WAYNE, N.J. - Christopher Newport broke open a close game in the fourth quarter Saturday, posting three touchdowns in the final stanza on the way to a 39-10 triumph at William Paterson University. The victory at Wightman Stadium improved the Captains to 4-2 overall and 3-2 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference. The Pioneers fell to 0-7 and 0-6 with the defeat.

"It took us a while to get going today, but once we did we did some good things," Head Coach Art Link said. "We got to play a lot of people and this is the kind of game that will really help us down the stretch."

Sophomore Brock Carnes took over at quarterback for the Captains in the second half following a knee injury to starting junior Jack Anderson. Carnes scored twice on runs in the final quarter, from two and seven yards away, to help put the game away. Freshman C.J. Donaldson also reached the end zone in the fourth quarter on a nine-yard scamper to complete the scoring.

"Our offense really made some things happen when we needed to," Link continued. "Brock came in and did a good job...he gives us a different look out there, and mixes it up with the passing and running game...he uses his feet really well." 

William Paterson had opened the scoring with a first quarter field goal for the only points in the first 15 minutes on a cool and breezy day in the Garden State. CNU bounced back to take the lead on a 17-yard scoring pass from junior quarterback Jack Anderson to senior wide receiver Joshua Davis early in the second quarter. Following a two-point conversion pass from Nick Hunter to Sean Wilkinson, the Captains held an 8-3 lead. The TD was the fourth for Davis in the last two games, and the tenth of his career with the Captains.

Later in the second quarter, CNU's defense added to the lead as senior safety B.J. Hill returned an interception 27 yards for a score. Ben Garbarini's extra point gave the Captains a 15-3 advantage. Garbarini finished the first half scoring with just 24 seconds left by booting a 44-yard field goal to give Christopher Newport an 18-3 lead at halftime. The field goal was the longest of Garbarini's CNU career.

WPU, who had been shut out the last three weeks by a combined score of 114-0, re-gained momentum in the third quarter by scoring on a 37-yard pass from Kyle Fanning to RaeQuawn Bridgeman that cut the CNU lead to 18-10. The touchdown was the first for the Pioneers in almost a month, but would prove to be the final scoring for the home team as the Captains rallied in the final quarter.

Christopher Newport intercepted four Pioneer passes on the day, including two by sophomore D.J. Wright. The Captains out-gained WPU in total yardage, 372-138, and held the Pioneers to just 27 yards rushing. CNU has now won all four games in the all-time series with William Paterson. The loss in front of 580 fans was the 23rd straight for the Pioneers, who haven't won since October 1, 2016.

The Captains return to action next Saturday, October 27th, when they host Kean University at POMOCO Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m., and the game will be part of Homecoming Weekend at CNU.