box score

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Wilkes University held the ball nearly twice as long as Christopher Newport did and it showed on the scoreboard as the Colonels improved to 3-0 with a 24-17 win over the Captains.

Wilkes had the ball for 41:53 and used a defensive touchdown to come away with a victory in the first road game of the season. For the second time in three games, defensive back Corey Gilroy (Dunmore, Pa./Dunmore) returned an interception for a touchdown, this time it was a 45-yard return that gave the Colonels a 7-3 lead.

The Captains had the ball just over 22 minutes on the day, including a mere 3:19 in the third quarter in which the Colonels scored 10 of their 24 points. Chris Horn (New Tripoli/Northwestern Lehigh) connected on a 23-yard field goal before Genarro Zangardi caught a six-yard touchdown pass from Rob Johnson (Bridegwater, N.J./Bridgewater).

Christopher Newport opened the game with a 44-yard kickoff return by Keith Gaines which set up the first score of the game. The Captains traveled 29 yards in seven plays where Matthew Bourne hit a 35-yard field goal with 11:12 to go in the first quarter. The Captains would keep the lead after the first quarter and midway through the second until Gilroy came up big once again for the Colonels. The senior intercepted Christian Woelfel-Monsiva's pass at the CNU 45-yard line and returned it to the end zone for his second defensive touchdown of the year.

The Captains wasted little time in re-taking the lead as they traveled 61 yards in three plays, including a 59-yard touchdown pass from Woelfel-Monsiva to T.J. Foster with 5:16 to go in the half. They would take that lead into the locker room at the half.

Wilkes came out roaring in the second half as it traveled 62 yards in 11 plays before Chris Horn (New Tripoli/Northwestern Lehigh) tied up the game with a 23-yard field goal. On a third-and-10 play, Johnson found Zangardi 15 yards down the field for a first down at its own 47-yard line. Johnson would come up big once again on another third-and-long play where he hit Zach Tivald (Edison, NJ/Edison) for a 33-yard pass and catch where he was stopped at the CNU five-yard line. Three plays later Horn would tie the game with 10:32 to go in the third.

The Colonels would take the lead for good when Johnson hit Zangardi on a six-yard scoring strike with 6:55 to go in the third. Wilkes nearly had to settle for a field goal as Horn was good from 36 yards out, but a personal foul call on the Captains gave the Colonels a new set of downs at the Captain nine-yard line. Three plays later Johnson and Zangardi hooked up for his only score of the day. The play went just 22 yards on six plays, but took eight minutes off the clock.

Harry Reese (Plymouth, PA/Wyoming Valley West) extended the lead for Wilkes as he capped off a 10-play, 59-yard drive with a one-yard run with 12:03 to go, giving the Colonels a commanding 24-10 lead after Horn's extra point. A 13-yard pass play from Johnson to Jordan D'Emilio (Stowe/Saint Pius X) on a third-and-10 play kept the drive alive. D'Emilio finished the game with nine catches for 100 yards, while Johnson was 18-37 for 207 yards and a touchdown.

Christopher Newport threatened late as it scored with 6:22 to go when Antonio Epps found the end zone from 19 yards out, capping off a seven play, 65-yard drive in 2:10. He would finish with 44 yards, but had a loss of 37 yards to net just seven on the day.

The Colonels were able to hold on to the ball the rest of the way to improve to 3-0 for the first time since the 2006 season. Wilkes finished with 294 yards total yards, 207 which came through the air and held the Captains, who rely on their ground game to just 73 yards rushing.

Wilkes will try to make it four-straight when it heads to Reading next Saturday to take on Albright for the MAC opener.