TROY, N.Y. – The Castleton offense struggled to find a rhythm until the fourth quarter due to a stout RPI run defense as the Spartans fell to the Engineers 23-8 on Saturday afternoon at East Campus Stadium.
Through the first three quarters RPI held Castleton to just 77 total yards, including minus-45 on the ground and a 16-0 advantage on the scoreboard. However, the Spartans put up 194 yards of offense in the final 15 minutes to finish with 271 for the contest. RPI finished the day with 354 yards, with 187 coming on the ground and 167 through the air.
Freshman quarterback Tyler Higley finished 29-of-54 with 313 yards passing with a single interception. His primary target was classmate Soren Pelz-Walsh, who finished with career-highs of 11 catches for 147 yards. Tyler Combs added eight catches for 82 yards while Kevin Alberque had five for 49 yards.
RPI's first points of the game came with 2:19 left in the first quarter, when punter Andrew Pursell stepped out of the end zone after a bad snap from the Castleton six-yard line. The Engineers increased their lead with just over five minutes remaining in the second quarter as Andrew Armato scored on an 8-yard run to the left side. Junior Andrew Franks added the extra point for a 9-0 lead.
RPI went ahead 16-0 with just 10.4 second left in the first half when quarterback Jeff Avery hit Joe Cozzolino in the flat and the senior tight end found the end zone untouched for the 13-yard score. Franks hit the extra point for the 16-point halftime margin.
Neither team scored in the third quarter, but just five seconds into the fourth, wide receiver Logan Gaddar made a one-handed grab in the end zone from 22 yards out to push the Engineers in front 23-0.
The Spartans finally got on the board with 1:10 remaining in the game whenMichael Toczko finished a 14-play, 73-yard drive with a 1-yard plunge. The final 11 plays took place deep in RPI territory thanks in part to several Engineers' penalties that extended the drive. Higley hit Pelz-Walsh for the two-point conversion to make it 23-8.
Castleton then recovered an onside kick to take over possession with just 1:08 left in regulation. Higley found Pelz-Walsh for a 24-yard gain at the RPI 27-yard line, and then on fourth down it the duo connected for a 21-yard completion with only 31 seconds remaining. However, Higley was unable to complete his last four attempts and Castleton turned the ball over on downs with 14 seconds left.
Junior linebacker Todd Carr had a school-record 17 tackles, including four solos, while senior linebacker Mick Wong had 13 tackles, including a game-high seven unassisted, with a forced fumble and a pass breakup.
