CASTLETON, Vt. - October 1, 2022 - The Dean College football team fell at Castleton, 39-0, in an Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC) opener for each team at Dave Wolk Stadium on Saturday night. 

Dean falls to 0-5 overall and 0-1 in the conference. The Bulldogs have next week off before returning home on Oct. 15 to host ECFC foe Gallaudet during homecoming weekend. Castleton improves to 2-3 overall and 1-0 in the ECFC. 

Junior quarterback Nathan Cisco (Franklin, Tenn.) saw his first action in a couple weeks and went 15-22 for 99 yards. Junior Holdan Wilson (Spanish Fort, Ala.) led the Dean backers with 60 yards on the ground. Senior Quintus Reid (New Haven, Conn.) caught eight balls for 58 yards. On the defensive side, Dre Kidd (Manassas, Va.), Matt Blake (Atlanta, Ga.) and Kai Reeves (Boston, Mass.) had seven tackles apiece. Reeves also had a sack and a quarterback hurry.  

For Castleton, quarterback Evan Smith posted 18-24 for 225 yards and two touchdowns. Smith also scored twice on the ground. Lucas Morse registered a rushing touchdown on 12 attempts for 43 yards. Jackson Brand had three receptions for 56 yards and a score, while Henry Robertson added a 3-yard touchdown reception. Damiyr Martinez and Kevin McDonough had eight tackles each to lead the Spartans. Quinten Asiedu had an interception. 

The only score in the first quarter came off the foot of Noah Crossman who connected on a 32-yard field goal. 

In the second frame, Castleton put two touchdowns on the board. Smith had a two-yard touchdown scamper and followed with a 33-yard pass to Brand to put the home team on top 17-0 at the half. 

Castleton erupted for 22 points in the third quarter. Smith and Morse had touchdown runs in the opening five minutes of the half. The Spartans took a 33-0 lead when Kristopher Carroll sacked the Dean quarterback in the end zone for the safety. With 3:27 showing on the clock, Smith hooked up with Robertson for a 3-yard catch and score to make the final tally 39-0. 

The fourth quarter went scoreless as the Spartans came away with conference opening victory.