Connor Barry threw five touchdown passes, four to Colin Hart, as Christopher Newport began its season with a 38-7 victory Saturday afternoon over Trine before 3,127 at TowneBank Stadium.
Barry completed 14 of 17 throws for 271 yards, and Hart made seven catches for 199 yards. Ten Captains had rushing attempts, and seven caught passes as CNU beat Trine in an opener for the second year in a row — the Captains won 42-6 last season in Angola, Indiana.
Jordin Lennon had 12 carries for 66 yards and a 44-yard reception. Gunner White had nine rushes for 42 yards and two catches for 5 yards, though he left the game with an injury.
CNU went ahead 3-0 on Jonathan Gates’ first college field goal, a 29-yarder with 1:35 left in the first quarter. The Captains’ James Benedetto blocked a Thunder punt, and on the next play, Barry’s 24-yard pass to Hart gave CNU a 10-0 edge.
Trine pulled to 10-7 with 11:24 remaining in the second quarter on Saleem Felder’s 5-yard touchdown run, capping an eight-play, 68-yard drive, but Barry’s 62-yard pass to Hart 50 seconds later gave CNU a double-digit lead to stay.
Southern Virginia 27, Apprentice 6: The host Knights (1-0) avenged last year’s loss to the Builders by beating them in Buena Vista. Three second-half fumbles spoiled Apprentice’s season opener.
Devin Watson’s 7-yard touchdown pass to Henry Audette and the subsequent PAT gave SVU a 7-0 lead.
Apprentice answered early in the second quarter, capping an 11-play, 67-yard drive with a Tyreon Taylor rushing score from 3 yards. The Knights blocked what would’ve been the tying PAT.
A 37-yard interception return for a touchdown gave SVU a 13-6 halftime lead. Watson’s 27-yard TD pass to Cintez Gibson and Crew Sage’s 9-yard run provided a 27-6 lead in the third quarter.
T.K. Petty’s five catches for 75 yards led Apprentice. Alvin Hicks had nine carries for 51 yards. Trevaris Jones, a freshman from Elizabeth City, North Carolina, completed 11 of 24 for 143 yards but was sacked several times.
Jacksonville State 34, Liberty 24: Despite 335 yards passing by Oscar Smith High graduate Ethan Vasko, the Flames (1-1) lost to the Gamecocks (1-1) in a Conference USA opener between the last two league champions. Vasko completed 19 of 29 passes in a game that was delayed for about 80 minutes in the second quarter due to lightning in Jacksonville, Alabama.
Cam Cook ran for 195 yards and two touchdowns for JSU. Jax State turned two takeaways — a fumble and an interception — into 14 points in the first half. The Gamecocks led 17-10 at halftime and 24-10 in the third quarter after Cook’s 1-yard touchdown run. That touchdown came at the end of an 83-yard drive, and the Gamecocks scored on a 75-yard drive to take a 31-17 lead midway through the fourth quarter.
A 52-yard run by Liberty’s Evan Dickens had made it 24-17, and a 62-yard pass play from Vasko to Donte Lee Jr. made it 31-24, but Jax State’s Garrison Rippa kicked a 24-yard field goal for the day’s final points. Jacksonville State had 338 yards rushing.
Richmond 14, Wofford 10: Kyle Wickersham passed for the game’s first touchdown and ran for the game-winner in the fourth quarter of a weather-delayed game in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Wickersham’s 11-yard pass to Andrew King gave the Spiders (1-1) a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter. But his interception late in the first quarter was returned by CJ Coombes 72 yards for the tying score.
The Terriers (0-2) took a 10-7 lead on Sam Spence’s 47-yard field goal on the first drive of the third quarter. Wickersham’s go-ahead 10-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter followed a key fourth-down connection with Andreas Hill for 17 yards.
VMI 42, Ferrum 7: Collin Shannon threw for three touchdowns and 223 yards on 15-of-27 accuracy as the Keydets (1-1) beat the Panthers (0-2) in Lexington. Noah Grevious took his only carry 78 yards for a touchdown.
Quarterback Eli Foutz ran for the TD for the Panthers, who have climbed from Division III to II.
Roanoke 23, Virginia University of Lynchburg 7: The Maroons, playing a varsity game for the first time in more than eight decades, won their season opener. Coached by longtime Virginia Tech assistant Bryan Stinespring, they were 4-0 as a club team last season.
VUL, of the National Christian College Athletic Association, often loses road games to higher-level competition.
Tyson Miller ran for 92 yards on 18 carries and caught three passes for 49 yards. Polo Hill ran for a touchdown and Grey Deal ran for a score. The Roanoke defense held the Dragons to minus-21 yards on 23 carries.
Military
Army 24, Kansas State 21: Cale Hellums accounted for three touchdowns by the Black Knights, including a crucial 14-yard run with just less than three minutes left as Army pulled an upset in Manhattan, Kansas.
Kansas State’s final drive ended with an interception by Avery Johnson.
Army focused on its ground game, running the ball 70 times out of 82 plays. Hellums completed 7 of 11 passes and ran 41 times for 124 yards. Army dominated the time of possession, holding the ball for more than 40 minutes and converting 6 of 7 fourth-down tries.
Navy 38, UAB 24: Blake Horvath accounted for three touchdowns as the Midshipmen won their American Conference opener in Annapolis, Maryland. Navy (2-0, 1-0) forced three turnovers and shut out the Blazers (1-1, 0-1) in the second half. The game featured two weather delays in the first half.
Horvath’s 4-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter gave Navy a 31-24 lead, then Alex Tecza scored from the 1 to cap an 82-yard drive in the fourth.
Horvath completed 6 of 8 passes for 168 yards, including a 63-yard touchdown. UAB missed a field goal and struggled with turnovers in the second half.
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