DANVILLE, VA – The Christopher Newport football team used a punishing rushing offense to control the game and defeat the Averett University Cougars 43-12 and move to 3-2 on the season and 2-0 in USA South play.
The Captains set new school-records by rushing for 509 yards on 72 attempts as a team. All-American senior running back, Tunde Ogun, led the Captains by setting a new school-record with 285 yards on the ground and three touchdowns.
“I was hungry this week. I had a good week in practice. The offensive line did everything and I took advantage of it.” Said Ogun, the 2008 USA South Offensive Player of the Year. Ogun's third touchdown of the day was the 33rd rushing touchdown of his career, also a new school record.
CNU led 21-6 at the end of the first half on touchdown runs from sophomore quarterback, Antonio Epps (3 yards) and two from Ogun (2 yards, 64 yards). The Captains controlled the game from the beginning and held a 333 yard advantage on the ground at the half. “Our offensive line did some amazing things today. They dominated the line of scrimmage and allowed us to run at will. Tunde, Corey Legister, TJ Foster… we had success with everybody.” said Head Coach Matt Kelchner.
The Captains added three more rushing touchdowns in the second half, with scores from Ogun, junior Myles Reid, the first of his career, and sophomore Keith Gaines with 1.8 seconds remaining in the game. The six rushing touchdowns scored by CNU matched a school-record set against Shenandoah in 2007. “We were really banged up, but we were really focused on this game today,” said Kelchner. “We used some motivational tactics this week and the team really responded well.”
CNU received a strong performance from the defense as Averett quarterback Cody Ladutko was sacked five times including once for a safety while Averett was held to 191 yards of total offense.
The win for CNU was the 11th straight victory over USA South opponents dating back to 2007. It was the fourth straight win over Averett and CNU improves to 8-1 all time in the series.
The Captains return POMOCO Stadium for a USA South first place showdown with North Carolina Wesleyan, also 3-2 overall and 2-0 in USA South play. Saturday's game will highlight CNU's homecoming festivities with kickoff scheduled for 1:00 pm.
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