The William Paterson Pioneers this week will host the 8th ranked Christopher Newport University Captains.
William Paterson will look to stop their downward spiral following back to back blowout losses. While the Captains seek to keep their undefeated season alive.
This past game saw the Pioneers get crushed losing 45-16 to Rowan. They weren’t able to get the offense going until the 3rd quarter. But at that point the damage was already done. As self inflicted mistakes would be the beginning of their downfall.
On their second drive of the game, after going three and out punter Markos Hantasoulis failed to catch the ball. Leading it to go out of the back of the endzone, giving Rowan a safety.
After this, Rowan would score a touchdown on three of their following five drives in the first half. Two of the three touchdowns would be a result from plays of 20 or more yards. With the first being a 27 yard receiving touchdown from junior running back Tyshawn Bookman.
The second touchdown involved star junior running back Nunes Bukula IV catching a checkdown pass then breaking multiple tackles for a 57 yard receiving touchdown.
While they held Bukula IV to only 43 rushing yards he finished the game with a team leading 113 receiving yards on 2 catches. As a whole defensively it was a bad day in the office for the Pioneers.
They gave up 45 points, 307 passing yards, 217 rushing yards, 10.3 yards per play, and 524 total yards to Rowan during this contest.
On the offensive side of the ball William Paterson delivered average production. Nigel Jennings had 189 yards through the air, 72 yards on the ground, and two touchdowns. Accounting for 275 of the Pioneers 343 total yards.
Running back Ray’Mir Johnson finished the game with 14 carries for 71 rushing yards on 5.1 yards per carry. Senior wide receiver Duke McDuffie had his best game of the season with 4 catches, 89 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Chirstopher Newport comes into this match with a 6-0 record and looking to build off of their 49-0 victory over Kean last week. During this game the Captains offense played a high level both through the air and on the ground.
As their starting quarterback, junior Connor Barry completed 12 of his 15 passes for 202 yards and 4 touchdowns. On the ground they ran for 165 yards, 4.3 yards per carry, and 2 touchdowns. With both coming from senior running back Gunner White.
Christopher Newport’s defense in their pummeling of Kean they only gave up 114 passing yards, 108 rushing yards, and 1.6 yards per carry.
Christopher Newport is an absolute unit of a team. On the season their offense is averaging 49.2 points per game, 304 passing yards per game, 184.5 rushing yards per game, and 489 yards per game.
Defensively they’ve allowed only 16 points per game, 88.3 rushing yards per game, and only 2.8 yards per carry. While in the air the Captains have conceded 183.2 passing yards and a stunning 6.4 yards per pass.
Christopher Newport’s defense has shown a knack of forcing takeaways. For the season, they’ve forced 10 fumbles, 5 fumble recoveries, and 6 interceptions.
For the Pioneers to pull off the upset they will have to play a near perfect game. They can’t commit self inflicted mistakes that either put them behind the sticks or give Christopher Newport points.
As the Captains will already produce a high octane offense even without forcing turnovers. William Patterson having any picks or fumbles in turn giving Christopher Newport even more drives will put the Pioneers in too deep of a hole to climb out of.
As even in their lowest scoring game this season the Captains scored 38 points. Outside of committing turnovers the Pioneers need to build off the rushing performance from last game.
William Paterson establishing their ground game early can open up opportunities for Jennings to use his big arm and push the ball downfield. Particularly, deep passes to wide receiver Brion Dorsey can create opportunities for Jennings.
Who’s shown to have a good connection with Jennigs on go balls down the sideline.On the defensive end, William Paterson needs to put pressure on Christopher Newport’s star junior quarterback, Connor Barry.
On the season Barry has thrown for 1,714 yards, 23 touchdowns, and only one interception. While having a completion percentage of 68.92%, a 216.13 QB rating, 131 rushing yards, and 2 touchdowns.
If the Pioneers don’t get pressure and let Barry stay comfortable in the pocket it’s almost a guarantee he will carve them up.
But if they can get some pressure and initially take away his first read in senior wide receiver Colin Hart. Who leads the team by far in catches and yards with 29 receptions and 677 receiving yards.
They could make Barry feel uncomfortable in the pocket which could lead to him tacking sacks, forcing throws, and committing turnovers.
It may appear William Paterson pulling off the upset is not possible. Yet they’ve shown there is a good team in there but only in flashes. Now the only question is which version of the Pioneers show up this Saturday.
