NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - The College of New Jersey built a 21-6 lead in the second half and then held on in the final minute, sending Christopher Newport to its third loss in four games. The Lions, now 3-6 overall and 3-5 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference, outlasted the Captains at POMOCO Stadium Saturday, 21-19, dropping CNU to 5-4 overall and 4-4 in the NJAC.

A Homecoming and Senior Day crowd of 3,427 watched the Captains rally with two fourth quarter touchdowns, only to fall short in the final minute on a failed two-point conversion attempt.

"It's obviously disappointing," Head Coach Art Link said. "We didn't really get things going on offense until the final quarter and then just came up short. Our defense kept us in it, but we just made too many mistakes with fumbles and penalties."

Following a scoreless first quarter, the Lions grabbed the lead early in the second quarter on an 8-yard scoring pass from Trevor Osler to Gabriel Rios. Christopher Newport answered by posting two field goals by freshman Ben Garbarini, the first from 24 yards, and the second as time ran out in the second quarter from 20 yards away. TCNJ held a 7-6 advantage at the intermission.

The Lions opened their 15-point lead thanks to two third quarter touchdown throws from Osler. The first came on a 25-yard strike to Thomas Koenig, and the second on a 19-yard pass to Jack Clevenger to make it a 21-6 game heading to the fourth quarter. Osler finished the day 15 of 26 for 146 yards and three touchdowns. The Captains finally posted their first touchdown of the afternoon at the 11:51 mark of the final stanza when junior Jordan McIntyre ran in from three yards out. The score capped a 12-play, 90-yard drive and pulled CNU to within one score, 21-13.

CNU's defense came up big later in the fourth quarter when senior cornerback Tyrell Noel intercepted an Osler pass in the end zone, giving the Captains the ball at their own 11-yard line with 4:19 to play and trailing by just eight points. The pick was Noel's seventh of the season, setting a new single season school record for interceptions.

The Captains would then travel 89 yards on 19 plays in the final minutes, scoring in dramatic fashion on a 3-yard pass from senior quarterback K.J. Kearney to senior tailback Harrison Dandridge with just two seconds left on the fourth quarter clock. Christopher Newport's attempt to tie the game failed when freshman wide receiver Cole Blais had the ball slip from his hand as he attempted a pass on the two-point conversion attempt.

"That's a play we run in practice a lot," Link said. "They reacted quickly to the direct snap to Harrison Dandridge, and defended Kearney, who was the intended receiver. They did a good job and made a stop when they had to."

The Captains turned the ball over twice on fumbles on a cloudy and cool day at POMOCO Stadium. CNU was also hit hard again by penalties, committing ten in all for 105 yards.

Kearney, who started at quarterback for the 18th time in the last 19 CNU games, completed 15 of 22 attempts for 170 yards. Senior tailback Max Kavaljian provided a spark for the offense by rushing for 64 yards on 13 carries and also caught two passes for 31 yards. Junior Jamal Spence led the defense for CNU with 11 tackles, followed by seniors Brennan Gary and B.J. Hill, who each made eight stops. Senior Andre Toran made seven tackles and also forced a TCNJ fumble.

CNU lost the game despite out-gaining TCNJ in total yards for the day, 390-214. The Lions sacked CNU quarterbacks five times, and the Captains signal-callers have now been sacked 12 times in the last two weeks.   

A total of 25 seniors were honored prior to kickoff as they played at POMOCO Stadium for the final time. Christopher Newport will conclude the 2017 season next Saturday in a 12:00 noon start at Wesley College in Dover, Delaware. The Wolverines wrapped up the NJAC title and automatic NCAA bid Saturday with a 30-20 victory over Salisbury. Wesley is now 8-1 overall and 8-0 atop the NJAC. 

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