NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Christopher Newport University used a stingy defensive effort and took advantage of several key miscues by Rowan to record a 24-7 victory over the Profs. The win at TowneBank Stadium Saturday came during Homecoming Weekend celebrations on campus.
The Captains built a 17-0 at halftime, and then held off the Profs in a defensive dominated second half. Both teams are now 3-3 overall and 1-1 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference.
"This one feels really good for our guys," Head Coach Paul Crowley said following the triumph in front of 3,402 fans. "We hadn't had a win since prior to our bye week, so it's been a while, and to get it in front of so many former Captains and alums back for the weekend is especially satisfying."
Sophomore quarterback Connor Barry threw two first half scoring passes, connecting with junior receivers Trey Hayes and Colin Hart, and junior running back Gunner White posted a late scoring run to provide all the offense the Captains would need. The defense, meanwhile, played at a high level and held the Profs to just 259 total yards and seven points, and also forced three fumbles, two of which were recovered by the Captains.
"Those guys really responded after a tough loss last week," Crowley said of his team's defensive effort. "It starts with stopping the run, and we did that pretty well today. We were due to have a game where we won the turnover margin, and a big part of our game plan was just to avoid making critical errors."
Rowan mishandled a punt in the early going, giving the Captains the ball at the Profs' seven yard line. The mistake led to the first score, a seven-yard pass from Barry to Hayes just over three minutes into the opening quarter. Sophomore kicker Maxx Lawton converted a 23-yard field goal early in the second quarter, culminating a drive that started following a Rowan fumble at the CNU one yard line. Barry then went to Hart on a 23-yard scoring strike to push the advantage to 17-0 at the intermission. Barry finished the day 15 of 21 in the passing department for 143 yards
Rowan finally broke through in the third quarter with 3:10 left on the clock when quarterback Matt Welsey plunged into the end zone from one yard away for what would prove to be the Profs only score of the day. The Captains put the game on ice when White scored his 26th career touchdown, a one yard run, with 46 seconds remaining the fourth quarter for the 24-7 final verdict.
Christopher Newport's defense was led by sophomore rover Noah Martin, who registered 13 tackles, and senior linebacker Patrick Sullivan who made 12 stops and also forced a fumble. Sophomore defensive lineman Jerry Cashwell II also forced a Rowan fumble and teamed up with sophomore linebacker Maddax Lee on a sack. Fifth-year senior Christian Lee also contributed a sack for CNU as the Captains had nine different defenders record tackles for lost yardage.
"You want to be able to win games in a lot of different ways as a football team," Crowley continued. "Knowing how Rowan had been creating a lot of turnovers this year, we knew we had to avoid those kind of errors and I think for the most part we were successful in our preparation."
Christopher Newport heads back on the road next week following two straight home games. The Captains will travel to Union, New Jersey, next Saturday to take on the Cougars of Kean University in NJAC play. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. next Saturday, October 26th. The Cougars lost at the College of New Jersey on Saturday, 48-7, and will enter next week's game with the Captains at 2-4 overall and 2-1 in the NJAC.