CASTLETON, VT — The Buccaneers football team went into Castleton on Saturday on the Spartans Homecoming Weekend and walked away with a conference win, 20-14.
The Basics
Final: Buccaneers 20, Spartans 14
Records: Maritime (1-2, 1-1)
Castleton (2-1, 1-1)
Inside The Numbers
Maritime
- Quarterback Evan Pierce completed six of 10 passes in the game for 73 yards and a touchdown. He also ran the ball 12 times for 10 yards and a score.
- Running Back Zach Proctor led the Bucs rushing attack for a second week with 84 yards on 18 carries.
- James Cassidy scored a touchdown on the ground and picked up 46 yards on 10 carries.
- Declan Van Next caught four passes in the game from Pierce for 45 yards and a touchdown.
- Defensively, Demetri Boozer and Liam Hines had eight tackles each in the win.
- Marcus Mauceri recorded 1.5 sacks in the game to go along with three tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss.
- The Bucs had four sacks on the day. Along with Mauceri’s 1.5, Liam Clayton and Mac Kromenhoek each had one and John Shields recorded a half sack.
- Connor Garland recorded an interception in the game and had a tackle.
- TJ Jones picked up a fumble on Clayton’s sack and made two tackles in the win.
- On special teams, punter Logan Tsika punted three times for 99 yards, an average of 33 yards per punt and pinned the Spartans inside their own 20 yard line once.
- Kicker Andon Werling made two of his three extra point attempts in the game.
Castleton
- Quarterback Wes Cournoyer completed 21-of-32 passes in the game for 190 yards and an interception. He did have a touchdown on the ground and gained 11 yards on 13 carries.
- Caezar Williams caught seven passes for 69 yards to lead all receivers.
- Defensively, Kevin McDonough had 19 total tackles. Isaiah Oufiero racked up 15 and Mike Morrissey had 10 of his own.
- On special teams, Max Fair punted four times for 125 yards, an average of 31.3 yards per punt.
- Kicker Eydan Linares made two of two field goals with a long of 30 yards. He missed his lone extra point attempt.
How It Happened
The Buccaneers won the opening coin toss and deferred to the second half, giving the Spartans the ball to open the game. Castleton went 10 yards on six plays and were forced to punt. On the Buccaneers first drive of the game, Pierce and the offense drove 70 yards on 11 plays and capped off the drive with a four-yard touchdown run by Cassidy, who also had a 21-yard run on the drive. Weling converted the PAT and the Bucs led 7-0. After a three-and-out by both teams, the Spartans took over on offense with 2:11 on the clock in the first and at the Maritime 28 after a blocked punt. Their drive ran out that time and the Bucs led, 7-0, after one quarter of play.
To open the second, the Spartans continued their drive and went 28 yards on seven plays and scored on a Cournoyer six-yard carry. Linares missed the extra point and the Bucs held on to a one-point lead. On the Bucs next drive, they recovered their own fumble and were ultimately forced to punt. On said punt, Tsika fumbled the snap and the Spartans took over at the Buccaneers 35 yard line. They went 27 yards on seven plays and were stalled at the Maritime eight. Linares came on and made a 25-yard field goal that gave his team their first lead, 9-6. The Bucs were forced to punt again on their next drive and this time Tsika pinned the Spartans back at their own 14. The Maritime defense forced a punt and Fair could only muster 22 yards on the punt giving the Buccaneers the ball at the Castleton 30. On the first and only play of the next Maritime drive, Pierce found Van Nest in the end zone for a touchdown and the Buccaneers retook the lead, 14-9, after Werling’s PAT. Castleton had one more drive before the half and they got the ball into Maritime territory. On a second and three play, Cournoyer was intercepted by Garland at the five yard line, stopping their scoring chances. The Bucs sat on the ball and sent the game to the half with a 14-9 lead over the Spartans.
Maritime took the ball first in the second half and the first possession ended in a punt. On the Spartans first drive of the half, Cournoyer was sacked by Clayton forcing a fumble. Jones picked it up and the Buccaneers took over at their own 26. On the following drive, the Maritime offense put together an impressive 16 play, 74 yard drive that took over eight minutes. They completed the drive with a one-yard touchdown run from Pierce. Now 20-9, Werling had his PAT blocked and the Spartans ran it back for two points making the score Maritime 20, Castleton 11. That score would remain the same as the team’s went to the fourth quarter.
After punts by each team to open the final quarter of play, Castleton drove 44 yards on 13 plays and put a few more points on the board on Linares’s second field goal of the day from 30 yards to pull the Spartans back within one score, 20-14, with six minutes left to play. On the ensuing drive, the Buccaneers controlled the ball and the clock going 69 yards on 13 plays using up all of the clock denying the Spartans another chance to come back. The Buccaneers picked up their first win of the season by a final of 20-14 on Castleton’s Homecoming Weekend.
What’s Next
The Buccaneers are back home on Saturday, September 28th to play Plymouth State on Homecoming Weekend at Maritime. Kickoff is set for 1pm.
