean inside the 20 on four of them with a long of 54 yards.
 
Dean's Paul Hammond and Isaac Sisneros each completed 15 passes, with Hammond quarterbacking the majority of the contest. Hammond had 207 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Jordan Mason had 100 yards receiving and Dy'riece Smith added 59 yards on three catches. Da'Qwon Foster and James Day hauled in touchdown catches. Fontabian Donalson Jr. had a rushing touchdown for Dean. Andrew Liverman had 10 tackles for the Bulldogs and Des Dias notched an interception.
 
The Spartan defense got off to a hot start, with Childs interception Sisneros on just the third play of the game. Castleton then ran nine plays on the ensuing drive but gained only a net of 18 yards before turning the ball over on downs.
 
The Bulldogs then bled more than seven minutes off the clock with a 17-play drive that resulted in the game's first touchdown when Donalson Jr. punched it in from a yard out. Childs blocked the PAT to keep the score 6-0.
 
Castleton's next drive offensively came up empty, and Crossman pinned Dean deep with a 54-yard boot down to the Bulldogs' 1-yard line. After running just one play, the quarter ended and the teams flipped ends. The first play of the second quarter was another Bulldog pass, this one intercepted by DeTulleo and returned 22 yards for a touchdown. Crossman powered through the extra point and Castleton led 7-6.
 
Dean pieced together another lengthy drive, using 16 plays to go 75 yards on the ensuing possession. The drive ended in an 18-yard touchdown pass from Hammond to Day, putting the Bulldogs up 13-7 after the extra point. Neither side mustered much offense the rest of the half, as a Dean threat was thwarted by Pierson with an interception at the 4-yard line just before the half.
 
The Spartans received the ball to start the second half and put together a methodical drive, using 16 plays and more than eight minutes of clock to start the second half. The drive stalled in the red zone, leaving a 37-yard field goal attempt that missed wide left to keep the score at 13-7 in favor of Dean.
 
Castleton's defense buckled down, holding the Bulldogs where they were and forcing a punt. Hollis Jones broke through and blocked the punt, which rolled out of bounds and gave Castleton possession at the Dean 27-yard line. The Spartans inched into scoring territory from there, setting up a 23-yard try by Crossman. The kick was blocked and recovered by Dean, holding the score firm once more.
 
A three-and-out forced by the Spartan defense gave Castleton the ball back just before the end of the third quarter needing a touchdown to tie or take the lead. The offense sputtered once again, but a solid punt by Crossman pinned Dean at its 11-yard line. Three plays later, Castleton found its touchdown when Fair intercepted Hammond and ran it back 20 yards for the score. Crossman nailed the extra point for a 14-13 Spartan lead with 13:16 to play.
 
The Spartan defense kept the momentum from the turnover, forcing a three-and-out on the ensuing possession and giving its offense a chance to put the game out of reach. Neither side managed any offense of the next six combined drives, however, taking the game deep into the final frame with Castleton leading by a lone point, 14-13.
 
The Bulldogs took over at their own 14-yard line after another Crossman punt pinned them deep with 3:57 to play. A 20-yard completion to start the drive followed by a 33-yard completion and a 15-yard penalty saw the Bulldogs gain nearly 70 yards in just two plays. Two plays later, Hammond hit Foster for an 18-yard score and a 19-14 lead. The point-after was blocked by Childs, and Buxton scooped it up and ran it back for a 98-yard conversion for Castleton to net two points and cut the deficit to 19-16.
 
Trailing by only a field goal, Castleton received the ball at its 25-yard line with 3:10 to play and all of its timeouts remaining. Facing third down from the same spot, Smith aired it out to Jackson. The senior hauled it in over the shoulder and took off down the field, netting 65 yards before all was said and done at the 10-yard line. Jackson was injured on the play, but not before giving his team another shot with a field-flipping play. The big play was the highlight of the drive as Castleton had to settle for a 21-yard field goal attempt from the left hash. The kick sailed wide left, keeping Castleton trailing by three with 1:31 to play.
 
The Spartans stuffed a trio of runs to start the drive, bringing up fourth down from the Bulldogs' 21-yard line. Hammond ran backwards into the end zone intentionally in an effort to use as much time as possible off the clock. He went down in the end zone under his own volition for the safety, making it a one-point game favoring Dean, 19-18, with 1:05 to play.
 
Castleton started at the Dean 49-yard line after the ensuing kick-off, but a false start before the first play backed them up five yards. The Dean defense covered receivers as good as it had all day on the drive, forcing three straight incompletions before sacking Smith to cause a turnover on downs and seal the game.
 
The Spartans are on the road the final two weeks of the season, traveling to Alfred State next Saturday, November 4, at noon.