NEWPORT NEWS — Following a 14-3 loss to Johns Hopkins University in their home opener last Saturday, the Captains of Christopher Newport look to bounce back on the road. Paul Crowley‘s squad heads to Pennsylvania to play Gettysburg College Saturday afternoon. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium.
Both squads are 1-1 to start the season, and will be meeting for the second time in as many years. Last season at TowneBank Stadium, the Captains registered a 49-17 victory over the Bullets as then freshman Connor Barry threw for two scores and also ran for a touchdown. Ironically, it’s possible that Barry, now a sophomore, will again be called on at quarterback for the Captains in place of injured starter Matt Dzierski. Both Dzierski and Barry left last Saturday’s game due to injuries sustained in the hard-fought defensive struggle, and just who starts and how much each plays won’t be determined until game day.
“Our guys are always excited to compete, and every week we’re going to face a tough challenge,” Crowley said. “Gettysburg is playing at a very high level, and I know they’re going to be fired up to play us. We’ve had a good week in practice this week, and we’re looking forward to being back on the playing field.”
While the Captains were only able to produce a Maxx Lawton field goal on offense, the Christopher Newport defense was again outstanding last week. The Captains sacked Johns Hopkins quarterback Bay Harvey six times, and allowed just 180 total yards. CNU has logged a total of ten sacks in the first two games of 2024, and is yielding an average of just 239 yards per contest.
Gettysburg is coming off a heartbreaking 27-26 defeat at Montclair State a week ago. The Bullets were beaten by a last-second field goal by the Red Hawks, and will now open their home schedule by hosting the Captains. GC won its season opener on the road at Juniata College, 61-41.
All Captains games are broadcast live on the Home of the Captains, Xtra 99.1 FM and CNUsports.com. The pre-game show Saturday will begin at 12:30 p.m. Links are provided at the top of this story to the live Gettysburg video of the game, as well as the live CNU radio broadcast. Live Stats and the full CNU game notes package are also available by clicking above.
Following Saturday’s contest, the Captains have a week off before opening New Jersey Athletic Conference play on Saturday, October 5th, at Salisbury University.
