CASTLETON, Vt. – The Castleton football team coasted to a 39-0 win over Eastern Collegiate Football Conference foe Dean College on Saturday night at Dave Wolk Stadium, opening the ECFC slate with a convincing showing in front of the raucous home crowd.
 
Castleton improves to 2-3 on the season while Dean falls to 0-5. It was the first conference contest for both schools. Castleton dominated in all three phases of the game, out-gaining Dean 374-196 overall, 243-114 through the air and 131-82 on the ground. Defensively, Castleton won the turnover battle 1-0 and forced a safety after a punt pinned the Bulldogs in the shadow of their goal-line. The Spartan kick return unit averaged 48 yards per return, while Noah Crossman notched three touchbacks on kick-offs. Castleton scored on all five of its trips to the red zone—four touchdowns and a field goal.
 
Evan Smith completed 18-of-24 passes for 225 yards and two touchdowns while adding two more scores on the ground. Jackson Brand was his leading receiver, catching three passes for 56 yards and a touchdown. The other touchdown through the air went to Henry Robertson on a three-yard score. Caezar Williams added three catches for 50 yards and Simon Davis Jr. had 34 yards receiving on three catches in addition to 18 yards on the ground. Lucas Morse had a team-high 43 yards rushing with a touchdown of his own.
 
Damiyr Martinez tied for the Castleton lead with eight tackles, and added a 61-yard kick-off return after teammate Kristopher Carroll's third-quarter sack for a safety. Kevin McDonough had eight tackles as well, one of which went for a loss. Andrew Genier and Jacob Griggs had five stops apiece, with Genier netting two tackles for a loss and a sack. Robert Guerin was in Dean's backfield all night, making three tackles for a loss—the first Spartan to do so this season. Quinten Asiedu had an interception that was nearly returned for a touchdown, picking off a pass and running it back 42 yards before being stopped just yards short of a score.
 
Dean quarterback Nathan Cisco completed 15-of-22 passes for 99 yards and was sacked twice before giving way to Darren McDermott, who completed 3-of-5 passes for 15 yards. Quintus Reid caught eight passes for 58 yards. Holdan Wilson led the Bulldogs with 60 yards rushing, a majority of that coming on a 35-yard scamper. Dre Kidd, Kai Reeves and Matt Blake had seven tackles each for Dean, with Reeves collecting 1.5 tackles for a loss and a sack. Joe Penton had two negative stops and a sack.  
 
Castleton held Dean on its own side of the field on the first drive of the game, forcing a quick punt after less than three minutes of game time. The Spartan offense went to work, with Morse gaining 10 yards on his first touch before gaining three yards each on back-to-back carries. On third down, Smith found Saijon McIntosh for 10 yards and a fresh set of downs, and on the ensuing play connected with Williams for 18 yards and another first down to the Dean 29-yard line. Morse toted the ball for six yards on 3rd-and-short later in the series, but three consecutive incompletions led to a 4th-and-10 from the Bulldog 15-yard line. Crossman came on for the 32-yard field goal, putting it through the uprights for a 3-0 lead.
 
The Spartan defense held firm on Dean's next drive, holding the visiting squad to just 31 yards on seven plays, stuffing a 4th-and-2 run for a loss to force a turnover on downs and take over just shy of midfield.
 
Castleton's ensuing drive did not start in a promising manner, as two incompletions and a delay of game penalty had the Spartans facing 3rd-and-15. Smith took off from the pocket, gaining 14 on the play to make it 4th-and-1. Castleton went for it, converting on a 10-yard completion to Dylan Shiland. The Spartans drove methodically from there, gaining yardage in eight and 10-yard chunks before Smith connected with Davis Jr. on a 22-yard pass down to the Dean 8-yard line. A rush for one yard by Davis Jr. ended the quarter. After flipping ends of the field, Smith carried for a yard before completing to Davis Jr. for four yards, giving Castleton 4th-and-Goal at the 2-yard line. Smith kept it on the conversion attempt, cashing in on the Spartans' first touchdown of the day. Crossman's extra-point was good, giving Castleton a 10-0 lead just moments into the second quarter.
 
After punts by both sides, Castleton took over at its own 32-yard line after an 18-yard return by Williams. Smith gained five on a rush to start the drive, followed by five more yards on a Morse carry. Smith then completed a 10-yard pass to Morse before finding Brand for 15 yards to Dean's 33-yard line. On the next play, Smith went right back to Brand for a 33-yard touchdown down the middle of the field. Crossman again was good on the PAT for a 17-0 lead with less than three minutes remaining in the opening half.
 
Castleton picked up where it left off in the second half, as Devin Wollner came on and carried the ball for gains of 12 and nine yards before Smith found Willams down the left sideline for a 30-yard gain into the red zone. On the next play, Smith took off for paydirt once again, scoring his second touchdown of the game on the ground and making it 24-0 Spartans after Crossman's extra point.
 
Dean's ensuing drive began at their 22-yard line after quality kick coverage by the Spartans. The Bulldogs picked up a first down on 3rd-and-5, and gained seven yards on 2nd-and-10 before Cisco was picked off by Asiedu. Asiedu ran the ball back 42 yards down to the Dean 1-yard line before being dragged down by receiver Jordan Mason. Morse punched in the touchdown on the very next play, extending the lead to 31-0 after the PAT.
 
After a Dean punt, Castleton's own drive fizzled out near midfield. Crossman came on the punt, burying the Bulldogs deep in their own territory with a 42-yard punt that was fair caught at the 7-yard line. The ensuing drive for Dean lasted all of one play, as Cisco dropped back to pass and was sacked in the end zone by Carroll for a safety, giving Castleton a 33-0 lead with 4:52 to play in the third quarter.
 
The safety gave the ball right back to the red-hot Spartan offense, who received prime starting position when Martinez ran the kick back 61 yards to the Bulldog 15-yard line before finally being caught. Smith connected with Caleb Graves to start the drive before Wollner rushed for four yards to make it 3rd-and-1. An offside penalty by Dean gave Castleton a first down, which quickly turned into a touchdown when Smith hit Robertson in the end zone. Crossman's PAT was no good, giving the Spartans a 39-0 lead with 3:27 to play in the third, a score that held firm until the final whistle.
 
Castleton returns to action next Saturday at noon in Washington D.C. when they take on Gallaudet in ECFC play.