NEWPORT NEWS — When these teams met nine weeks ago, Susquehanna returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown. Since Christopher Newport University rallied for a 14-point win, that became a mere footnote.
This time, with advancing in the NCAA Division III playoffs at stake, the Captains were unable to bounce back. The River Hawks scored on the fourth play from scrimmage and never trailed in a 42-28 win Saturday afternoon at TowneBank Stadium.
Susquehanna will move on to the third round. And the greatest season in CNU football’s 25-year history is over.
“Credit to Susquehanna, they came out and played really well, especially early on,” CNU coach Paul Crowley said. “I thought we started really, really slow, and at the end of the day, that’s my fault.
“We had 15 days off (with a first-round bye), and you know that’s a possibility coming in with that long of a break. And it’s on me as head coach getting them ready to go. But even down 28-7 … they kept fighting.”
That 41-27 loss on Sept. 17 still on their minds, the River Hawks led for the final 58 minutes and 50 seconds. It was at least a two-possession game for the final 41:45.
The Captains (10-1), who hadn’t lost since Oct. 12, 2024 and were ranked sixth by d3football.com, had few answers — on either side of the ball.
Offensively, CNU had a season-low 313 total yards. Constantly under duress, quarterback Connor Barry completed 10 of 24 passes with a career-high three interceptions. The Captains also gave up five sacks for the first time since 2023.
“We’ve just got to block it better, honestly,” said running back Gunner White, who rushed for 70 yards on seven carries. “It’s just as simple as that. We just weren’t picking it up.”
Defensively, the Captains had major coverage breakdowns on each of No. 22 Susquehanna’s first two possessions. The first came on the third play from scrimmage, a third-and-4 from the Red Hawks’ 28-yard line. Under pressure, quarterback Josh Ehrlich extended the play and spotted wide receiver John Kradenski with nary a defender in sight.
Kradenski made the catch near the 35-yard line, hit the sideline and was knocked out of bounds at the 4. Ehrlich ran it in on the next play to give Susquehanna a 7-0 lead with 13:10 left in the first quarter.
After the Captains went three-and-out, the River Hawks (10-2) doubled their lead on a 23-yard touchdown pass from Ehrlich to Frankie Mroz — also with no defender in sight.
“I’d have to go back and watch it to see what the coverage was, but I know the first one was (Ehrlich) got out of a sack,” Crowley said. “And once a play goes on longer than you anticipate, you’ve got to be able to match it. We didn’t do a good job of that.”
On CNU’s second possession, Barry connected with wideout Colin Hart for a 68-yard catch-and-run that set up first-and-goal from the 7-yard line. After an interference call moved the ball to the 2, Barry ran it in to cut Susquehanna’s lead to 14-7 with 6:16 still left in the first in quarter.
The Captains had possession with a chance to tie twice, but both times Barry was intercepted. Ehrlich’s 9-yard touchdown run made it 21-7 with 11:45 left in the second, and it was a two-possession game the rest of the way.
In maybe the stat of the game, Susquehanna went 13 of 18 on third-down conversions, 8 of 9 in the second half.
“We knew going in they were 56% on the year and really good at doing that,” Crowley said. “Their quarterback made a lot of plays and kept things going for them.”
It was the 42nd and final game of White’s career. And while it didn’t go as he had hoped, he has no regrets.
“It was awesome,” he said. “Coming here was the best choice I ever made.”
