WASHINGTON - It wasn't the prettiest of games here Saturday at a breezy Hotchkiss Field as Gallaudet University played host to Castleton University in a showdown of Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC) unbeatens. Both teams held the lead, each team tried to give the game away to the other, but in the end an ugly game turned into a sweet 20-17 victory for the Bison before a crowd of 338.
The win gave Gallaudet Head Coach Chuck Goldstein his 47th career win leading the Bison in 12 seasons as he became the program's all-time wins leader. Goldstein breaks an 87-year-old record (46 career wins) that was held by Frederick Hughes (1918-35) and Charles Ely (1891-96, 1898-1901, 1903).
"This was a terrific team win against a feisty Castleton team that never went away," said Goldstein. "The all-time wins record is a testament to the talented student-athletes and the many different assistant coaches I have had the honor to work alongside during my tenure here at Gallaudet. We have been able to accomplishment a lot over the years to bring respect and national media attention to the University and the Bison football program. A special thanks to the Bison faithful that turned out today and those cheering us on from afar."
Gallaudet (4-1, 2-0 ECFC) was lucky to only be down 7-3 to Castleton (2-4, 1-1 ECFC) at the half as the Bison had fumbled away two possessions and was forced to punt on three others. The Bison finally came away with three points right before intermission when junior kicker Jonathon Waterman (Sebastian, Fla.) made a 43-yard field goal.
The game changed, in earnest, on the first possession of the third quarter.
The Spartans had driven to midfield when they fumbled the ball away to the Bison. Two plays later, sophomore Brandon Washington (Citronelle, Ala.) bobbled and fumbled the snapped but kept his composure. Washington grabbed the ball off the turf and ran right up the middle to the end zone to give GU the 10-7 lead. Washington finished the game with 24 carries for 125 yards and caught two passes for 16 yards.
The two teams traded near identical third-quarter field goals as Waterman hit from 40 yards at the 5:27 mark and Castleton kicker Noah Crossman made a 39-yard field goal with 36 seconds left in the third. Crossman's field goal cut the GU lead to three, 13-10, as the teams headed into the fourth quarter.
The opening two minutes were wild as the teams turned the ball over to each other. Castleton's defense forced a three-and-out and blocked Waterman's punt at the Gallaudet 30 only to fumble it back to the Bison, three plays later, in the red zone.
The Spartans defense held and forced a fourth punt from Waterman but during the return the heat of the moment got the best of the Bison punter as he got flagged and ejected from the game for an unsportsmanlike conduct. The ejection left GU without its main kicker/punter and placed the game in limbo.
Luckily for the Bison the defense saved the day on the next possession. The Spartans drove into Gallaudet territory only down three points with seven minutes left in regulation and faced a 4th and 1 from the Gallaudet 38. Castleton quarterback Evan Smith (17-for-27, 156 yards) dropped back to pass and threw the ball right to Gallaudet linebacker John Werner Jr. (Frederick, Md.) at the 38-yard line. Werner sprinted right down the far sideline, in front of the Spartan bench, and had a convoy of Bison defenders around him as he ran right into the end zone for the 62-yard interception for a touchdown.
Bison Nation had to hold its breath as untested freshman Ethan Sheppeck (Frederick, Md.) came on to kick the point after attempt but had no issue with the kick as GU led 20-10 with 6:54 left on the clock.
Smith was rattled as the Gallaudet defense dialed up pressure and harassed the 5-foot-10 junior signal caller on back-to-back plays. Sophomore linebacker Jacob Hartman (Petersburg, W.Va.) pressured Smith on second down and on third down he batted a ball up in the air as fellow linebacker Stefan Anderson (Little Falls, Minn.) came down with the interception.
GU didn't do much with its possession and Sheppeck shanked a six-yard punt out-of-bounds to give the Spartans new life and ideal field position at the Gallaudet 44 with five minutes left.
Smith regained his composure and the Bison aided the Spartans with a 15-yard penalty to set-up Smith's second touchdown pass in the game as he hit Lucas Morse, who broke through four Bison defenders en route to the end zone.
Gallaudet was able to run out the game clock on the final possession but it didn't come easily. Washington fumbled the snapped on first down, a Bison unsportsmanlike conduct penalty pushed them further back as GU faced 3rd and 21 but got bailed out by a Castleton unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that awarded Gallaudet with an automatic first down and the chance to run the clock out.