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NEWPORT NEWS, Va.- The Fighting Scots of Maryville College opened a 21-7 lead in the first half Saturday night, and held off the Captains of Christopher Newport. Maryville improved to 6-1 overall and 4-0 atop the USA South Athletic Conference with a 30-17 victory.

The Scots posted 424 total yards and rushed for 292 on 56 carries in the triumph. CNU had held opponents to just 80 yards per game on the ground this season coming into play Saturday night, 15th in the nation in rushing defense.

"The bottom line is we were beaten on the offensive and defensive lines tonight," Head Coach Matt Kelchner said following the home defeat. "Maryville dominated the line of scrimmage, and that allowed them to run the ball the way they did. I give them a lot of credit, they did a better job than we did."

The defeat concluded a tumultuous week for the CNU football program. Funeral services for Assistant Coach Ed Davis were held in Massachusetts Saturday afternoon. Davis, who had coached the Captains' quarterbacks and special teams for the last three years, died Monday just weeks after being diagnosed with cancer.

"Our thoughts are certainly with Coach Davis' family," Kelchner said. "This was a tough week for all of us, but certainly even tougher for them. We miss him terribly and will keep him in our hearts forever."

Both teams opened the game with rushing touchdowns on their opening drives. Maryville broke the 7-7 tie with another rushing touchdown on the first play of the second quarter, and then jumped to the 21-7 advantage with 10:07 to play before halftime. The teams then traded field goals to give the Scots a 24-10 lead at the half.

CNU opened the second half by travelling 70 yards on six plays, a drive culminated by a 17-yard Paul Dukes touchdown run. The Captains cut the lead to 24-17, but would not score again.

Maryville tacked on two field goals to cruise to the 30-17 win. Scots kicker Wes Bloeme connected on field goals of 27, 22, and 27 yards, for his first three field goals of the season. The Scots scored twice on runs by freshman Trenton Shuler (20 and 4 yards) and also scored on a 4-yard scoring run by senior Travis Felder.

The Captains touchdowns came from sophomores Storm Parker (3 yards) and Dukes (17 yards). Dukes finished with 109 yards rushing on 17 attempts. Sophomore kicker Mason Studer also connected on a 37-yard field goal.

Maryville senior Travis Felder ran for 126 yards on 23 carries, while sophomore quarterback Evan Pittenger completed 10 of 20 passes for 132 yards.

A crowd of 2,756 watched the Captains lose for the first time at home in 2013. CNU is now 3-1 at POMOCO Stadium this season. The win for Maryville was the program's fourth straight, and just the second time in nine all-time meetings the Scots have beaten the Captains.

CNU, now 4-2 overall and 1-2 in the USA South, travels to Greensboro to take on the Pride next Saturday night. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.