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UNION, NJ- In just a mere minute of football, the 2011 CNU football season came crashing down Saturday. The Captains were trailing Kean University, 14-7, late in the second quarter when the meltdown began.

"It's hard to imagine the way it happened," Head Coach Matt Kelchner said. "We were in great position, and then it all went wrong."

 Christopher Newport gave up three touchdowns to Kean in a span of 53 seconds and essentially put the game away.

The pre-halftime nightmare gave the Cougars a 34-7 lead, and Kean held off CNU in the second half to advance in the Division III NCAA Football Championship. The 34-10 final verdict will put the Cougars up against Salisbury in the second round, while the Captains season ends at 8-3.

"I thought our defense was really strong all day, they competed really well," Kelchner said. "Those mistakes before the half were the difference in the game."

CNU's defense did not allow a first down to Kean in the entire second half.

Junior quarterback Aaron Edwards (Yorktown, Va.), who had battled the flu all week, threw five interceptions in the loss. Three of the five came in the moments before halftime leading to three Kean touchdowns.. Edwards scored CNU's only touchdown of day, a 1-yard plunge earlier in the second quarter that had cut Kean's lead to 14-7.

Edwards finished 15 of 29 throwing for 178 yards.

Sophomore kicker Stephen Denuel (Moseley, Va.) booted a 29-yard field goal for the only score of the second half. The field goal tied the all-time CNU mark for field goals in a season with 16.

The defeat snapped a 7-game CNU winning streak and ends the Captains season at 8-3.