NORTHFIELD, Vt. – Shane Brozowski (Rensselaer, N.Y.) threw for more than 400 yards for the fourth time this season, but Castleton came up short losing 50-41 to Norwich University in Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC) action Saturday afternoon at Sabine Field.
Brozowski set Castleton records for attempts (69), completions (40) and touchdown passes (4) throwing for 405 yards in the loss.
Castleton ends its second season at 5-4, 5-2 while Norwich improved to 8-2, 5-2. Norwich took home the Old Sap Bucket Trophy for the second-straight year, winning the Vermont Maple Sap Bucket Championship in a battle of the two Vermont schools.
After falling behind 13-7, Brozowski and Castleton reeled off 21-straight points to take a 28-13 lead. Brozowski accounted for all three scores, running one in and hooking up with Adam Farmer (South Burlington, Vt.) for 20-yard touchdown and Jacob Bielecki (Newbury, Vt.) for a 29-yard strike.
A Long Ding (Qing Dao, China) 37-yard field goal as time expired in the first half cut the Spartan lead to 28-16 heading into the interval.
The third quarter belonged to the Cadets as quarterback Kris Sabourin (Georgia, Vt.) orchestrated a pair of scoring drives to take a 29-28 lead into the fourth quarter. Sabourin rushed for the first score, and handed the ball to Orwin Etkins (Miramar, Fla.) for a five-yard touchdown run to take the lead for good. Chris Denton's (Plantation, Fla.) 62-yard punt return set up the Cadets with a short field on the first score. Andrew Fulford (Gloucester, Mass.) and Sabourin accounted for much of the yardage in the second drive, including a 29-yard scamper from Sabourin and five rushes for Fulford accounting for 27 yards.
Norwich pushed its lead to 36-28 on its opening drive of the fourth quarter, with Sabourin finding Denton for a 27-yard touchdown reception.
Brozowski then strung together a 10-play, 84-yard drive for a touchdown, once again finding the freshman Bielecki, this time from 11 yards out. The point after failed and Castleton trailed 36-34. The scoring continued as Norwich drove for a touchdown to make it 43-34, Castleton answered with a Brozowski-to-Evan Cassidy (South Burlington, Vt.) touchdown to come back to within two, but a touchdown from Fulford sealed the win for the Cadets.
Cassidy proved to be Brozowski's favorite target on the game, hauling in a Castleton-record 15 catches for 151 yards and a touchdown. Farmer had six catches for 78 yards and a touchdown, while Bielecki ended up with five catches, 52 yards and two scores. Brozowski gained 74 yards on the ground, (giving all but 5 back on sacks) and two touchdowns. It is the third-straight week the sophomore quarterback has accounted for at least four touchdowns.
Fulford rushed for 157 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries, while Sabourin added 124 yards and three scores on 15 carries. Sabourin was also 8-for-17 through the air for 130 yards and a touchdown.
Josh Osborne (Island Heights, N.J.) led the Spartan defense with nine tackles, while Cody TanCreti (Hartland, Vt.) had eight.
Joe Gumberwicz (Oxford, Conn.) had two-and-a-half sacks and 10 tackles to lead the Cadets.