FITCHBURG, Mass. – The Vermont State University Castleton football program picked up its second win in a row to open the 2023 season, posting a 32-3 road victory over Fitchburg State on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Spartans improve to 2-0 ahead of next Saturday's homecoming contest against in-state rival Norwich—the annual Battle for the Maple Sap Bucket Trophy. Fitchburg is now 0-2 after losses to a pair of Eastern Collegiate Football Conference teams to open the season.
 
The Falcons got on the board first with an opening-drive field goal, but it was all Spartans from there as Castleton scored 32 unanswered points the rest of the way for a comfortable victory. The Spartan defense was in lockdown mode all day, holding the Falcons to just 88 total yards of offense: 72 passing and 16 rushing. The total yardage was the second-fewest yards the Spartans have held an opponent to in program history, allowing only two more yards than the team did in a record-setting performance last season against this same program. The defense forced four three-and-outs in the contest, giving the offense an advantage all afternoon.
 
Castleton's rushing offense did the heavy lifting moving the ball, amassing 210 yards on the ground with an average of 5.5 yards per carry. Christian Keeling logged the second-longest rush in program history in the contest, breaking off a 57-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. It was his first of two scores rushing on the day.
 
Keeling ended with 95 yards rushing on just 10 carries. Devin Wollner added 83 yards on 16 carries with a 27-yard touchdown to his name. Evan Smith added 15 total yards rushing with a six-yard score in addition to his 89 passing yards. Wyatt Jackson caught one pass that went for 33 yards, while Jackson Brand had two catches for 24 yards. Wollner added a pair of catches for 15 yards. Noah Crossman was solid kicking the ball, making his only field goal attempt and banging through all three extra-point attempts.
 
Kevin McDonough racked up 10 total tackles with 2.5 tackles for a loss and 0.5 sacks while Tyler Buxton collected seven stops on defense with three tackles for a loss and a sack. Max Fair had an interception for the Spartans and Mike Morrissey made two tackles for a loss. Ethan Coarse had 1.5 TFL in the win.
 
After an opening-drive turnover by VTSU Castleton gave the Falcons pristine field position inside the 10-yard line, the Spartan defense went to work. A first-down incompletion and a short gain on the run would have brought up 3rd-and-goal, but a facemask penalty gave Fitchburg State a fresh set of downs at the Spartans' 3-yard line. The defensive unit stool tall, stuffing a first-down rush at the 1-yard line before dropping the running back for a two-yard loss on second down. A third-down incompletion brought on the field-goal unit for 4th-and-goal from the 3-yard line. The attempt was good giving Fitchburg State a 3-0 lead.
 
The Spartans' next drive was a methodical march down the field, covering 63 yards in 16 plays while killing nearly nine minutes of game time. The drive stalled near the goal-line, however, bringing on the Spartans' field-goal unit. Crossman knocked the kick through the uprights to level the score at 3-3.
 
In the second quarter, Castleton's offense began to flourish when Smith hit Jackson for a 33-yard gain that pushed the Spartans into the red zone. A five-yard run by Wollner put the ball at the 6-yard line, and Smith finished the job on the next play with a QB keeper for a 10-3 lead after Crossman's point after. Neither side could find paydirt again before halftime, with the Spartans leading by a score at the break.
 
Much like the Spartans started the game, Fitchburg began the second half with a turnover on its initial drive when Fair picked off Rocky Marchitelli near midfield. This gave VTSU Castleton the ball in prime position, and the Spartans needed just three plays to convert it to points. Smith ran for seven yards before passing to Wollner for another nine and a first down. On the next play, Wollner pushed through tackles up the middle before bouncing outside for a 27-yard touchdown and a 17-3 edge.
 
Another three-and-out forced by the Spartan defense led to a quick Spartan touchdown on offense. A third-down conversion on a completion to Caesar Williams set up VTSU Castleton with a fresh set of downs. Keeling then took the handoff up the middle, bounced off a would-be tackler, and sped away for a 57-yard score. A bad snap on the extra-point attempt led to Crossman picking up the ball and scampering in at the pylon for a two-point conversion and a 25-3 lead.
 
Castleton's next drive began in positive territory once more after a poor punt by the Falcons. Keeling rattled off a 16-yard gain on 4th-and-1 to get Castleton into the red zone before carrying for seven, two and four yards on the next three plays. The last carry resulted in his second touchdown of the day and a 32-3 lead for Castleton after Crossman's PAT. The score held throughout the fourth quarter to the final whistle as the Spartans earned their third win in a row over the Falcons.
 
Kick-off next Saturday, September 16, is slated for 1 p.m. against the Cadets for Homecoming and Family Weekend at Dave Wolk Stadium.