Captains win big in front of record crowd

Adam Baker/ The Captain's Log

In front of a record crowd at POMOCO Stadium, the Christopher Newport Captains defeated the North Carolina Wesleyan Bishops 51-33. The Captains had an offensive explosion that accounted for 237 combined rushing yards and 218 passing yards. The defense played strong, and even though they gave up 33 points, they recovered four fumbles–one of which was returned for a touchdown.

“Great win, big crowd… that is the way Homecoming is supposed to be,” stated head coach Matt Kelchner.

The scoring started for CNU on a 37-yard field goal from sophomore kicker Stephen Denuel. Junior cornerback Marvin Mills recovered a fumble to put the Captains in great field position at the N.C. Wesleyan 27-yard line, and sophomore quarterback Lyndon Garner lofted a touchdown pass to senior tight end Justin Reidelbach.

Just as it seemed CNU might put the game away early, Wesleyan got a boost from their special teams. Bishops junior cornerback Dwayne Hollis picked up the rolling kickoff and took off 66 yards to the end zone to give Wesleyan some momentum after a slow start.

Denuel tacked on a 46-yard field goal, just one yard shy of the all-time CNU record, to make it 13-7 after the first quarter.

The Captains took over with 4:10 remaining in the half with the score still 13-7, and executed a 17-play drive that included a nifty hook and ladder play, in which Garner threw a six-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Kentel Noel, who immediately pivoted and lateraled it to freshman running back Marcus Morrast, who scampered for 19 more yards. Sophomore running back Evan Moog pounded the ball in for a two-yard touchdown run to cap off the drive.

Though a halftime score of 20-7 showed impressive offensive power on the part of the Captains, it was just a preview for the offensive showdown that would happen in the second half.

The half started with CNU getting on the board first, with another field goal from Denuel from 35-yards out. The Captains then fell victim to the speed of the Bishops, as freshman running back Jaques Alston took the end around and got to the outside of the CNU defense. He turned on the jets and ran for a 51-yard touchdown to bring the score to 23-13.

The Bishops added to the score with a touchdown pass, but the Captains came right back and scored their own touchdown, this time on a pass from Garner to freshman receiver Rudy Rudolph.

Both teams attacked with a combination of rushes by Moog and Alston respectively, but it was the Captains who laid on the points. Both running backs ended the game with three touchdowns—the highlight of Moog’s night was when he broke free for a 39-yard touchdown to bring the score to 51-26.

“The line blocked it perfectly, and when I got out in open space I just turned on the burners,” explained Moog.

Alston got his third score on the Bishops last play, as he took a sweep left for a one-yard touchdown with seven seconds left. The Captains got the ball back and kneeled to end the game.

One surprise for the Captains was that sophomore running back Markeese Stovall didn’t need to dominate as usual. He did finish the game with a solid 85 rushing yards, but did not add to his eight touchdowns scored so far this year. Picking up the touchdowns for Stovall was Moog, who had a career-high 87 yards to go along with his three trips to the end zone.

Kelchner stated about Moog, Stovall and freshman half back Marcus Morrast, “We have three very nice running backs who compliment each other extremely well.”

Defense looked to be an issue for CNU going into the game, as starting linebackers senior Mike King and sophomore Tyler Portell did not play due to ankle injuries.

The Captains pair of senior Dayn Washburn and sophomore Justin Navarro, both defensive ends, had monster games for CNU to help the lead the defense throughout the night. Washburn had six tackles and two sacks, while Navarro had four tackles and a sack. Both also had two forced fumbles and a fumble recover a piece.

Later in the week, Washburn was named USA South defensive player of the week, and was also named to the National Team of the Week for his efforts.

The Captains are now 4-0 in the USA South, which ties them with Ferrum as No. 1 in the conference. The Captains are 5-2 overall and after a game next Saturday at winless Greensboro they head to Ferrum for the battle for first place.

Posted by Darryl Fetz on Oct 26 2011. Filed under Featured, Football, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.