NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - The Captains of Christopher Newport look to de-rail the unbeaten Sea Gulls of Salisbury University Saturday night. Kickoff at POMOCO Stadium is set for 6:00 p.m. for the New Jersey Athletic Conference clash.
Art Link's squad is 3-1 overall and 2-1 in the NJAC following an impressive 39-6 road victory last Saturday at Rowan. The Sea Gulls are 4-0 on the year and 3-0 in the conference.
"We did a lot of good things last week and we're going to have to play well again to beat Salisbury this week," Link said. "I'm looking forward to a great atmosphere at POMOCO Stadium and a tough battle on the field."
It's Family Weekend at Christopher Newport, and all chairback and reserved bleacher tickets are sold out. A limited number of general admission tickets remain, and when they're gone only standing room tickets will be available.
Salisbury leads the nation in rushing, averaging 460 yards per game on the ground. The Sea Gulls also are second in the country in rushing defense, allowing just five yards per game. SU's 4-0 record, however, has come against four teams who have yet to produce a victory. Salisbury's opponents have posted a combined record of 0-17, and the Gulls have out-scored their opposition so far, 155-21.
The Captains, meanwhile, have been strong against the run as well this season. CNU is yielding just 33 yards per game, ranking them sixth in the country in the category. Sophomore linebacker
Kaden Woodward leads the squad in tackles with 21, while senior lineman
Julien Spence has 17 stops including 3.5 sacks. Junior
Damian Jiggetts, who returned an interception for a score last week, tops the team with three picks.
Jack Anderson, CNU's junior quarterback, is coming off a five touchdown performance last week at Rowan. Anderson joined Todd Faison as the only Christopher Newport quarterbacks to ever throw for five scores in a game, and he was named the NJAC's Offensive Player of the Week this week for the second time this season. Anderson has thrown ten scoring strikes this year with just four interceptions and is averaging 261.5 yards per game passing. He hit five different receivers for the scores. Senior
Joshua Davis has been Anderson's top target this year, with 21 catches for an average of 79.8 yards per game. Sophomore receiver
Garrison Mayo has caught four touchdown passes in as many games.
Saturday's game will be the 17th in the all-time series, and Salisbury holds an 11-5 lead. The Gulls recorded a 17-7 victory last year in Salisbury. The series dates back to the very first game in CNU football history on September 1, 2001, when Salisbury beat the Captains, 21-7, at POMOCO Stadium.
"This will be another great test for our program," Link continued. "It's a fantastic rivalry, and I know our Family Weekend crowd will be very supportive. We're going to be wearing our black uniforms, and I invite all of our fans to wear black as well."
Tailgate lots open at 1:00 p.m. Saturday, and ticket sales at POMOCO Stadium will start at 4:00 p.m. Gates open at 5:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on the Christopher Newport/Pepsi Radio Network (Xtra 99.1 FM) with the pre-game show kicking off at 5:30 p.m. Live video and stats will be available at CNUsports.com/watch.
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