MONTCLAIR, N.J. – For the second straight Saturday, the Christopher Newport University football team managed to prevail in the Garden State. The Captains, ranked 13
th in the country, improved to 6-0 overall and 3-0 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference with a 21-14 victory at Montclair State University.
CNU won its 21
st consecutive regular season game despite committing three turnovers, including a fumble late in the fourth quarter. The Christopher Newport defense recorded three interceptions on a cloudy and cool afternoon, including one by senior
Noah Martin with just 17 seconds remaining to thwart the Red Hawks comeback effort.
Senior running back
Jordin Lennon registered his second-straight 100-plus yard performance, rushing for 151 yards on 27 carries to boost CNU's offensive effort. Lennon posted 201 yards on 27 carries with two scores last week in the Captains' 31-20 victory at Kean University.
"I thought we showed great resilience today, and I'm really proud of our team," Head Coach
Paul Crowley said. "There's physical and mental toughness, and I think today we really showed great mental toughness to push through and win this game."
The Captains got off to a fast start thanks to an interception by freshman
Jayden Miller on the first play from scrimmage of the day by the Red Hawks. On Christopher Newport's first offensive play, sophomore quarterback Brandon Pena connected with senior tight end
Jayson Viernes on a 42-yard scoring play to give the Captains a 7-0 edge.
Senior running back
Alex Jreige also had a big day, contributing 96 yards on 15 totes. Jreige scored twice in the second quarter, reaching the end zone on a two-yard effort with 9:56 to play and a four-yard rush with just 28 seconds remaining in the half as the Captains built a 21-7 lead at the intermission.
The Captains were held scoreless in the second half, but came away victorious by allowing the Red Hawks only a late third quarter touchdown.
"We certainly didn't take advantage of some opportunities that would have helped put the game away," Crowley continued. "We missed a couple of field goals, turned the ball over, just a litany of things we have to clean up."
Seniors
Masi Bruning and
Noah Martin led the CNU defensive attack with nine tackles each. Martin and Miller were joined by sophomore
Jaden Plantin, who picked off an MSU pass early in the fourth quarter.
For the day, the Captains out-gained the Red Hawks on the ground, 247-132, but were out-gained in the passing department, 195-108.
Christopher Newport will play its next three games at TowneBank Stadium, beginning next Saturday, October 24
th, vs. Vermont State-Castleton (2-4, 0-3). The game will kick off at 12 noon and will be a part of Family Weekend festivities at CNU.
"It's a big week coming up for us," Crowley concluded. "We need to have some good practices leading into the game next Saturday, and we're going to have to work hard to continue improving."
