CASTLETON, Vt. – The Castleton University football team put on a show for a homecoming crowd of 4,112 fans on Saturday afternoon, coasting to a 48-0 victory over Fitchburg State at Dave Wolk Stadium.
 
The Spartans scored early and often, leading 28-0 at halftime after three second-quarter touchdowns. Castleton added 20 more points in the third quarter before giving the starters a rest in the final 15 minutes. Castleton outgained Fitchburg State 452-170 on the day, racking up 248 yards through the air and 204 yards on the ground.
 
It was a weekend for the record books, as the 48-point victory is the second-largest margin of victory ever by the Spartans, coming in only behind a 65-9 win over Anna Maria in 2014. Castleton also had its second-largest crowd on record, coming up just a handful of fans shy of the 4,117 in attendance for homecoming against Alfred State in 2015. Caezar Williams' third-quarter punt return for a touchdown was the first in school history, and Saijon McIntosh's three touchdown receptions tied a program record. McIntosh joins four others as the only players in school history to catch a trio of touchdowns in one game, Soren Pelz-Walsh the most recent to do so in 2015.
 
Evan Smith finished the day 14-of-19 for 235 yards and four touchdowns, three of them going to McIntosh after his first score found Chance Fee on a six-yard route. Williams had four catches for 44 yards, while all three of McIntosh's catches went for scores totaling 81 yards. Three different running backs received five or more carries, with Colin Ellsworth topping the group with 44 rushing yards. Simon Davis Jr. added 39 yards and Lucas Morse had 23. Joshua Colegrove and Williams each had 21 yards on the ground, with Jackson Brand adding 20 and a touchdown and Luc Lescault and Joel Davidson collecting 15 each.
 
Defensively, Kevin McDonough led all Spartans with nine tackles, followed by Jacob Griggs with six and Jordan Wright and Quinten Asiedu with five each. Asiedu had a sack and a tackle for a loss, with Wright adding a TFL of his own. Jacob Gonzalez also had a sack, and Mark Howland had two tackles for a loss in the contest. Robert Guerin added four stops, one of which went for negative yardage. Isaiah Oufiero made an athletic grab for an interception late in the contest with Fitchburg State on the doorstep, and Gonzalez added a fumble recovery to put an end to another Fitchburg drive.
 
Fitchburg State managed just 16 yards from its leading rusher, Frank Sims IV. Logan Wilson completed 14-of-23 passes for 103 yards and was sacked twice. Sahir Gomez led all Falcon receivers with four catches and 37 yards. Fitchburg's defense was led by seven tackles from Nicholas Polanco.
 
Castleton's first drive of the game ended in points, as the defense forced a turnover on downs to give Castleton possession at its own 28-yard line. After Morse picked up a first down on 3rd-and-short, Williams broke off a 15-yard reverse to move the ball across midfield. Another six-yard gain by Morse preceded a lengthy swing pass to the back, as Morse caught the ball and barreled through defenders down to the six-yard line for a 33-yard gain. Two plays later, Smith found Fee open in the end zone for a 7-0 lead after Noah Crossman knocked through the extra point.
 
Fitchburg put together a 16-play drive on the ensuing possession, but it covered just 33 yards using nearly nine minutes of clock before resulting in another turnover on downs by the stingy Spartan defense. Castleton regained possession on its own 23-yard line late in the first quarter, with Davis Jr. rushing for 11 yards before the end of the frame. The second quarter began with a 12-yard completion to Henry Robertson before Davis Jr. carried for 17 yards down to the Falcons' 37-yard line. On first down, Smith went over the top to McIntosh who caught the ball in stride for a 37-yar touchdown and a 14-0 Castleton lead after the extra point.
 
The Spartan defense forced a three-and-out on the ensuing possession, leading to Fitchburg's first punt of the game. The Spartans began on their own 27-yard line and laid down a 10-play, 73-yard drive for their third touchdown of the day. Smith began moving the ball with a first-down completion for 14 yards to Fee, but two plays that totaled just two yards ensued and left Castleton facing 3rd-and-8. Smith connected with Williams for 14 yards and a first down, and followed that with a 16-yard connection with tight end Dylan Shiland. Morse then carried for five yards and Smith found Williams again for 17 yards, pushing the inside the Falcons' 5-yard line. Two carries later, Davis Jr. found the end zone to push Castleton's lead to three scores, 21-0.
 
Another three-and-out forced by the Spartan defense led to prime field position, as a short punt and a 31-yard return by Williams gave Castleton the ball starting at Fitchburg's 39-yard line. The offense was unable to capitalize for the first time in the contest, however, leading to Crossman's first punt of the day which pinned the Falcons to their own 11-yard line. Fitchburg gained only 16 yards of its own before punting back to Castleton.
 
The Spartans' final full drive of the half began at its own 47 after the punt, with Smith finding Williams and Hunter Swan back-to-back to move 23 yards down the field. A nine-yard carry by the Spartan quarterback set up 2nd-and-short, and an 11-yard connection with Evan Keegan pushed the ball into the red zone at the 10-yard line. Smith rolled left as protection collapsed and found McIntosh in the back of the end zone for a 28-0 halftime lead.
 
Castleton continued its dominant day in the third quarter, as Fitchburg was forced to punt after another three-and-out. Williams fielded the ball at his own 38-yard line and scampered 62 yards into the end zone behind strong blocking for the Spartans' first-ever punt return score. The touchdown gave Castleton a 35-0 lead.
 
After a Falcon fumble that was recovered by Gonzalez gave Castleton possession just two minutes later, Smith struck while the iron was hot. On the first play of the drive, the junior again looked towards McIntosh, who reeled in the pass down the right side for a 34-yard touchdown and a 42-0 Spartan lead.
 
Castleton tacked on one more score in the quarter, taking possession after a fake punt was unsuccessful by the Falcons. 18 yards on three rushes by Colegrove moved the ball into the red zone. Brand then carried for 17 yards on the ensuing play, bull rushing a defender at the goal line to get in for the touchdown. The extra point was blocked, giving Castleton a 48-0 lead late in the third.
 
The Spartans began running out different personnel groupings with the same success defensively over the final 15 minutes. Rookie Isaiah Oufiero ended a Fitchburg State drive inside the 10-yard line when he elevated for an interception to give Castleton possession once more. It was the final possession of the game for Castleton, which bled out the clock on the 48-0 victory. The Spartans moved the ball 85 yards over 11 plays, killing the final 5:40 of action. Ellsworth racked up all 44 yards of his on the drive, his longest carry going for 15 yards. Backup quarterback Wesley Cournoyer also completed a pass to Mason Concascia for 13 yards on the drive.
 
Castleton is back in action next Saturday, September 17, when they travel to Northfield, Vermont, to take on in-state rival Norwich University in the Battle for the Maple Sap Bucket. Kick-off is at 2 p.m.