NEWPORT NEWS — With a top-five opponent and a chance to clinch a playoff spot on next week’s agenda, there was always the danger of a trap game. And with Montclair State giving all it could handle, No. 14 Christopher Newport looked trapped for nearly three quarters Saturday.
Until finally, with three humongous plays from a defense that had looked continually confused, CNU broke free.
Down a touchdown midway through the third quarter, the Captains found their composure and pulled out a 49-42 win at TowneBank Stadium. And since they did, next week’s home game vs. No. 5 Salisbury is for the New Jersey Athletic Conference’s automatic qualifier spot.
“If you’re not careful, these games can definitely get you,” CNU coach Paul Crowley said. “I don’t think our guys were necessarily unprepared or didn’t know what they were getting into. I do think our week of preparation was really good.
“Today was just one of those days a lot of things didn’t go our way. Miscues on special teams, turnovers … if your kids stop battling, you end up losing. But credit to our guys, they kept on plugging away, and eventually we were able to win it.”
With 6:11 left in the third quarter, Montclair State led 35-28. At that point, the Red Hawks had outgained CNU 379-278. Worse, the Red Hawks had forced two turnovers and converted them into 10 points. The Captains, 11th nationally in turnover margin, had forced none.
CNU (8-0, 5-0 NJAC) tied the game on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Connor Barry to tight end Ethan Barham with 2:11 left in the third. But could the Captains get a stop?
They did better than that. On third-and-long from the Montclair 16-yard line, Red Hawks quarterback Luke Henrich threw a pass that CNU linebacker Maddax Lee intercepted and returned to the 5-yard line.
On third-and-goal, Barry threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Fred Crowell IV to give the Captains a 42-35 lead. Then came the play of the game.
On second-and-long from the Montclair 49-yard line, Henrich threw a pass for GianPaul Cortes in the flat. The throw was high and deflected off Cortes’ fingers. CNU free safety Eddie Henderson read it, made the pick, and ran 50 yards for a touchdown to make it 49-35.
“My strong safety, Tahir Johnson, hit him low and the ball came out of his hands,” Henderson said. “I was just there to make the play and take it to the end zone.
“We needed that. It was a team effort. Everybody kept their heads high and kept believing. We knew we had to make plays to win the game, and that’s what we did.”
The Red Hawks got their offense moving again and had a first down at the CNU 29. Henrichs then tried to connect with Alex Rodriguez in the end zone, but it was intercepted by Captains cornerback Eli Sherfield.
“We did a good job of making plays on the ball when we had the opportunity,” Crowley said.
Montclair State made it a one-possession game on Diante Wilson’s 2-yard run with 3:05 remaining. The Red Hawks (3-5, 2-3) had three timeouts and the 2-minute warning at their disposal, but the Captains were able to move the chains three times and take a knee.
Drevyon Tharrington had five of his 10 carries and 53 of his 73 yards on the closing possession.
And then, it became appropriate to focus on Salisbury (8-0, 5-0), which defeated William Paterson 51-7 Saturday.
“We’ll treat it like a normal week,” Crowley said. “We know the importance of the game and what it is to get ready for these guys. It’ll be a real challenge for our scout (team) to simulate the triple option and all the stuff they do.
“I know the guys will be excited and ready to play, so you don’t have to worry about a trap game or anything like that. They’ll be ready.”
