The Hampden-Sydney football team picked up its first win of the season, defeating the Captains of Christopher Newport University 24-9 on Saturday night in Newport News. In the effort, freshman running back Kyree Koonce (Charlottesville/Monticello) scored his first two career touchdowns, running one in from five yards out and catching a 14-yard pass from Edgar Moore (Tallahassee, Fla./Maclay School). With the win, the Tigers improve to 1-1 while CNU falls to 1-1.

Despite a slow start, the Tigers accumulated 402 yards of offense behind 222 passing and 180 rushing. The team was also impressive defensively, holding CNU out of the end zone until the final seconds of the game, and holding the opponent to just 52 rushing yards on 29 attempts.

Christopher Newport took the early lead, scoring the only points of the opening quarter on a Dylan Curran 32-yard field goal. The Tigers, however, knotted the game at 3-3 midway through the second quarter when Liam Hedge (Roanoke/Woodberry Forest) connected on a 26-yard field goal to cap off a nine-play, 81 yard drive.

On the ensuing Captain drive, Larry Haskins (Buckingham/Fuqua) picked off a pass to halt CNU and lead to Koonce’s first touchdown four plays later.

Koonce found pay dirt again in the second half, catching a 14-yard strike from Moore just five minutes into the third quarter.

The Tigers tacked one on more, with 6:12 remaining in the game as Moore ran one in himself from two yards out.

Christopher Newport was able to break into the end zone before the final buzzer, with Taylor Loudan catching a 15-yard touchdown pass from Tyler Quigley with 38 seconds to play.

On the night, Moore was 22-of-37 for 222 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. He also ran five times for six yards and a score.

Cam Johnson (Dillwyn/Buckingham) caught seven passes for 81 yards, and Austin Perryman (Fairfax/Fairfax) hauled in five passes for 45 yards.

Koonce ran for 89 yards on 15 carries and caught two passes for 12 yards, leading the team with 101 total yards of offense and two scores.

On the defensive side of the ball, Ryan Mallory (Mechanicsville/Hanover) led all players with nine tackles, while Tyler Martin (Evington/Brookville) and Jay Brooks (Virginia Beach/Frank W. Cox) tallied eight and seven tackles, respectively.

The Tigers will return to action Saturday, as they take on Ferrum College at Dillon Stadium in Rocky Mount, Virginia. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.