NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – No. 25 Christopher Newport University used an explosive second quarter to key a 34-6 non-league football victory over Shenandoah Saturday night at POMOCO Stadium.
Christopher Newport (3-0) broke open a tight, 3-0 game with three touchdowns in the second.
The win gives the Captains a 10-3 edge in the longtime series between the former USA South Conference rivals.
With conference realignment and expansion, this is the final football meeting in the immediate future between these two schools.
Backup quarterback Lyndon Garner, on for injured starter Marcus Morrast, was 7 for 8 for 183 yards and two TDs in the stanza to key that CNU rally.
He connected with Rudy Rudolph on both scoring strikes, the second an 83-yarder that made it 17-0 with 12:10 to play in the half.
Those two drives took just a total of two plays and lasted a combined 23 seconds.
Storm Parker finished off the scoring run by capping a 12-play, 80-yard drive with a 10-yard TD burst with 4:26 to play in the second.
Trailing 27-0 after CNU hit a field goal in the third, the Hornets got on the board with a 19-yard Justin Neff to Brandon Adams TD pass.
The pitch and catch, in which Adams broke two tackles to score his first-ever collegiate touchdown, covered 89 yards in 13 plays.
The big play on the drive was a 28-yard Neff to Byron Mitchell completion from punt formation on 4th and 10 from the SU 11.
Neff lofted a perfect pass from his own end zone to Mitchell, who beat his defender by a half-step and made the catch in-stride.
Christopher Newport completed the scoring for the evening on a Daquan Davis 13-yard run with 52 seconds remaining.
The Captains finished the night with 21 first downs and 471 yards in total offense.
SU ran two more plays than its hosts, 62-60, and had 213 of its 267 through the air.
Neff was 13 of 20 for 138 yards and the one TD.
Mitchell had a team-high 10 tackles and posted one sack.
Shenandoah is off next week and opens its ODAC slate at home on October 5 with a 7 p.m. contest against Bridgewater.
###
