Utica 59, Castleton State 22
CASTLETON, Vt. — Utica College produced 667 yards of total
offense, including 414 through the air, to defeat host Castleton
State College 59-22 in non-conference football action Saturday
afternoon at Spartan Stadium.
Andrew Benkwitt (Mamaroneck, N.Y.) completed 26-of-40 pass
attempts for 378 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Pioneer
offense. Freshman Anthony Acevedo (New Hartford, N.Y.) proved to be
Benkwith's favorite target hauling in 10 catches for 205
yards and two scores.
After both teams opened the game with three-and-out series,
Benkwith orchestrated a six play, 64-yard drive to open the
scoring. Jake Scott (Rochester, N.Y.) capped the drive with a
two-yard rush, and produced 19 yards on the drive, but it was
Acevedo who provided the big blow, a 45-yard reception down to the
Castleton two-yard line.
Utica (2-0) put together another scoring drive on its next
possession, this time rolling 80 yards on 10 plays with Acevedo
catching a 26-yard strike from Benkwith. The sophomore quarterback
was on fire, completing five-of-six attempts for 70 yards on the
drive. T.J. Losowski's (Rome, N.Y.) extra-point attempt was
once again good and the Pioneers led 14-0.
Castleton (0-2) got on the board with 5:14 left in the first half,
as sophomore Shane Brozowski (Rensselaer, N.Y.) ran the Spartan
no-huddle offense to perfection, leading Castleton 90 yards on 14
plays for the touchdown. Wide receiver Evan Cassidy (South
Burlington, Vt.) was instrumental in the successful drive, rushing
for 13 yards on the opening play, and catching five Brozowski
offerings for 29 yards. Brozowski completed five passes for 71
yards, and rushed for 27 yards on the drive, setting up a Tyler
Carpenter (Fort Edward, N.Y.) one-yard touchdown run. Luis
Robitaille (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) tacked on the extra point and
Castleton trailed 20-7.
The Pioneers answered with two more touchdowns before halftime,
the first on a touchdown run by Scott, and the second on a
Benkwitt-to-Jeremy Maier (Rome, N.Y.) hook-up with 16 seconds
remaining before halftime to give Utica a 33-7 lead heading into
the interval.
Castleton was able to take the opening drive of the second half
down to the Pioneer 17-yard line, but the drive stalled and
Robitaille missed a 34-yard field goal attempt. Utica senior
linebacker Travis Ladd (Mexico, N.Y.) was huge on the drive, making
three-straight red-zone tackles to keep the Spartans at bay.
After Utica was forced to punt, Castleton likewise could not
muster any offense and the Pioneer special teams had its chance to
put some points on the board. Barrington Wallace (Springfield
Gardens, N.Y.) blasted through the Spartan line and blocked Carl
Ojala's (Pittsfield, Vt.) punt at the four-yard line, scooped
it up and ran to pay-dirt to push the score to 39-7 after
Lozowski's point after try went wide left.
Former major-league pitcher Chad Bentz (Juneau, Alaska) punched in
his first collegiate touchdown to cut the lead to 39-13, and a
Brozowski two-point conversion cut the lead to 24, but in the end
the Pioneer offense proved to tough to tame.
Back-up running back Zachary Jones (Blossvale, N.Y.) had a big day
in a reserve roll, rushing for 132 yards and a touchdown on 11
attempts, including a 57-yarder late in the second half. Scott
finished with 71 yards and two touchdowns on the ground and Chris
Cobb (Syracuse, N.Y.) added 37 yards and a touchdown.
Meier followed Acevedo on the receiving end, hauling in five balls
for 65 yards and a score.
Freshman Mick Wong (Hartford, Vt.) broke free for a 50-yard
touchdown run in the fourth quarter and led the Spartan ground game
with 73 yards on six carries. Carpenter carried 14 times for 45
yards and a touchdown, while the 265-pound Bentz had 12 yards and a
touchdown.
Cassidy had 10 catches for 66 yards, and Jacob Bielecki (Newbury,
Vt.) added 54 yards on three catches.
Ladd was all over the place for the Utica defense, making 17
tackles, including eight solo stops. Kevin Hennion (Dumont, N.Y.)
added 14 tackles and Genaro Scampone (Utica, N.Y.) chipped n
10.
Free safety Cody TanCreti (Hartland, Vt.) led the Spartans with 11
tackles, while cornerback Brandon Bergeron (Hartford, Vt.) had
nine, including one for a loss and a pass deflection.
The Spartans have an open date next week, before opening their
Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC) schedule September 25
at Gallaudet.
Utica will play its home opener next Saturday when the Pioneers
play host to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) at 1:00
p.m.
