EWING, N.J. – The TCNJ football team fell to Christopher Newport, 38-13, on Saturday afternoon at Lions Stadium during the team's Senior Day. The team's eight seniors were recognized during a postgame ceremony.

The Lions hung tough with a Christopher Newport team that came into Saturday's action with just two losses, both of which were decided in overtime.

TCNJ came out on the opening drive with some spirit, moving 69 yards in seven plays to the CNU 7. The big play on the drive was a 47-yard completion from Dave Jachera to Jack Clevenger. The drive stalled at the CNU 7, though, and TCNJ got on the board with a 24-yard field goal from Alex DeLeo.

The Captains didn't waste much time on their first possession. After an 18-yard completion from Jack Anderson to Joshua Davis to put the Captains at the 50, the pair connected again on a deep pass down the left sideline on the very next play for a touchdown.

The score remained 7-3 through the rest of the first quarter, but Anderson found Davis for the second time from 15 yards out to extend the lead to 14-3 with 10:12 left in the first half.

TCNJ pulled the game back into a one-possession affair later in the quarter. Colin Tong rushed four times for 34 yards on the drive, including back-to-back carries of 20 and 13 yards. Jachera hit Clevenger for 13 yards to the CNU 13, and a seven-yard completion to Vinny Guckin gave the Lions a 3^rd-and-3 at the CNU 6. Jachera was stopped for a three-yard loss, though, and DeLeo came on to kick a 26-yard field goal. That made it 14-6 with 1:44 to play.

CNU put some distance on the scoreboard between itself and TCNJ thanks to scores on each side of the halftime break. A TCNJ offside penalty on a 3^rd-and-14 play prolonged the Captains' drive, and it ended with an Anderson touchdown pass to Cole Blais from four yards out with just 12 seconds left. On the first drive of the second half, Blais caught a 42-yard touchdown from Anderson to make it 28-6 with 12:55 left in the third.

TCNJ fought back with a quick drive on its next possession. Andrew Donoghue hit Guckin for a 48-yard gain to the CNU 10, and Donoghue found Vince Ratamess for a 10-yard touchdown strike on the next play to make it 28-13 with 11:06 left in the third. The Lions couldn't mount a full comeback, however.

CNU added 10 points in the fourth quarter while the Lions struggled to move the ball following their touchdown. The Lions made it to the CNU 21 on their final drive of the game, but it ended with an interception.

Donoghue threw for 132 yards while Jachera led the team with 45 yards rushing. Guckin had 81 yards receiving while Clevenger had 74. Each player had four receptions. Ibn Bailey had 10 tackles and a fumble recovery to lead the defense. Jeff Konzelman had an interception in the fourth quarter. Jared Lyles had two of the Lions' five sacks.

The game marked the Lions' first chance to play after the untimely passing of assistant coach Donny Klein. Prior to the game, the team held a moment of silence, showed a short video tribute and announced that all proceeds from today's ticket sales would be donated to a college scholarship fund that has been established for Klein's son, Dax.

TCNJ returns to action in the final game of the season at Southern Virginia next Saturday at 1 p.m.