NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Christopher Newport University had an eight-game home winning streak snapped Saturday afternoon, falling to Montclair State University, 19-14, at Kelchner Field at TowneBank Stadium. The loss leaves the Captains with a 6-3 overall mark and a 4-1 record in the New Jersey Athletic Conference. Paul Crowley's squad will end the regular season on Friday night at the College of New Jersey, and a win by the Captains would still give them their first NJAC title since joining the league in 2015.
Montclair State used a stellar defensive effort to hand the Captains their first conference loss of the season, and snap a three-game CNU winning streak. The Red Hawks, now 5-4 overall and 4-2 in the NJAC, held CNU to just 21 rushing yards on 22 carries in the game.
"They were better than us today," Crowley said following the Senior Day defeat. "Their defense did a great job taking away our run game, and we just made too many mistakes to win the game."
Each team was propelled on offense by big days from a sophomore wide receiver. Trey Hayes had a remarkable day for the Captains, catching seven passes for 130 yards and a touchdown. Montclair State sophomore wideout Anthony Roige, though, stole the spotlight by catching 13 passes for 144 yards.
A crowd of 2,803 saw the teams battle through a scoreless opening quarter on a sunny and pleasant first Saturday of November. MSU became the first team this season to score first against the Captains when sophomore quarterback Aidan McLaughlin hit fifth-year senior Clarence Wilkins with a 16-yard scoring play to give the Hawks a 7-0 lead midway through the second quarter. The Captains responded by constructing a nine-play, 84-yard drive to pull even before the intermission. CNU senior quarterback Matt Dzierski connected with sophomore wide receiver Trey Hayes on a 34-yard scoring hookup to tie the game at 7-7 at the break.
The third quarter saw the Red Hawks dominate. After receiving the second half kickoff, MSU traveled 80 yards on 20 plays to regain the lead. Fifth-year senior running back Abellany Mendez cruised into the end zone untouched from nine yards away, giving the Hawks a 13-7 edge. The lengthy drive ate up over 11 minutes of the third quarter clock, and even though the extra point was missed, the game went to the final quarter with the Red Hawks holding a six-point advantage.
Christopher Newport grabbed its only lead of the day thanks to a 10-play, 91-yard drive in the fourth quarter. Dzierski concluded the drive by hitting sophomore Colin Hart with a 14-yard scoring throw to put the Captains ahead, 14-13. The lead would not be enough, as the Red Hawks responded with what proved to be the game-winning drive of 75 yards on ten plays. McLaughlin culminated the drive by surging just across the goal line with just 44 seconds remaining. After failing on a two-point conversion attempt, the Red Hawks defense then stepped up yet again, and stopped CNU's final efforts in the waning seconds to pull out the 19-14 victory.
Montclair State dominated time of possession for the day, holding an advantage of over nine minutes. On third down situations, the Red Hawks converted nine of 16 times.
Dzierski finished the day 18 of 25 passing for 258 yards and two scores. He was sacked four times by the Red Hawks. His two touchdown passes give him 34 for his career, second only to Marcus Morrast's 41. Dzierski holds CNU records for career pass completion percentage, pass efficiency, and average yards per pass. Senior rover Kindrick Braxton led the CNU defensive effort, posting ten tackles. Sophomore linebacker Pat Sullivan made eight stops, and recorded the only sack of the day for CNU.
The victory by the Red Hawks evened the all-time series with the Captains at 4-4. CNU had won the last two in the series.
Prior to kickoff, 25 Christopher Newport seniors were honored on the field as they prepared for their final home game. Christopher Newport will now travel to Ewing, New Jersey, to take on the Lions of the College of New Jersey in a rare Friday night game. Kickoff is set for 6:00 p.m. A win by the Captains would wrap up CNU's first NJAC Championship and secure a spot in the 32-team NCAA Tournament for the 11th time in program history, and the first since 2014.
TCNJ is the hottest team in the NJAC, having won its last four games. The Lions are 5-4 overall and 3-2 in the league after beating William Paterson on Saturday in Ewing, 31-14.
Montclair State Hands Christopher Newport First Conference Loss of Season, 19-14
/seasons/2023/boxscores/20231104_tbr6.xml
2023
Montclair State
19
Christopher Newport
14
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montclair State (5-4) | 0 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 19 |
| Christopher Newport (6-3) | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
Nov 04, 2023