LA PLUME, Pa. – Keystone College football is on the road Saturday against Castleton University (Castleton, Vt.) with kickoff set for noon at Dave Wolk Stadium.
The Giants (0-7, 0-3 ECFC) are coming off their closest loss of the season as they continue their Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC) slate and look for win No. 1 against the Spartans (3-3, 1-1 ECFC).
COVERAGE
OFFENSE
- Junior receiver Javier Tazza (Burlington City, N.J./Burlington City) is coming off back-to-back games as the Giants' leading receiver, putting up four receptions for 102 yards and two touchdowns in last week's loss to Dean. On the season, Tazza ranks No. 2 on the team with 19 catches, 255 yards and two scores.
- Sophomore Jorden Cook (New Paltz, N.Y./New Paltz) leads the team with 19 receptions, 289 yards and two touchdowns.
- Freshman Mujaheed Muhammad (Philadelphia, Pa./Paul Robeson) added two rushing touchdowns last week to bring his season total to five — good for fourth-highest in the ECFC.
- Junior Kevin Lewis' (Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep Charter) total of six ranks him at No. 3. Overall, Keystone has the second-highest total of rushing TDs in the conference.
DEFENSE
- The opportunistic Keystone defense added another fumble recovery to rack up a conference-leading eight fumble recoveries and 12 total takeaways to tie for best in the ECFC.
- Junior linebacker Carlos Perez (Reading, Pa./Reading) leads the conference with three fumble recoveries and also added a forced fumble.
- Freshman defensive back Jerell Springer (Brooklyn, N.Y./Midwood) ranks No. 1 overall in the ECFC with 33 solo tackles.
SPECIAL TEAMS
- Josue Hernandez (Middlesex, N.J./Middlesex) has continued to be perfect, going 17 for 17 on PAT kicks.
- Keystone is also tied for second-best in the conference with two total blocks — one via Sean Pettway (Ellenville, N.Y./Ellenville) on a PAT kick and one from Zac Cost (Dalton, Pa./) on a punt.
CASTLETON SPARTANS
- Castleton is even on the season with a 3-3 overall record and 1-1 in the ECFC slate with a 19-16 loss to Maritime and a 21-13 victory over Dean.
- The Spartans boast the best defense in the conference, being the only team to hold teams under an average of 300.0 yards per game and giving up only 12.0 points per game. While their passing defense ranks last, it's their rushing defense that's been their strength with only 49.4 yards allowed per game.
- Fueled by senior Chris Rice's seven sacks (No. 1 in ECFC) and 15.0 tackles for loss (tied for No. 1 in NCAA Division III), the Spartans lead the conference with 13 total sacks.
- Offensively, Castleton leads the conference with an average time of possession of 33:42. While they've only racked up five rushing touchdowns, the Spartans are second-best with 132.2 rushing yards per game.
WHAT'S NEXT
- Following Saturday's contest, the Giants will return for their final home game Saturday, Oct. 30 at 2 p.m. against Alfred State (2-4, 1-1 ECFC).
