GLASSBORO, N.J. - Christopher Newport lost for the first time in 2016 Saturday night, and turnovers were the key culprit. CNU, ranked 22nd in the nation, fell to Rowan University in New Jersey Athletic Conference play, 10-7. The defeat on a drizzly night at Richard Wackar Stadium ended a seven-game CNU winning streak dating back to last season.
The Captains, now 4-1 overall and 3-1 in the NJAC, entered the game with a +9 turnover ratio, sixth-best in the country. However, it ended up being four crucial turnovers that proved to be the difference in the game. CNU suffered two interceptions and two fumbles, and managed only one score all night.
A first quarter interception and a second quarter fumble led to both Rowan scores, and the Profs defense held the Captains to just one third quarter touchdown to hang onto the victory.
"That's what it boils down to in a tight game like this," Head Coach
Matt Kelchner said. "We killed ourselves with those mistakes. Our defense was outstanding, they kept us in the game and made stop after stop. Every time we called on them, they responded. We just couldn't get anything going on offense without turning it over."
Rowan opened the game by capitalizing on an interception thrown by CNU quarterback
K.J. Kearney on the Captains first drive of the game. Junior running back Gawain Bragg scored on a 10-yard run to give the Profs a 7-0 edge.
The Profs, now 3-1 overall and 2-1 in the NJAC, added a second quarter field goal of 34 yards by junior Tyler Knighton to go up by a 10-0 margin.
The Captains finally got on the scoreboard with 8:38 to play in the third quarter. Kearney connected on a 2-yard scoring pass to senior wide receiver
Taylor Loudan to cut the lead to 10-7.
The defenses then took over the rest of the way, resulting in a scoreless fourth quarter as the Profs held on to win.
Kearney finished the game 21 of 37 for 205 yards with a touchdown and two picks. He was sacked four times by the Profs.
The Captains and the Profs each ran 64 plays, and the Profs wound up with 258 total yards to the Captains 256. For the first time this season, a CNU opponent held an edge in possession time (30:36 to 29:24).
CNU's defense was led by senior
Shomari Wright and junior
Drew Davidson who both posted ten tackles. Junior
Tyrell Noel made eight stops and also blocked a Rowan field goal attempt.
A crowd of 2,348 watched the Profs win for the seventh time over the Captains in eight all-time meetings. Christopher Newport's four-game winning streak to start the season was the first 4-0 start in program history.
The Captains are off next week before returning to POMOCO Stadium on October 15th to host Montclair State. The game will be a part of Family Weekend at CNU.
CNU has five games remaining, with three of the final five to be played at POMOCO Stadium.
