CASTLETON, Vt. – The TCNJ football team continued its run of defensive dominance with a 48-7 victory at Castleton in an NJAC romp on Saturday afternoon.
The Lions (5-1, 3-1) showed no signs of tired legs after making the 300-mile trip to the Green Mountain State, and more turnovers fell alongside the foliage as the blue and gold nearly pitched its third shutout of the season.
For the second straight week, the Lions' defense outscored the offense it faced, and did so once again with a pair of scoring plays.
Justin Kurc registered his second pick-six of the season, bringing his fifth pick of the year back 50 yards for a score in the first minute of the second quarter, and
Sam Kuhns had a 45-yard scoop-and-score around the halfway point of the third. By then, the rout was already well on its way.
After sniffing out a fake punt on the game's first possession, the Lions took an early 7-0 lead on a 7-yard touchdown run by
Jordan Morrell.
Castleton (2-4, 0-3) drove all the way to the TCNJ 11 on its next trip, but
Sam Kuhns blocked a short field goal, and
Bill Westerby scooped up the loose ball and rumbled 32 yards to the Spartans' 40. Three plays after a 17-yard rush by
Aaron Viray,
Alex Dille darted in on a 20-yard touchdown run to make it 14-0 with 1:24 left in the opening frame.
Kurc's pick-six came less than two minutes later, and
Luke Dengler broke off 55 yards on six carries, the last a 4-yard touchdown plunge, to cap a 16-play, 70-yard march that chewed up more than nine minutes of clock and sent the Lions into the locker room with a 27-0 halftime lead.
After not attempting a single pass in the first half, TCNJ took to the air early in the third quarter, and it paid off immediately as
Dean Licari hooked up with
Ryan Gill for a 53-yard touchdown pass to make it 34-0. It was the first touchdown reception of the season for the senior wideout, who came in with 10 for his career, and the first career touchdown toss for Licari.
Three plays later, Kuhns took a fumble forced by
Albert D'Alessandro III 45 yards the other way for a score, expanding the margin to 41-0.
Castleton continued to throw, and TCNJ's defensive front pinned its ears back.
Alejandro Camarena combined with
Matt Cassidy on a sack before posting a 15-yard sack all to himself to force a Spartan punt.
The Lions went right down the field again, with an 18-yard run by
Anthony Macchio and a 29-yard sprint from
Ryan Mendes setting up
Isaiah Harrison's first career touchdown, a 3-yard jaunt that extended the visitors' advantage to 48-0 with 1:01 left in the third.
The shutout bid ended on a Castleton touchdown with 5:05 remaining, capping a 14-play, 92-yard drive.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- TCNJ piled up 289 yards on the ground and 360 total, while Castleton managed to produce 286 yards of total offense
- The Lions' run defense was suffocating, allowing only 12 yards on 23 attempts
- Despite the Spartans throwing for almost 300 yards (much of it in second-half garbage time), TCNJ turned Castleton over four times on downs in addition to the two defensive touchdowns
- Both teams had 19 first downs, but the Lions averaged 6.92 yards per play to just 3.58 for the Spartans
STANDOUT LIONS
- Gill caught both of the Lions' completions - one from Licari and another from Kyle Vellis - for 71 yards and a TD
- Dengler finished with six carries for 55 yards and the score, while Morrell accumulated 47 yards on eight rushes
- 10 TCNJ ball-carriers recorded at least 10 rushing yards on the day
- Camarena (1.5), Dave Giulian (1), and Cassidy (0.5) all had sacks
- Giulian led the Lions with 11 total tackles, with Cassidy adding seven
NOTES
- Dengler, Harrison, and Kuhns all scored their first career touchdowns
- Camarena's 1.5 sacks were the first of his career
- Gill went over 1,200 receiving yards for his career
- Kurc's interception was the 10th of his career, half of them coming in the six games this season
- This was the first all-time meeting between the programs, as Castleton is in its debut season as a member of the NJAC
UP NEXT
- The Lions finish up a two-game road swing at Kean next Saturday
