CASTLETON, Vt. – The VTSU Castleton football team fell to Bridgewater State in a Senior Day match up on Saturday afternoon, 31-20.

The first quarter was a quiet one as both teams traded short drives to kick it off. Visiting Bridgewater would be able to pull together a 7:55 drive before turning the ball over on downs at the VTSU Castleton 32-yard line, as Mike Morrissey and Kevin McDonough were able to break through the line and team up for a sack.

Castleton owned possession through the waning seconds of the first quarter, before going three-and-out to start the second stanza. They could not keep the Spartans down for long as they saw a fumble recovery by Morrissey returned 63-yards for the game's opening score. The PAT by Walter Lundstroem was good to put the hosts up 7-0 with 12:49 remaining in the half.

Defense came up big on the next Bear's drive as Isaiah Oufiero was able to intercept a Shamus Whiting pass at the Spartans' 42-yard line and return to the visitor's 24 before finally coming to a stop.

This was the beginning of a 6-play drive that spanned 24 yards and took 2:17, capped off by a Caezar Williams 9-yard touchdown from Wes Cournoyer. The extra-point attempt was no good to see VTSU Castleton up 13-0 (8:24).

The hosts recorded their second interception on the day at 6:26, this time by Josh Cormier in enemy territory, returning it the Bridgewater State 19-yard line.

The drive that followed was quick, taking just 40 seconds before Cournoyer was able to find Leonard Brice on a 9-yard pass for another touchdown. This time Lundstroem's kick was good to put his team up 20-0 .

Castleton's third and final interception came just 39 seconds in the next drive, this time owned by CJ Childs at the home 27. The hosts were unable to capitalize on the following drive.

Bridgewater State was finally able to claw its way onto the board as SP Pragano, the Bear's third quarterback of the day, connected with Josh Refistre for a 9-yard touchdown. The extra-point was good to make the score 20-7 at the end of 30 minutes.

A three-and-out to start the second half began to spell the downfall of the Spartans. The Bears were able to get within six-points on a Dallas Murphy 3-yard rush and successful Naso extra-point (5:20).

The visitors owned the ball throughout the closing minutes of the third quarter, scoring two minutes into the final stanza on a score by Killian Murphy to knot the game at 20. Naso's third extra point was good to give the Bears the lead, 21-20.

Bridgewater pushed it to a one possession game on an Isaiah Wright rush (28-20). It successfully killed off 6:26 with a 13-play drive that was topped off by a Naso field goal to make it 31-20 with 1:37 left on the clock.

Despite the best efforts by the home team, the ball was turned over on downs before being knelt out by the bad guys.

Defense came up big in the contest, accounting for 6 of the Spartans' 20 points. Morrissey finished the day with one touchdown on his 63-yard return, while also collecting 13 tackles. McDonough recorded a team-high 16 tackles and .5 sacks while Oufiero pitched in 15 tackles and 1 interception.

It was Christian Keeling who led the squad's efforts on the ground, rushing for 24 yards on seven carries. In the air it was Brice with his two receptions for 24 yards and a touchdown, followed by Williams with his two catches for eight yards and a score.

Cournoyer went 9-for-21 with 70 passing yards and two touchdowns.

The VTSU Castleton football team will close out its 2024 season on the road Saturday, November 16, as it travels to Western Connecticut for a 2 p.m. kickoff.