GETTYSBURG, Pa. — Christopher Newport University established a new offensive scoring streak Saturday afternoon, and cruised to a 54-37 triumph at Gettysburg College. For the first time in program history, the Captains scored touchdowns on each of their first six possessions, building a 40-7 halftime lead en route to the 17-point victory.
Sophomore Connor Barry, getting his first start at quarterback this season in place of injured senior Matt Dzierski, guided the team by completing 12 of 15 pass attempts, and by throwing for two scores and 260 yards. Both of his scoring strikes went to junior Colin Hart, who caught three passes for 144 yards. Junior running back Gunner White rushed for two scores, both from two yards out. Barry, Hart, and White logged all of their impressive numbers in the first half, and all three sat out the second stanza of the lopsided decision.
The 54-point scoring surge at Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium was the third-highest point total in program history, and the most points ever during Head Coach Paul Crowley‘s three-year tenure. The eight total touchdowns scored in the game matched a team all-time record.
“It was nice to have a week to game plan with Connor Barry in practice, and he really executed our offensive plan perfectly,” Crowley said. “Colin Hart was back after missing last week’s game, and he really makes a difference and so much more difficult for our opponents to defend us. It was also great to get a lot of guys who work so hard in practice into a game. Now we’ve got two weeks to work on improving and we know Salisbury will be a tough opponent on their field.”
Junior wide receiver Trey Hayes and sophomore transfer running back Jordin Lennon also joined in the first half scoring barrage, with Hayes reaching the end zone on a 13-yard run and Lennon scoring his first TD as a Captain on a 33-yard scamper. Christopher Newport added two more touchdown runs after halftime, as backup running backs Zavier Kennedy, a junior, and sophomore NaiQuan Washington-Pearce crossed the goal line, both for the first time in their careers and both from two yards out. Freshman running back Naseer Smith led the ground attack by carrying the ball 13 times for 82 yards.
CNU’s starting defense allowed just seven points in the opening half, and posted three sacks. Sophomore linebacker Maddax Lee led CNU with seven tackles, and logged one sack. The Captains have now registered 13 in their first three games. Sophomore defensive back DJ Felton picked off a pass for CNU’s lone interception of the afternoon.
Last season at TowneBank Stadium the Captains downed the Bullets, 49-17, in the first meeting ever of the programs. A crowd of 1,547 watched the second meeting in as many years of the programs on an overcast and comfortable day for Gettysburg’s Homecoming.
Christopher Newport is off next weekend, and returns to action on Saturday, October 5th, when the Captains open play in the New Jersey Athletic Conference. CNU will play at Salisbury University in Salisbury, Md., with kickoff set for 6:00 p.m. The Sea Gulls are 3-0 after beating Johns Hopkins on Saturday in Baltimore, 41-13. Salisbury also has next weekend off.
