LA PLUME, Pa. – The Castleton University football team held a 21-0 lead at halftime and kept the Giants of Keystone College at bay in the second half on its way to a 35-20 victory in Eastern Collegiate Football Conference action on the road.
 
Simon Davis Jr. scored twice in the first half to help Castleton (4-4, 3-1 ECFC) build its insurmountable lead, while Jackson Brand and Caezar Williams caught touchdowns in the second half on top of Damiyr Martinez's 89-yard kick-return touchdown. Martinez also had an interception and Dawson Pierson picked off a pass of his own, and his touchdown was Castleton's first kick return touchdown since Martinez returned one 94 yards for a score last season at Maritime (N.Y.). Chance Fee recovered a muffed punt by Keystone to give Castleton a plus-three day in the turnover differential.
 
Evan Smith finished the day with 12 completions for 185 yards and three touchdowns, while Davis Jr. had 78 yards rushing with a touchdown on the ground and another through the air. Lucas Morse had 62 yards on 12 carries. Williams finished the day with three catches for 53 yards and a score, while Brand had two for 39 and a touchdown. Wyatt Jackson had a 35-yard catch and Caleb Graves caught three passes from the tight end spot.
 
The defense was paced by 14 total tackles from Kevin McDonough, who had one tackle for a loss. In addition to his special-teams score and his interception, Martinez had eight total tackles, five of which were solo stops. Kristopher Carroll had the only sack of the day for Castleton's defense, while Cam Lococo forced a fumble that was recovered by Keystone. Andrew Genier blocked a 35-yard field-goal attempt by the Giants.
 
Castleton collected 20 first downs as a team and racked up 395 yards of total offense, its second-highest output of the season offensively. Castleton rushed for a combined 182 yards and threw for 213. The Spartans also controlled the pace of the game, holding possession for 35:54 and completing 8-of-16 third-down chances and 2-of-3 fourth-down chances.
 
Keystone (1-7, 1-3 ECFC) quarterback Tom Roach completed 20-of-31 passes, but Castleton limited him to just 203 yards and no scores while picking off two of his attempts. Mujaheed Muhammad had 84 yards on the ground with a touchdown while Damir Green added 50 yards and a score. Roach also had a rushing touchdown but was held to negative rushing yardage on the day due to a lengthy sack.
 
Keystone worked the ball down the field into the red zone over the first nine plays of the opening drive in the game, but a 4th-and-10 field-goal attempt from the Spartans' 19-yard line was blocked by Genier to keep Keystone off the board. Castleton drove deep on its opening possession as well, but came up with a missed field goal of its own as Noah Crossman struck the right upright.
 
Keystone went three-and-out on its next drive, and Castleton took advantage by getting on the board first on the following possession. Davis Jr. rushed for seven yards on first down and four more on third down to gain a new set of downs. A 19-yard completion from Smith to Graves on 2nd-and-24 gave Castleton a short third-down chance, which the Spartans picked up on a sweep to Williams. Two plays later, Smith found Davis Jr. through the air for a 27-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead after Crossman's extra point was good.
 
Castleton doubled its lead on its next drive, getting a big play early when Smith hit Jackson for 35 yards to the Keystone 33-yard line. On the first play of the second quarter, Williams again took a handoff and turned it into a first down—this time on a fourth-down conversion. Two plays after the conversion, Smith found Brand from 11 yards out for the score. The touchdown was Brand's seventh of the season overall. Crossman's PAT made it 14-0.
 
Both sides came up empty on their following drives, but Castleton found the end zone one final time before halftime with a nine-play, 70-yard drive. A 16-yard third-down completion to Williams moved the ball across midfield before an 11-yard connection to Davis Jr. set Castleton up inside the red zone. Davis Jr. finished the job on the following play, taking a handoff 19 yards to the end zone for a 21-0 Spartan lead at the break.
 
The Keystone defense held Castleton to a three-and-out to start the third quarter, and followed that up with a touchdown drive of its own. A 15-yard completion and a 15-yard personal foul on the same play gave Keystone the ball on Castleton's side of the field just one play into the drive. A 12-yard completion on 3rd-and-3 extended the drive and back-to-back five-yard carries moved the chains once again. Keystone kept pounding the ball on the ground inside the 10-yard line, breaking through with a two-yard touchdown by Muhammad. The extra-point was no good, keeping Castleton's lead at 21-6.
 
The next score in the contest came in the fourth quarter when Keystone cut into the Castleton lead further, finishing off a 10-play, 80-yard drive that began in the third quarter with another two-yard touchdown run, this time from Roach. The point after was good, making it 21-13.
 
The ensuing kick-off sailed to the Spartans' 11-yard line, where Martinez fielded and carved through the defense on his way to the end zone for an 89-yard kick-return touchdown. Crossman powered through the point after for a 28-13 lead.
 
Keystone scored again on its next drive to keep pace, closing the deficit to 28-20 with an eight-play, 69-yard drive that culminated in a one-yard score by Green. The Giants went for an onside kick with 10:19 remaining, but Castleton recovered at midfield.
 
Taking advantage of the short field, the Spartans needed just five plays to cover 50 yards and score the final touchdown of the game by either side. Wollner rushed for two yards to start the drive before Williams threw a pass to Brand for 28 yards and a first down to the 15-yard line. Wollner then carried twice for a combined seven yards before Williams caught a 13-yard touchdown to make it 34-20. Crossman converted his fifth extra point of the day to cap the scoring at 35-20.
 
Castleton wraps up its home slate next Saturday against Alfred State, honoring its senior class before the penultimate regular-season contest. Kick-off is slated for noon with the ceremony beginning approximately 20 minutes before kick-off.