NEWPORT NEWS — Two members of the Christopher Newport University football squad were honored Friday by the Touchdown Club of Richmond. Sophomore quarterback Connor Barry was named the Quarterback of the Year in the Commonwealth, and sophomore safety Noah Martin was selected as the Defensive Back of the Year.
Barry and Martin helped lead the Captains to a 7-3 record this fall, and a 5-1 mark in the New Jersey Athletic Conference. Both were first team All-Conference honorees in the NJAC.
Barry, from Vienna, Va., completed 68 percent of his passes and averaged 195 yards per game throwing the ball. Barry threw for 15 scores, and also ran for four, and was intercepted just twice. Martin, a native of Spotsylvania, Va., led the Captains in tackles with 85 and passes broken up with 12. He also made four interceptions and recovered a fumble.
Barry and Martin join a list of five other Captains who have been honored by the Touchdown Club over the years. CNU’s Evan Moog was named the Defensive Player of the Year by the club in 2012. Rudy Rudolph was selected the Receiver of the year in 2014. Taylor Loudan also was named Receiver of the Year in 2015 and 2016 by the organization. Ben James was voted the Defensive Lineman of the Year in 2018 and 2019, and Kindrick Braxton was named Linebacker of the Year by the club last year.
Former Head Coach Matt Kelchner was also honored by the Touchdown Club of Richmond in 2016 when he received the Tate Memorial Award.
In all, nine awards were released Friday by the organization. This group features nine players who competed at the NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA, USCAA, and NCCAA levels.
The complete list of honorees:
- Quarterback of the Year – Connor Barry, Christopher Newport University
- Running Back of the Year – Jada Byers, Virginia Union University
- Offensive End of the Year – Cam Abshire, WR, Emory & Henry College
- Offensive Lineman of the Year – Storm James, Randolph-Macon College
- Defensive Lineman of the Year – Wade Grubbs, DT, Randolph-Macon College
- Linebacker of the Year – Daniel Eliasek, Randolph-Macon College
- Defensive Back of the Year – Noah Martin, Christopher Newport University
- Kicking Specialist of the Year – Kyle Ihle, PK, Randolph-Macon College
- Return Specialist of the Year – Brendan Robinson, KR, Bridgewater College
The Touchdown Club of Richmond is a sports-social organization, based in Richmond, Virginia. The club promotes the best interests of the American game of football and sports in general, with the predominant purpose being to recognize worthy athletes for their accomplishments.
The club’s membership compiles a ballot from all the football-playing colleges and universities in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The ballot is then distributed to the club’s membership for voting to determine the annual award winners.
The honored players will be recognized during the broadcast of the Dudley and Lanier Awards announcement, scheduled for Friday, December 13. This awards broadcast will air on WTVR-TV6, the CBS affiliate in Richmond, at 7:45 p.m.
