NEWPORT NEWS — Christopher Newport put on an aerial show in the first half before literally weathering a storm in the second, and the result was a 41-27 win over No. 13 Susquehanna University on Saturday afternoon.

On a sloppy track at TowneBank Stadium, Connor Barry threw for 374 yards (348 in the first half) and three touchdowns. And CNU’s defense blanked the River Hawks’ offense, which came in averaging 37 points a game, in the second half.

It was CNU’s first win against a ranked Division III opponent since defeating No. 17 Wesley in 2016. It was the highest-ranked team the Captains have taken out since No. 10 Rowan in 2007.

The Captains (3-0) passed on 24 of their 38 plays from scrimmage in the first half. But after the rain came and the field became soggier, CNU ran on 23 of its 29 snaps.

“We knew coming in that the weather could turn as the game progressed,” Captains coach Paul Crowley said. “The plan for us was to throw the ball around early and get those plays called while we had the opportunity.

“You’ve got to have an idea going in to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Yeah, we drew up some things this morning when we knew the (forecast). We knew we wanted to run the ball in that situation.”

All of this made what happened in the final 60 seconds of the first half so vital. Susquehanna (2-2), from Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, had just taken a 27-17 lead, and it appeared that would be the score at halftime. Instead, with no rain falling yet, Barry connected with tight end Ethan Barham for a 76-yard touchdown. Barham made the catch at the River Hawks’ 40 and outraced the secondary to the end zone.

The score now 27-24, the Red Hawks’ Daniel Growney fumbled on the kickoff return and CNU’s Dai Fitzgerald recovered at the Susquehanna 41-yard line. Two plays later, Barry hit Colin Hart (four catches, 144 yards, one touchdown) for 35 yards to the 1-yard line.

Gunner White scored on the next play, giving the Captains — in a shocking turnaround — a 31-27 halftime lead.

“We definitely had momentum going our way at the half,” Barry said. “We had been practicing this the entirety of fall camp. It’s like second nature to us. We knew we had to go out there and execute, and we did.”

But a snafu on the receiving end of the second-half kickoff pinned the Captains at their 1-yard line to start the third quarter. After a three-and-out, Susquehanna took over at its 45-yard line.

Three plays later, the River Hawks were at the CNU 32-yard line. But Tommy Wright’s deep ball down the left sideline was tipped by cornerback Eli Sherfield and intercepted by rover Noah Martin at the 1-yard line. His return set up the offense at its 33.

“Plays like that can change the game, especially down at the goal line,” Martin said. “All these new coverages and exotic blitzes we put in helped for sure.”

CNU added to its lead with a 31-yard field goal by Jonathan Gates to make it 34-27. A touchdown would have made it a two-possession game, but nobody was complaining about an 11-play, 53-yard drive that took 7:40 off the clock — especially in a downpour.

Still leading by a touchdown to start the fourth quarter, CNU punted on fourth-and-11 from the Susquehanna 45-yard line. Maxx Lawton’s kick couldn’t have been more perfect and rolled out of bounds at the River Hawks’ 2-yard line.

On the next play, Rahshan La Mons fumbled and CNU’s Jaylin Britt recovered. Barry scored on a keeper two plays later to make it 41-27.

“This is It’s exciting, but another thing we talked about was that every game we have to approach like this,” Martin said. “Like Rowan next week, we’re going to be locked in like we were today,”

https://www.pilotonline.com/2025/09/27/cnu-adapts-to-weather-upends-no-13-susquehanna/