Glassboro, N.J. – Christopher Newport blew open a close game thanks to four second-half touchdowns and coasted to a 39-6 victory Saturday night at Rowan University. The victory gives the Captains a 3-1 overall mark, and a 2-1 record in the New Jersey Athletic Conference.
"I'm really happy. We played a complete game. Our guys were really down after a tough loss last week.," said Head Coach
Art Link. "One of the big things we are focusing on from last year to this year is how to handle tough situations. How to handle it mentally when you go on the road and get tested. We're not all the way there yet, but tonight was a good test and they handled it well."
The Captains fell behind in the opening quarter when Rowan's Elijah Rehm got to the edge and scampered along the sideline to return a punt 66 yards for the first score of the game. It would end up being the only score of the game for the Prof's, who fell to 3-2 on the season and 2-2 in NJAC play.
CNU proceeded to score six unanswered touchdowns, including five through the air from junior quarterback,
Jack Anderson.
Anderson, became just the second CNU quarterback in program history to throw for five touchdowns in a game, matching the mark set by Todd Faison against Greensboro in 2007. The junior finished the night completing 24 passes on 37 attempts and threw just one interception. He connected with ten different receivers and spread the scoring among five different players. Anderson has thrown for 10 touchdowns in the first four games of the season.
"His last game, he missed some throws," said Link about Anderson. "He really wanted to have a big game tonight and I couldn't be happier for how well he responded."
As the second quarter began, the Captains were deep in Rowan territory and looking to put their first points on the board. From the seven-yard line, Anderson rolled to his right and hit freshman tight end, Michael Vanderulip in the end zone, giving the Captains a lead they would not relinquish.
Less than two minutes later, the Captains defense aided the scoring when junior
Damian Jiggetts stepped in front of a pass from Rowan's Riley Giles and returned it 30-yards for a touchdown. The score gave the Captains a 13-6 lead which held through halftime.
The second half began with a spark from junior DJ Wright when he took the opening kickoff to the Rowan 23 yard-line. On the first play from scrimmage of the second half, Anderson flipped the ball to his left where
Cole Blais maneuvered his way into the endzone behind a set of Christopher Newport blockers.
The scoring continued minutes later as Anderson hooked up with sophomore
Garrison Mayo on a 6-yard scoring strike. Anderson split a pair of Profs defenders to find Mayo in the back of the endzone and build the Captains advantage to 25-6.
Anderson paired up with junior
Nick Hunter from 9-yards out with two minutes remaining in the third to make it a 32-6 game.
The final score of the night came midway through the fourth quarter when Anderson tossed the ball to junior
Nehemiah Harris. As Harris ran to his right, a hoard of Rowan defenders appeared and forced the play back to the wide side of the field where Harris beat the defense to the edge and scampered 20 yards into the endzone for his first touchdown of the season to account for the 39-6 final tally.
The Captains defense entered the game ranked ninth in the nation in rushing defense, allowing 47 yards a game. The stingy unit improved their numbers by allowing just 11 rushing yards on 20 attempts. For the game, the Captains held the Profs to a mere 97 yards of total offense.
"The defense always goes out and tries to play a complete game, and we came close tonight," continued Link. "It's always great to get on the bus and head home when everybody is happy. We were able to get quality reps for just about all the guys that made the trip and it's a great springboard into our game next week against Salisbury."
The victory over Rowan was third in the last five meetings with the Profs and the Captains have now outscored Rowan 69-6 in the last two meetings. The victory also improves CNU to 2-0 on the road in 2018.
Christopher Newport returns to POMOCO Stadium next weekend to host the undefeated Sea Gulls of Salisbury University for Family Weekend. Salisbury is 4-0 overall and 3-0 in NJAC play after a 42-0 victory over William Paterson on Saturday. Kickoff is slated for 6:00 p.m.
