DANBURY, Conn. - Junior CB Milleeq Green (Bridgeport, Conn.) made six tackles and returned an interception 32 yards for a touchdown to lead the Western Connecticut State University Wolves to a 57-18 win over the Vermont State University Castleton Spartans in the first Sean Salisbury Trophy Football Game at Westside Stadium.  WestConn finishes the regular season with an 8-2 record and a 7-2 mark in the Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference (MASCAC).  Castleton closes out its year at 3-7 overall and 2-7 in the league.  The Wolves hope to play in the post-season next week. Coach Salisbury, who died tragically in a car accident in 2022, had played for and coached at Castleton before joining the Wolves staff as an assistant coach from 2020 to 2022.

WestConn scored on its first two drives, going ahead, 7-0, on a one-yard pass from senior QB John Giller (Massapequa Park, N.Y.) to sophomore WR Dae'Shawn Allen (White Plains, N.Y.) with 8:25 on the clock and adding a 22-yard field goal by WestConn's all-time leading scorer Anthony Weidtman (Nesconset, N.Y.) with 27 seconds remaining in the opening frame.  The final 27 seconds were furious, as Castleton QB Tyson Hall connected with Wyatt Jackson for a 75 yard touchdown on the Spartans' first play after the field goal and Wolves sophomore Serge Lagardere (Stamford, Conn.) answered with an 87-yard kickoff return to paydirt as time expired.  Castleton's PAT was blocked to make the score, 17-6, at the first break.

WestConn increased its lead early in the second quarter, scoring on a one-yard touchdown plunge by Kevin Franceschini (Yonkers, N.Y.) and capitalizing on a bad Spartan snap recovered by Wolves senior Christian Scarlata (Oceanside, N.Y.) at the Castleton 10-yard line to score its fourth touchdown on a 10-yard run by senior RB Kamryn Holmes (Branford, Conn.).  WestConn mised PAT's on both scores to put the score at 29-6.  After another WestConn touchdown was called back on a holding penalty, the Wolves defense kept Castleton out of the end zone on the last drive of the first half.

Castlton put together a 19-play, 73-yard drive for the only points of the third quarter and scored its second touchdown on a one-yard un by Hall with 1:06 on the clock.  In the fourth stanza, Green scored his touchdown with the first of three Wolves interception in the final 15 minutes of the game.  Freshman LB Tafari Johnson (Bronx, N.Y.) intercepted Hall on the Spartans' second drive to set up Giller for a 16-yard touchdown to the back left corner of the end zone caught by sophomore WR Markus Faucett (Bronx, N.Y.).  Christian Keeling broke through the middle of the Wolves defense for a 75-yard touchdown sprint moments later, but Giller responded almost immediately with a 48-yard touchdown toss to senior WR Julian Ferguson (Enfield, Conn.).  Senior RB Gavin Jones (North Plainfield, N.J.) added a late touchdown run to account for the final tally of 57-18.

Giller finished 13-for-20 passing for 169 yards and three touchdowns and Jones was 6-for-9 for 89 yards.  Hall completed 18 of his 40 passes for 219 yards with one touchdown but three interceptions.  Ferguson led all receivers with 119 yards on seven grabs, while Allen caught eight passes for 86 yards.  Jackson had two receptions for 89 yards for the Spartans.  On the ground, Holmes rushed nine times for 70 yards. WestConn sophomore LB Eamon Moran (Stratford, Conn.) made eight tackles with one tackle for loss and junior Mike DeFelice (New Windsor, N.Y.) added five tackles and two pass breakups.  Kevin McDonough paced the Castleton defense with nine tackles and two tackles for loss.  Green and Jackson received the Salisbury Trophy MVP Awards for the two teams.