CASTLETON, VT – In a game that featured 855 yards of total offense and 69 points, the Maritime College football team and Castleton combined for six touchdowns in the fourth quarter alone on Saturday afternoon.  The last of those scores came with 48 seconds left, as Evan Smith connected with Jackson Brand on a 24-yard pass that gave the Spartans (3-4, 2-1 Eastern Collegiate Football Conference) a 36-33 victory over the Privateers (1-5, 0-2 ECFC) at Dave Wolk Stadium.

A 13-yard strike from Steven Stassi (East Islip, NY) to Pat Quinn (Farmingdale, NY) put Maritime up 20-7 heading into the frenetic fourth quarter.  Castleton scored touchdowns on back-to-back drives to pull ahead, 21-20, before Tate Neiderer's (Hanover, PA) 38-yard run capped a seven-play, 77-yard march that put the Privateers back in front.  The Privateers went for two to make it a seven-point game, but the pass fell incomplete and the margin remained five, 26-21.

Castleton scored a touchdown on its next drive, though, and the Spartans' two-point attempt was successful, making it a 29-26 game with 3:16 remaining.  The Privateers needed just four plays to regain the lead, as Stassi connected with Quinn for the third time in the game.  The 63-yard TD pass gave Maritime a 29-26 advantage with 1:46 left on the clock.

After the Spartans drove down regained the lead on Smith's pass to Brand, Ian Derda (Guilford, CT) returned the kickoff 32 yards to the Maritime 40.  Stassi found Michael Varela (Lindenhurst, NY) for 22 yards on first down before an incompletion and a sack.  On 3^rd-and-12 with 17 seconds left, Stassi's pass was intercepted by Kevin McDonough, sealing the win for Castleton.

Stassi finished 32-for-45 passing for 354 yards and three touchdowns, all to Quinn.  Quinn had 155 receiving yards on nine catches, while Derda had six receptions for 82 yards and Cole Trosclair (Metairie, LA) also hauled in nine passes.  Neiderer carried 20 times for 144 yards and two scores.  Tim Gasparik (Seaford, NY) led the Privateers defensively with eight tackles, six of which were solo stops.  He was credited with a sack, as well.

For Castleton, Smith was 15-for-23 for 167 yards and a touchdown.  Lucas Morse had two rushing TDs as part of an 11-carry, 93-yard effort, while Devin Wollner gained 70 yards on the ground.  He carried 15 times and scored a touchdown.  In addition to making the game-clinching interception, McDonough paced the Spartans with 10 tackles.

The crazy fourth quarter followed a relatively low-scoring first three periods.  Maritime missed a field goal in the first quarter before opening the scoring on Neiderer's three-yard run to paydirt at the 8:53 mark of the second quarter.  After Castleton tied the game on a 48-yard punt return by Caezar Williams, the Privateers took a 14-7 lead into the locker room on the first of Quinn's three TD catches.

Maritime went up 20-7 on another Quinn touchdown reception midway through the third quarter, which set the stage for the 42-point final period.  There were five lead changes in the fourth quarter, including three in the final 3:26.

Next Saturday, the Privateers hit the road again for a 1 p.m. contest against first-place Gallaudet (5-1, 3-0 ECFC).  It will be Maritime's first visit to Gallaudet since the 2018 season finale.