NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - The New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) released its annual post-season honors on Friday, and 16 members of the Christopher Newport University football squad received recognition for their play this fall. The Captains also garnered two major awards as junior quarterback Connor Barry was voted the league's Offensive Player of the Year, and Head Coach Paul Crowley and his assistants were selected the Coaching Staff of the Year.

Christopher Newport has won all ten games this fall, capturing the NJAC's Championship with a 7-0 conference mark. CNU will open play in the NCAA Division III Championship next Saturday, November 29th, against the winner of this Saturday's game between Susquehanna and Washington & Jefferson.

Barry was joined on the first team offense by senior wide receiver Colin Hart, junior tight end Ethan Barham, junior offensive lineman Andrew Belford, and sophomore offensive linemen Ethan Gonzalez Bonilla and Kellan Roberts. In addition to the six offensive first team members, the Captains also received four first team defensive honors. Junior defensive lineman Connor Estrella, sophomore defensive lineman Charlie Clawson, Jr., senior cornerback Yasir Geter, and junior safety Noah Martin were all named to the first team.

The Captains received two second team honorees on both offense and defense. Senior running back Gunner White and junior tight end Jayson Viernes were highlighted from the offensive unit, and junior linebackers Masi Bruning and Maddax Lee were recognized on the defensive side. Fifth-year senior center Joey Johnstone and senior cornerback Gary Lane were both honorable mention selections. 

Click HERE for the complete NJAC All-Conference release.

Connor Barry, from Vienna, Va., is a first team honoree for the second straight season, and was named the NJAC Offensive Player of the Week six times this year. Barry set a new CNU record for touchdown passes with 34 and has thrown just three interceptions, second in the country in passing efficiency,. Barry matched a CNU record by throwing for five touchdowns twice this fall, and averaged 272 yards passing per game while completing almost 70 percent of his throws. He joins former Captains Roland Hilliard, Tunde Ogun and Taylor Loudan as well as current Captains Matt Dzierski and Gunner White as recipients of conference Offensive Player of the Year honors. Dzierski received the accolade twice in 2021 and 22.

Gunner White, from Virginia Beach, and Colin Hart, a native of Ashburn, Va., have now each earned four straight conference honors from the NJAC. White took over the all-time lead in career touchdowns this season and has crossed the goal line 50 times heading into playoff action. White scored 15 times this year, ten times on runs and five times on pass receptions. Hart, meanwhile, is a first team all conference recipient for the fourth straight season after catching 11 TD passes this fall. Hart set new program records this season for career receptions and receiving yards, and is just three scores shy of Rudy Rudolph's all-time mark of career touchdown receptions. He also set a new single-game receiving record this year with 204 yards at William Paterson, and averaged 118 yards per game.

Ethan Barham, from Chesapeake, Va., is receiving his first conference honor after catching 24 passes, with seven going for scores. Barham is averaging 49 yards per game receiving. Fellow tight end Jayson Viernes, a product of Ashburn, Va., caught 14 passes this year with three going for scores. On the offensive line, the first team honor is the second straight for Andrew Belford (Chesapeake, Va.), and the first league recognition for Ethan Gonzalez Bonilla (Stephens City, Va.), Kellan Roberts (Glen Allen, Va.), and Joey Johnstone (Vienna, Va.). CNU's offensive line has produced a running attack that is averaging 178 yards per game rushing and accounted for 26 touchdown runs. The line has also provided outstanding protection, yielding just 16 sacks.  

On the defensive side of the ball, it's the second straight first team honor for Noah Martin, a native of Spotsylvania, Va., and the first NJAC awards for Masi Bruning (Chesapeake, Va.), Maddax Lee (Chester, Va.), Yasir Geter (Suffolk, Va.), Connor Estrella (Chesapeake, Va.), Charlie Clawson, Jr. (Stephens City, Va.) and Gary Lane (King George, Va.). Martin led the Captains in tackles with 60, including four stops for lost yardage. He also made two interceptions and recovered a fumble. Bruning accounted for 41 tackles, including 4.5 for lost yardage. He also registered a sack and recovered a fumble. Geter was second on the squad in stops with 49, including 4.5 for a loss. He broke up five passes, blocked a kick, made one interception, and forced two fumbles. Estrella set a new school single season record for sacks with nine, made 35 tackles, with 13.5 going for lost yardage, forced two fumbles and broke up two passes. Clawson, Jr., registered 34 tackles, with eight resulting in a loss. He also made three sacks and recovered a fumble. Lane posted 13 tackles 

The Coaching Staff of the Year accolade is the third for Paul Crowley and his assistants in four seasons at the helm. Crowley also received the honor following his first two seasons in 2022 and 2023. In his four seasons since taking over the program, Crowley has compiled a record of 31-10 (.756) overall and 22-3 (.880) in the NJAC, and his team has won its last 15 games dating back to last season.

The conference crown was the second for the Captains since joining the NJAC in 2015, with the other coming in the 2023 season. The Captains will be playing in their 12th NCAA Tournament in the 25-year history of the program, and will host an NCAA game next Saturday for the first time since 2006.