WAYNE, N.J. - Christopher Newport University improved to 6-2 overall and 4-0 atop the New Jersey Athletic Conference Saturday afternoon with a 33-13 victory over William Paterson University. Sophomore running back
Gunner White led the way by rushing for 101 yards and two fourth quarter touchdowns to give the Captains their third straight victory and fifth in their last six games.
Christopher Newport relied on the old-school recipe of strong ground game and stellar defense to put away the Pioneers at Wightman Stadium on a partly sunny and unseasonably warm late October day. CNU jumped to an early 17-0, and held a 20-6 edge at the intermission before WPU cut the lead to seven early in the third quarter. The Captains re-gained momentum late in the third quarter when freshman running back
NaiQuan Washington-Pearce rumbled 44 yards on the final play of the third quarter, setting up the first of White's two scores on the opening play of the fourth quarter.
"We tried to limit the hits Gunner took today, and with the heat we had him out for a bit," Head Coach
Paul Crowley said. "He did a great job as did our offensive line when we really needed them to. Our defense did a good job for most of the day, they've got two very good receivers and I thought we really limited what they could do."
White, who went over the 100-yard mark for the second time this year and fourth time in his two-year career, carried the ball 21 times for 101 yards. His fourth quarter scoring runs came from four and 11 yards out, and he now has scored 18 times in 18 games as a Captain.
The Captains again got off to a fast start, scoring on the first play from scrimmage of the game. After returning the opening kick to the 39-yard-line, senior quarterback
Matt Dzierski connected with sophomore
Trey Hayes on a screen, and Hayes raced 61 yards for a score. CNU has now scored first in all eight games this season. Just four minutes later, the Captains got on the board again to go up, 14-0. Freshman
Beau Sahnow connected with fifth-year senior
Xander Jedlick on a 20-yard scoring hookup. It marked the first TD pass of Sahnow's career, the the first score of the season for Jedlick.
After Captains kicker
Ryan Castle connected on a 31-yard field goal, Christopher Newport pushed the lead to 17-0. William Paterson jumped on the board on a 21-yard interception return by Alajuwan Bell to cut the lead to 17-6. Castle would then score the only points of the second quarter on a 29-yard field goal to account for the 20-6 CNU lead at the break.
The Pioneers, now 2-6 overall and 1-3 in th NJAC, cut the lead to seven by opening the second half with a four-yard score from Isaac Cherry. It would prove to be the final score of the afternoon for WPU as the Captains re-gained control and coasted to the 20-point victory.
CNU has now won seven of eight games in the all-time series with the Pioneers, and the Captains have captured three of four at Wightman Stadium.
The victory ensures CNU of its second straight winning season under Crowley, the first time the Captains have recorded back-to-back winning seasons since the 2013 and 2014 campaigns under Matt Kelchner. The 2014 squad was the last to represent CNU in the NCAA Tournament.
The Captains have two games remaining in the regular season and will host the Red Hawks of Montclair State University next Saturday at Kelchner Field at TowneBank Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m. It will be Senior Day as CNU plays its final regular season home game. Montclair State fell to Rowan on Saturday, 21-14, and the Red Hawks will be 4-4 overall and 3-2 in league play heading into the matchup.
Christopher Newport has won its last eight home games heading into next Saturday's game with Montclair State. The streak, which dates back to last season, matches the all-time home winning streak set by CNU squads in 2002-2003 and 2005-2006.
'We're looking forward to honoring our seniors next week," Crowley continued. "They've put in so much over the years and deserve the recognition. We'll have to work hard again this week to prepare for Montclair State."
