NEWPORT NEWS — The second half of the 2024 football season opens Saturday for the Captains of Christopher Newport University. Paul Crowley‘s squad will host the Profs of Rowan University in a 1:00 p.m. kickoff at TowneBank Stadium. The New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) battle will come during Homecoming Weekend celebrations on the CNU campus.
The Captains will be looking to bounce back from a tough home loss last Saturday to Dickinson College (PA) in the final non-conference game of the season for CNU. The Red Devils scored a touchdown in the final minute to get past the Captains last Saturday, 31-28, at TowneBank Stadium. Dickinson spoiled CNU’s second half comeback bid and dropped the Captains to 2-3 on the season. The Devils scored on pass plays in the final minute of each half, with what proved to be the game-winner coming with just 57 seconds left.
Christopher Newport sophomore quarterback Connor Barry had another impressive game, as he threw for two touchdowns and ran for two scores last week. Barry completed 20 of 32 pass attempts for 261 yards on the day, connecting with junior receivers Colin Hart and Trey Hayes for scores. Barry has tossed eight scoring passes with just one interception since taking over for injured fifth-year senior Matt Dzierski at the quarterback spot.
Rowan University, located in Glassboro, N.J., has a record of 3-2 overall and a 1-0 mark in the NJAC heading into play against the Captains. The Profs were victorious last Saturday in their league opener, beating the College of New Jersey, 36-22, in Glassboro. The Profs have put up strong numbers this season on defense, and have made 16 sacks and 11 interceptions over the first five games. Senior defensive back Jason Blanks this week became the second Prof this season to earn NJAC Defensive Player of the Week honors. Blanks recorded six total tackles – including four solo stops last week vs. TCNJ – but his biggest contributions came in the form of turnovers. He forced and recovered a fumble and intercepted a pass last week, with both plays coming on back-to-back drives in the first quarter and directly leading to Rowan’s first points.
Christopher Newport and Rowan will be meeting for the 15th time, and the Profs hold an 8-6 advantage in the all-time series. CNU has won the last three games in the series, and five of the last six. Last year in Glassboro, the Captains held on for a 21-18 victory in the rain. The game began with fireworks for the Captains as Trey Hayes returned the opening kick of the game 85 yards for a score, and CNU managed to hold on to the win despite not scoring after halftime, when the Captains held a 21-10 advantage.
A limited number of general admission tickets are available for Saturday’s game, and will go on sale at TowneBank Stadium Saturday morning at 11:00 a.m. Gates will open at 12 noon.
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 video of the game, as well as the Live Stats and the full CNU game notes package.
