NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Christopher Newport University jumped to a 17-0 lead over the College of New Jersey at halftime Saturday, and then had to hang on for a 24-21 victory at Kelchner Field at TowneBank Stadium. The Captains, now 7-2 and 5-0 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference, won their sixth straight game on a sunny and warm first Saturday of November, and will now play at Salisbury next week for what amounts to the NJAC Championship game.

On a day the Captains honored their senior class, playing their final home regular season game, it was a freshman who stole the spotlight. Running back Gunner White set a new CNU school record for rushing yardage by a freshman with 174 yards on 28 carries, and scored what proved to be the deciding touchdown with 8:00 to play in the third quarter on a 15-yard scamper, the only touchdown of the second half for the Captains. It was the most yards rushing by a Christopher Newport player since Marcus Morrast ran for 191 yards in a double overtime victory over Methodist in 2014.

"We had a terrific effort in the first half, but a bit disappointing in the second half," Head Coach Paul Crowley said. "Too many penalties and TCNJ really grabbed the momentum. It took some big runs by Gunner and a great play on defense by Josh Uvodich to secure the win."

Uvodich, a senior cornerback, intercepted a pass with just under two minutes remaining in the final quarter to put the Captains in a position to run out the clock. White broke loose for a 36-yard pickup in the final minute, giving the Captains the opportunity to go into victory formation and hold onto the three-point triumph.

Junior quarterback Matt Dzierski threw two first half touchdown passes as the Captains built their 17-0 advantage. Dzierski connected with freshman Trey Hayes from 32 yards away on a fourth-and-nine situation to end a 10-play, 78-yard drive to open the game. After junior Ryan Castle booted a 24-yard field goal to give the Captains a 10-0 lead, Dzierski found sophomore tight end Trey Lancaster all alone for a 23-yard scoring pass with 4:24 to play in the first half. The touchdown polished off a seven-play, 68-yard drive, and provided the 17-0 tally at the intermission.

The Lions looked like a different squad to open the third quarter, and ended up out-scoring the Captains, 21-7, in the stanza. Sophomore running back Jayson Schmidt scored on a 55-yard run, and later reached the end zone on a 14-yard pass from junior quarterback Trevor Bopp. TCNJ, now 3-5 overall and 2-3 in conference play, scored with just one second left in the third quarter when Bopp connected with junior wide receiver Jake McKown on a 15-yard scoring strike to make it 24-21. The teams would spar through a scoreless final quarter as the Captains notched a sixth consecutive victory for the first time in a single season since 2011 when CNU won seven straight.

Dzierski finished the day 12 of 16 passing for 202 yards and two scores. White averaged 6.2 yards per carry after running for 174 yards on 28 totes. Hayes led all receivers with five catches for 92 yards. TCNJ sacked Dzierski seven times, with four coming from senior Nick Celli and three from senior Ryan McGuire, who finished with nine total tackles. The Captains got interceptions from junior Shawn Hamilton as well as Uvodich, who led the team with eight tackles along with junior safety Logan Baker.

A Senior Day crowd of 2,735 watched the Captains improve to 4-2 at home this season. Christopher Newport is also now 4-2 this year in games decided by seven points or less.

Coupled with Salisbury's 32-17 victory at Kean Saturday, the Sea Gulls and Captains are now both 5-0 atop the NJAC. The schools will meet head-to-head in Salisbury, Md., next Saturday at 1:00 p.m. for the league crown and automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Football Tournament.The Captains will be looking to advance to NCAA play for the 11th time in program history, and the first time since 2014.

"I'm excited for them to have this opportunity," Crowley continued. "It's been a while, and many of these young men have never had anything like this to play for, so it's special. We'll work hard to prepare and I'm sure we'll be ready."