NEWPORT NEWS, Va.- Christopher Newport scored four second-half touchdowns to blow open a close game, and cruised to a 45-26 win Saturday night over LaGrange College at POMOCO Stadium. The victory gives the Captains a 6-3 record overall, and a 6-1 mark atop the USA South Athletic Conference. Matt Kelchner's squad can secure its 10th conference title and NCAA trip with a win next Saturday when it concludes the regular season at Maryville College.

Sophomore running back Daquan Davis rushed for three of the four second-half touchdowns, and finished the night with 129 yards on 26 carries.

Senior quarterback Marcus Morrast continued his remarkable final season, completing 11 of 15 passes for 253 yards and also rushing for 79 yards on 15 carries. Morrast connected with fellow senior wide receiver Rudy Rudolph on a 47-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter, and also scampered 11 yards for a score in the second quarter.

"There aren't many quarterbacks out there playing at a higher level than Marcus right now," Head Coach Matt Kelchner said. "He's doing a lot of great things and making good decisions. We're also getting better and better play from our offensive and defensive lines, and that's really helping things open up."

Rudolph caught six of Morrast's 11 completions for 198 yards and went over the 3,000-yard mark for his career. Morrast went over the 4,000-yard mark in passing yards for his career. The senior tandem continues to re-write the CNU offensive record book.

The Captains led at the half, 17-13, but the Panthers opened the second half with a score to take their only lead of the night, 20-17. CNU dominated the rest of the way, outscoring LaGrange, 28-6, over the final 25 minutes of action.

"That's really where it turned around for us," Kelchner continued. "We really picked up the intensity at that point and played at a high level the remainder of the game."

Junior running back Storm Parker made the most of his only carry of the night, scoring on a 25-yard burst late in the third quarter to put the Captains up, 31-20, at the end of three quarters.

Christopher Newport posted 419 total yards, with a balanced attack of 229 rushing and 253 passing. CNU's defense forced four LaGrange turnovers, and held the Panthers to just 67 rushing yards on 23 attempts. LaGrange was also hurt by 10 penalties for 114 yards, and fell to 4-5 overall and 2-5 in the USA South.

On defense, senior Shaun Copening registered seven tackles, including one and a half sacks, and also recovered a fumble. Junior Cameron Barlow also made seven stops and intercepted the ninth pass of his career, tying him with Rob Rodriguez for most in school history. Barlow also recovered a LaGrange fumble, and freshman Brennan Gary also picked off a pass.

"I just told my guys to enjoy this one tonight, and get ready to get back to work tomorrow," Kelchner said. "This is where you want to be in November, playing important games that really mean something. We've got a lot to do to get ready for Maryville." 

LaGrange senior quarterback Graham Craig completed 31 of 46 passes for 343 yards and a score. The Panthers came into the game following a surprising 24-17 win last week at Huntingdon, a victory that snapped a three-game LaGrange losing skid. CNU has now taken two of three career meetings with the Panthers.

The Captains are just 13 points from matching a school record for points scored in a season. CNU has put 324 points on the scoreboard in just nine games, an average of 36.0 points per game. The 2004 Captains score 337 points, but did so in a 12-game season that included two NCAA games. That team averaged 28 points per game.

The Senior Night victory came on a chilly and windy first night of November in front of 2,627 fans at POMOCO Stadium, and served as the final home regular-season game of 2014, and the last USA South home game ever. The Captains will open play in the New Jersey Athletic Conference in 2015. The Captains finished 4-1 at home this season and 39-8 all-time in home USA South games.

CNU will play its final USA South game at Maryville next Saturday, with kickoff set for 1:30 p.m. at Honaker Field in Maryville, TN. The Fighting Scots are 6-2 overall and 5-1 in conference play following a 42-28 victory over North Carolina Wesleyan on Saturday.