CASTLETON, Vt. – The Spartans jumped out to a 20-point, first-half lead and never looked back, as they cruised to the program's first-ever shutout victory at Spartan Stadium with a 40-0 result over Gallaudet this afternoon in ECFC action.
Castleton turned in a dominant defensive performance, limiting the opposition to 237 total yards, including just 82 on the ground, to improve to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the conference. The Bison, meanwhile, fall to 0-5 (0-3 ECFC) on the season.
The Spartan defense never faced any real trouble this afternoon, as they held Gallaudet to 5-for-17 on third down and limited the opposition to just one red-zone opportunity. Darren Callan had a team-high 16 tackles, including two solo ones, while Leo Audy finished with ten tackles and one sack. In just his second career defensive start, Tyler Higley picked off two passes, pushing his season total to four, with one pass breakup.
Moe Harris accounted for three touchdowns on the day with 225 total yards while recording his third 100-yard rushing game of the season. In the last two games, the freshman back has rushed 51 times for 291 yards and four scores. Corey Brimmer also featured significantly in the backfield, rushing 11 times for 45 yards and one touchdown.
George Busharis turned in another solid performance under center, going 15-for-22 with 238 yards and one touchdown. Makai Hawkins hauled in five catches for a season-high 86 yards, while Cyle Machia caught four passes for 81 yards and one score.
Freshman Ramon Johnson struggled against the stout Castleton defense, going 19-40 with 155 yards and two interceptions. Austin Hundley and Kahan Louissaint combined to rush for 75 yards, while Lawrence Watson and Dylan Mento made six receptions apiece for 118 yards.
After stalling the Bison on the opening drive of the game, Castleton went 82 yards on 11 plays to take an early, first quarter lead. Harris capped off the drive with a touchdown from three yards out to hand the Spartans a 7-0 lead with 7:29 remaining in the first.
The Spartans struck again later in the first to push their lead to 14. With the ball on Castleton's 39-yard line, Harris burst through the line for a 25-yard gain to set up first-and-ten in Gallaudet's territory. On the very next play, Busharis hooked up with Machia for a 36-yard score to make it 14-0.
With 13:19 left in the second quarter, Bobby Lineberger converted a 35-yard field goal before capping off Castleton's first-half scoring with a 24-yarder less than four minutes later to send the hosts into the break with a 20-0 lead.
The Spartans received the ball after the break, and on the ensuing kickoff, Harris fumbled the catch before scooping up the ball and running 95 yards to the house, recording the longest kickoff return in school history and pushing the hosts' advantage to 27.
With 11:27 remaining in the third, Harris collected his third score of the ballgame with a three-yard rushing touchdown to make it 34-0.
After Higley grabbed his second interception of the contest with 4:50 left in the third to hand the Spartans fantastic field position, Harris and Brimmer combined to rush 26 yards on four plays before Brimmer capped off the drive with a seven-yard touchdown to provide the final score, 40-0.
Castleton returns to action next Saturday at 1 pm when the squad travels to New York to face off with Maritime in ECFC action.