NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Christopher Newport University again used a balanced attack Saturday, and dominated the second half en route to a 31-7 victory over William Paterson University at Kelchner Field at TowneBank Stadium.
The Captains, now 5-2 overall and 3-0 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference, never trailed and out-scored the Pioneers in the second half, 17-0, on a sunny and pleasant afternoon on the CNU campus. WPU fell to 4-4 overall and 1-3 in the NJAC.
"I'm really proud of the way we played today," Head Coach Paul Crowley said following the Homecoming Weekend triumph. "Our defense again got us going with a big play early, and our offense and special teams also played well. We've got to clean up some penalties, but overall I'm really happy with our performance."
Junior linebacker Michael Evans provided the early spark for the Captains defense, intercepting a William Paterson pass in the opening quarter and returning it 30 yards for the first score of the day.
After the Pioneers pulled even with a four-yard scoring run from freshman Nazir Dale early in the second quarter, the Captains re-claimed the lead thanks to an 18-yard scoring pass from junior Matt Dzierski to freshman Colin Hart with 8:44 to go before halftime. CNU had another scoring pass negated due to a penalty late in the second quarter, and the Captains held a 14-7 edge at the intermission.
The second half was controlled by the Captains on both sides of the ball. For the second straight week, CNU held its opponent scoreless after halftime, and the offense added two touchdowns and a field goal en route to the 24-point win.
Senior kicker Ryan Castle provided the only points of the third quarter with a 27-yard field goal. Dzierski hooked up again with Hart on the first play of the fourth quarter, this time from 50 yards out, to push the lead to 24-7. Fifth-year senior Adam Luncher concluded the scoring, and sent the Homecoming crowd of 3,439 home happy, when he ran for an eight-yard score with just 41 seconds left to provide the 31-7 final verdict.
CNU's defense held the Pioneers to just seven first downs and 99 total yards on 42 total offensive plays for the day. WPU posted just ten yards and one first down in the final quarter, as the Captains held the ball for over ten minutes on a 13-play, 65-yard drive that culminated with Luncher's touchdown run.
Freshman running back Gunner White tallied 80 yards on 18 carries to lead the Captains in rushing. Dzierski was eight-of-ten throwing the ball for 129 yards and two scores, both to Hart, who ended the day with six catches and 105 yards. Freshman Yasir Geter and junior Logan Baker topped the defense in tackles with five each. Junior Shawn Hamilton picked off a pass in addition to Evans' pick six, and Evans also registered the day's only sack for the Captains.
Christopher Newport has now won six of seven all-time meetings with the Pioneers. Last season, WPU recorded a 48-28 triumph in Wayne, New Jersey. The victory gives the Captains five wins this year, equaling the win total from last season in a 5-5 campaign. It marks the first four-game winning streak since the Captains won their final four games of the 2018 season to finish with a 7-2 mark.
The Captains remain tied with Salisbury atop the NJAC standings at 3-0. The Sea Gulls posted a 70-17 victory Saturday at the College of New Jersey. CNU will look to extend the winning streak to five games when the Captains travel to Montclair, New Jersey, to take on the Red Hawks of Montclair State University next Saturday. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m.
CNU has not won five in a row in a single season since 2014, an 8-4 campaign that saw Matt Kelchner's squad advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
