CASTLETON, Vt. – The Vermont State University Castleton football team put on a show for the more than 3,000 fans in attendance for its season-opener against Plymouth State on Saturday, topping the Panthers 25-21 after trailing by two touchdowns at halftime.
Trailing 14-0 at the break, Castleton scored on its first drive of the second half to cut the lead back to 14-6. Evan Smith hit Wyatt Jackson for a 10-yard score in the corner of the end zone to cap a seven-play, 73-yard drive and get the Spartans on the board. After forcing a fumble two drives later, the Spartans took over at deep in Plymouth territory. They wasted little time scoring, needing just three plays before Christian Keeling broke off a 21-yard touchdown run to make it 14-12.
Plymouth put some cushion between the two sides on the ensuing drive, using nine plays to cover 79 yards and kill nearly five minutes of clock. Willie Lombard turned the corner on the outside and was off to the races for a 25-yard touchdown run and a 20-12 Panther lead with less than a minute to play in the third quarter.
Castleton was unfazed, using a methodical 11-play, 57-yard drive to draw within three points. Smith hit Caleb Graves for 15 yards to convert a third-and-long and keep the drive alive. A pass interference call inside the 5-yard line gave the Spartans a golden scoring chance, and Castleton took advantage with a two-yard touchdown pass from Smith to Jackson Brand. The score made it 21-19 in favor of Plymouth State with 10:17 remaining in the game.
The Spartan offense continued to move the ball down the field on its next drive, but a fumble gave Plymouth State a chance to hang on to the lead and eat up valuable clock time with less than seven minutes to play. Castleton's defense had other plans, holding Plymouth to a three-and-out series that saw the Panthers lose nine yards of field position thanks to a monster sack by Kevin McDonough on third down.
Castleton took over at its own 34-yard line with 4:40 on the clock facing a three-point deficit. The first play of the drive put the Spartans across midfield, as a quick hit to Keeling gained 19 yards. Keeling then rattled off an 18-yard rush on the ensuing play to put the Spartans at the Panther 29-yard line. A pair of carries by Wollner totaled 11 yards and a fresh set of downs inside the red zone with the clock nearing two minutes. A 16-yard completion from Smith to Brand pushed the ball down to the Plymouth State 2-yard line inside the two-minute mark. Smith then turned around and handed off to Wollner, who bounced off left tackle and into the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown and a 25-21 lead with 1:38 to play.
Leading by five with less than two minutes remaining, Castleton's defense only needed to stop Plymouth from finding the end zone to seal the victory. Braden Lynn completed his first three passes of the drive to push the ball near the 50-yard line, but a field-flipping sack by Mark Howland—one that went for a loss of 16 yards—gave Castleton a key edge in the final minutes. Lynn recovered by completing a 24-yard pass on the next play to bring up 3rd-and-2. Out of timeouts, the Panthers spiked the ball to stop the clock, bringing up a 4th-and-2. Lynn threw to the left sideline, but the ball bounced off his receiver's hands incomplete, giving Castleton the ball back to kneel out the clock and complete the comeback.
Smith completed an impressive 72.1 percent of his passes on the day, amassing 231 yards passing with two touchdowns. Keeling went for 105 yards and a touchdown on the ground and 31 yards receiving in his Spartan debut, while Wollner had 33 yards and a score on the ground. Brand was the top target on the day, hauling in 10 catches—the most in a game for a Castleton player since the 2021 season. He finished with 60 yards and a touchdown. Jackson had four catches for 31 yards and a score while Graves, Wollner, Hunter Swan, Josh Colegrove and Dylan Shiland hauled in multiple passes each.
The Spartan defense was active all game long, totaling three sacks and forcing a pair of fumbles. McDonough and Howland had solo sacks, while Ethan Coarse and Ryan Duclos teamed up to take down Lynn. McDonough, Max Fair, Ian DeTulleo and Dawson Pierson all tied for the team lead with seven tackles each. Jordan Wright added five tackles, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery while Tyler Buxton forced and recovered a fumble as well.
Lynn completed 19-of-27 for the Panthers for 223 yards and a touchdown, while Lombard went for 61 yards and two touchdowns rushing. Jake Donahue was one of Lynn's top targets, catching six passes for 83 yards and a touchdown. Evan Wilson was all over the field on defense, stacking up 18 tackles with 2.5 tackles for a loss.
The Spartans take to the road next Saturday, September 9, to take on another MASCAC program in Fitchburg State. Kickoff is slated for 3 p.m.