CASTLETON, Vt. – One of the biggest comebacks in Gallaudet University football history took place here Saturday at Dave Wolk Stadium as the Bison erased a 20-point deficit in the final 11 minutes to stun Vermont State University Castleton, 24-23, in the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference opener.

Gallaudet (2-4, 1-0 ECFC), the defending conference champions, trailed 23-3 with 11 minutes left in regulation and needed a spark to begin a comeback.

The spark came from Gallaudet's special teams unit, who delivered not once but twice in the fourth quarter.

Castleton (2-4, 0-1 ECFC) celebrated a five-yard touchdown pass from James Galarneau (8-for-15, 27 yards, one touchdown) to Wyatt Jackson (five catches, 43 yards, one touchdown) at the 11:07 mark as the Spartans led 23-3.

On the ensuing kickoff, sophomore Carter Johnson (McCall, Idaho) fielded the ball at the nine-yard line and handed it off to fellow sophomore Andrae' Green (Washington, D.C.) on a reverse. Green utilized his blockers and raced down the near sideline, in front of the Spartan bench, into the end zone on a 91-yard kickoff return.

The Spartans had a strong drive going but they coughed up the ball around midfield to give GU the ball at the 5:47 mark.

GU used nine plays to cover 45 yards in just two minutes and 31 seconds. The drive ended on a Mikka Harvey (Prince Frederick, Md.) four-yard touchdown run on a pitch to the left corner, with 3:16 left in regulation.

The Bison defense held the Spartans to a three-and-out as GU used its timeouts to conserve time on the clock. Castleton sailed the snap over the head of punter Noah Crossman as the ball traveled 30 yards back towards the Spartan end zone. Crossman picked the ball up at the seven-yard line and raced to try and get a punt off. Crossman's punt attempt was blocked as the ball went out of bounds at the 14-yard line with 2:46 left.

On the next play, junior Dre'Vaughn Mackall (Prince Frederick, Md.) barreled through the left-side of the line and spun off a defender into the end zone to tie the game at 23-23 as the play took seven seconds. Senior kicker Jonathon Waterman (Redding, Calif.) came on and converted his third extra-point attempt.

Mackall finished the game with 112 rushing yards on 15 carries to lead the Bison.

Castleton would have a chance to win it on the final drive. Gallaudet had the Spartans down to a fourth and seven around midfield but a Bison pass interference extended the drive for the home team.

Crossman had a chance to redeem himself after the blocked punt as he lined up for a 28-yard field goal with eight seconds left in the game. GU called a timeout to ice the kicker. Crossman was a perfect 3-for-3 on field goals through the first three quarters as he completed distances of 22-, 33- and 32-yards.

Out of the timeout, Crossman lined up for the kick, but a low snap and strong winds pushed the kick wide left. GU's special teams came up, again, with a huge play to deny Crossman the game-winning kick and a chance to set a program record of four field goals made in a game. The Bison celebrated the come-from-behind victory before a stunned crowd of 2,207.

Junior linebacker Jacob Hartman (Petersburg, W.Va.) led the defense for Gallaudet with 11 tackles.

Castleton held a 13-0 lead at the half, but the Spartans lost their starting quarterback Evan Smith (10-for-15, 126 yards, one touchdown) at the 4:06 mark in the second quarter after a late-hit by junior Zarek Nathanson (Manor, Texas), who was ejected for targeting.

Gallaudet did not get on the scoreboard until the 2:58 mark in the third quarter when Waterman made a 23-yard field goal as the Bison trailed 16-3.

This was the final game between Castleton and Gallaudet as conference foes as the Spartans exit to for the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) next season. Gallaudet is now 8-6 all-time against Castleton.

UP NEXT
Gallaudet returns to the nation's capital and will host Alfred State College (4-3, 1-0 ECFC) next Saturday, Oct. 21, at 1 p.m. for Homecoming.