NEWPORT NEWS - In what was billed as the game of the day in Hampton Roads, the Apprentice School football team won a thriller against Christopher Newport, 38-35, Saturday night at TowneBank Stadium.
The Builders and Captains met for the first time in the history of the two programs that are just seven miles away from one another with over 3,100 fans from the 757 in attendance to witness history.
After Apprentice held on fourth down on CNU's opening drive, Nick Pierce capped off a nine play drive with a 4-yard touchdown reception from Mason Tatum to give the Builders the early lead. Christopher Newport answered in the final seconds of the first quarter with an 18-yard run from Gunner White to tie the game up.
The Builders responded with 10 straight points, starting with a 5-yard run from Willis Walton before Jeremiah Morgan nailed a 38-yard field goal to push the lead out to 17-7. CNU scored as the first half time ended on a Xander Jedlick 24-yard touchdown catch to trim the lead to three headed to the break.
The third quarter saw the scoreboard go quiet until CNU scored to take their first lead of the contest off a Matt Dzierski 19-yard run, giving the Captains a 21-17 lead. The Builders answered with a 10 play drive that was capped by a Curtis Green 2-yard run to retake the lead. Lawrence Reed extended the lead with five minutes to play on a 4-yard touchdown, but CNU did not go quietly.
Trey Hayes found the endzone with two minutes to go on a 6-yard touchdown catch, setting up the Captains for an onside kick attempt. After the kick went out of bounds, Tatum pushed the lead back to 10 points on a 36-yard touchdown sprint to make it a 38-28 game. CNU scored again with 50 seconds left, but another onside kick went out of bounds, allowing Apprentice to kneel the clock out and improve to 3-0.
Tatum finished 18-for-25 through the air for 201 yards and a touchdown while also running for 66 yards and a touchdown. The Builders were 7-for-11 on third down conversions and held the ball for five more minutes than CNU.
Apprentice will be on the road again next week as they travel to Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology for a 1 p.m. kickoff.
