WESTFIELD, Mass. – The Vermont State University Castleton football team opened its 2026 season on Saturday afternoon as it hosted Westfield State. The Spartans dominated on the day as they won by the score of 29-7.
The Basics
• Final Score: VTSU Castleton 29, Westfield State 7
• Location: Dave Wolk Stadium – Castleton, Vt.
• Records: Castleton 1-0 | Westfield St. 0-1
How It Happened
It was a defensive battle in the first quarter as neither offense could generate any momentum. It was more of the same in the beginning of the second quarter. The Castleton defense struck first. The Spartans punted with just over eight and a half minutes remaining in the second quarter. The Owl returner fielded the punt at his own 1 and retreated back into his own endzone. Bobby Kinsell and Alex Polli were there to greet him as the Spartans recorded a safety to take a 2-0 lead.
Castleton started their ensuing drive on its own 42. On third and 10, RJ Monger connected with Shawn Riddick for 17 yards to make it first down at the Westfield 41-yard line. Monger completed another third down pass, this time to Ty Dowell, for a 15-yard gain to the Owls' 26. On second and nine, Max Cutler ran for a first down to the 16-yard line. On the 11th play of the drive, Ryan Freund ran it in from 10 yards out for the touchdown and Zach Dragon's extra point made it 9-0 Castleton with under two minutes remaining. After the defense forced another three and out, the Spartans got the ball back with 53 seconds to play in the quarter. Starting at the Westfield State 34, Monger moved the Spartans down the field. He connected with Brady Tyburski on a touchdown pass to give Castleton a 15-0 lead going into halftime.
Westfield started with possession to begin the second half. On the first play from scrimmage, JC Pena was stripped of the ball by Josh Cormier with recovery by Kavon Graham-Jones. Castleton started its drive at the Westfield State 19. Freund took it into the endzone three plays later and Dragon's extra point increased the Castleton lead to 22-0.
Later, the defense would score again for the Spartans. With first and 10 at their own 44-yard line, Quinn Sumner was sacked by Zeke Dubois and fumbled. Tyler Buxton picked up the loose ball and ran 31 yards to the endzone. Dragon's extra point made it 29-0.
Castleton had the ball to begin the fourth quarter. With possession at the Westfield 29, Monger was picked off to give the Owls the ball back. The turnover benefited the Owls as they would go on to score their first touchdown of the day with 7:29 remaining to play in the game. Castleton then ran the ball to run down the clock as victory was securely in hand.
By the Numbers
· Freund finished the day with 80 yards rushing on 11 carries and two touchdowns. He also caught six passes for 18 yards.
· Dowell and Tyburski both had three catches each.
· Monger passed for over 100 yards and threw his first career touchdown pass
· Deacon Schneider led the defense with nine tackles
· Buxton finished with seven tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss. He scored his first career touchdown on the fumble recovery
What's Next
Castleton will travel to Norwich University on Saturday for the annual Sap Bucket matchup. Game time will be at 12:00 p.m.
