NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Christopher Newport University recorded its 150th all-time football victory Saturday, as the Captains opened their 25th season with a dominant 38-7 win over Trine University. CNU used a second quarter surge to open a 17-point halftime lead, and held the Thunder scoreless in the second half to post the 31-point triumph on a hot and humid afternoon at TowneBank Stadium.
Junior quarterback
Connor Barry threw five touchdown passes, with four going to senior
Colin Hart, as the Captains out-gained Trine in total yardage, 474-166. Barry completed 14 of 17 passes for 271 yards, while Hart made seven receptions for 199 yards.
"Those two guys had a special connection today, and made some terrific plays," Head Coach
Paul Crowley said following the victory. "I'm always happy to come away with a victory, and today especially with the start of our 25th season. A big point of emphasis was placed today on ball security and playing a clean game in terms of turnovers and penalties, and I thought we did a pretty good job of doing that.".
The Captains opened the scoring with a first quarter field goal from freshman
Jonathan Gates from 29 yards away. Late in the quarter, following a blocked punt by CNU's
James Benedetto that was recovered by
Markus Darden at the Trine 24-yard line, Barry and Hart connected on the very next play on a 24-yard scoring strike to stake the Captains to a 10-0 lead after the opening quarter.
Trine scored its only points early in the second stanza on a five-yard run by Saleem Felder to cut the lead to 10-7.Christopher Newport then took control in the second quarter with two more scores, both on throws from Barry to Hart, to surge to a 24-7 lead at the half. Barry hit Hart on a 62-yard scoring pass and followed just six minutes later with a TD throw from four yards away to give the Captains a 17-point intermission advantage.
The Captains logged two more scoring passes in the second half with Barry hitting
Donovan Woods for a third quarter score from 14 yards out, and concluded the scoring in the fourth quarter when Barry went back to Hart on a 42-yard pass play to provide the 38-7 final verdict.
Hart's four touchdown day gives him 23 career scores, and moved him past Nathan Davis (19) and Taylor Loudan (21) on the all-time TD list. He has now scored more touchdowns than any wide receiver except Rudy Rudolph, who reached the end zone 32 times. The score for Woods, a junior, was his first career touchdown.
"We got to play a lot of people today, and that's a good thing especially when it's this hot," Crowley continued. "Some of the guys who have worked very hard and haven't gotten starter or 2-deep reps got the opportunity to see game action, and that's something that will help us in the long run."
A crowd of 3,127 watched CNU's defense hold Trine to just seven rushing yards all day on 20 attempts. The Captains held the Thunder to just eight first downs, and held a ten minute advantage in time of possession.
The victory was the fifth straight season-opening win for the Captains, who are now 12-13 all-time in openers. Last year, CNU traveled to Angola, Indiana, for an opening week 42-6 win at Trine.
The Captains now boast an all-time record of 150-92 and will continue the 25th season of CNU football next Saturday. CNU will travel to Pennsylvania to play at Gettysburg College (0-1) with the kickoff scheduled for 1:00 p.m. Gettysburg opened the new season Friday night with a 31-30 home loss to Juniata. The Captains played at Gettysburg last season, and registered a 54-37 victory over the Bullets.
