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WINCHESTER, Va. -- In the first game of the 2010 USA South football season, the Captains (1-3, 1-0) earned their first win of the season, dropping the Shenandoah Hornets (0-4, 0-1) in a 28-13 final. Senior QB Matt Long threw for a career-high 207 yards and tossed a pair of TDs to senior T.J. Foster, who posted his third straight 100-yard receiving game, leading CNU to the fifth straight victory over Shenandoah.

The Captains improve to 9-1 all-time against the Hornets with the win on Saturday and avoid an 0-4 start in 2010.

Shenandoah would get on the board first, after terrific field position on their opening drive. CNU kicker Jim King would launch a 42-yard punt after going 3-and-out on the first drive, but Shenandoah's Derrick Lee returned the kick 73 yards down to the CNU 8-yard line. The Hornets would punch it in two plays later and add the PAT for an early 7-0 lead.

CNU would answer in the first quarter, led by senior running back Keith Gaines. Gaines would run the ball three times in the 7-play, 74-yard drive, rushing for 26 yards and the TD.

Andrew Lloyd would kick a 20-yard field goal to re-take the lead with just 1:17 left in the second quarter, 10-7. The Captains would go into the locker room with the score still 10-7, but the Captains would come out firing in the second half.

On their opening drive, Matt Long would hit T.J. Foster for a big gain and a touchdown that would put CNU up for good. Long's 59-yard toss to Foster for the score would cap a 6-play, 84-yard drive that lasted just 3:16 on the game clock.

On the next drive for Shenandoah, CNU's Al Hammill sacked the Hornets QB, Daniel Wright, for a loss of 13 yards, and then got pushed back another 15-yards after a penalty on the next play. Pinned deep in their own territory, the Hornets were forced to punt, and CNU capitalized again on their second drive of the quarter. Long would find Antonio Epps twice in the drive, including for the 16-yard TD pass.

Shenandoah would cut the lead back to eight with their first drive of the fourth quarter, as Lloyd knocked through a 38-yard field goal. However, the Captains answered quickly, as they kept the ball on the ground for the first six plays, including a 15-yard end-around by rookie Kentel Noel. They would then go to the air in the red zone, as Long found Foster for a circus catch in the end zone before falling out of bounds. The score came with just over eight minutes remaining in the game.

Wright was sacked again on the next drive for Shenandoah, as CNU's Kyle Krupp got to the QB this time around. With nothing going, the Hornets were forced to punt again. After CNU juiced nearly five minutes of game clock, the Hornets took over again, but quickly gave it back, as Michael Ruckman intercepted a pass on the second play of the drive to end the game.

Long led the way for CNU, posting the 18th 200-yard passing game in the history of CNU football and the first of his career. He went 9-of-14 in the air for 207 yards and 3 TD. Foster hauled in 163-yards receiving on four catches with a pair of TDs.

Defensively, senior linebacker Adrin Diggs continued to lead CNU in tackling, with a team-high seven on Saturday. Hammill's 13-yard sack was the best of three sacks on the day for CNU.

Shenandoah's Rico Wallace, averaging 120 yards per game receiving coming into the contest, led the way for the Hornets, going for 91 yards on seven catches against the Captains. Wright went 14-for-26 with 145 yards passing.

CNU returns home next weekend for Family Day, as they host Averett University in USA South action. Game time will be 1:00 pm at POMOCO Stadium.