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By James J. Lidington

SUFFOLK

Kody Kosiorek’s 19-yard field goal on Isle of Wight Academy’s first possession of overtime sealed the Chargers’ 10-7 victory over Nansemond-Suffolk Academy here on Friday.

N-SA got the ball on the 10 in their sudden-death possession, advanced the ball to the 1-yard line. A third-down run resulted in a 3-yard loss, setting up fourth down. A pass fell just out of a Saints’ receiver’s reach.

Isle of Wight was paced by Colby Williams’ 114 yards rushing on 23 carries. Senior Zach Stroud ran for 61 yards, toting the ball 16 times.

The IWA defense held the Saints to 33 yards rushing. NSA quarterback Dominic Bevilacqua attempted 33 passes, completing only 6, for 46 yards and a touchdown. Senior Odin Bristol led the IWA attack with 18 tackles; classmate Chip Darden had 11.

The win was the first for IWA (2-2) against NSA (0-4) since the teams were regular-season opponents in the mid-1990s. The Saints defeated IWA in 2017 after being down by 20 points in the third quarter, and again at IWA in 2018.

After the teams traded brief possessions, Stroud intercepted an NSA pass and returned it downfield, giving the Chargers a first down at the Saints’ 10. Quarterback Cade White found Bristol for a 10-yard touchdown pass with 1:46 left in the opening period; Kosiorek’s PAT made it 7-0.

From there, both teams struggled to find an offensive rhythm. In the third quarter, IWA’s best scoring chance, aided by two 15-yard penalties on the Saints, was nullified by a White interception at the NSA 5-yard line.

A pass interference penalty aided the Saints’ first drive of the fourth period. They advanced as far as the IWA 18 and tried twice to get a first down or score and failed to gain yardage. On fourth down, NSA quarterback Bevilacqua found Ben Grady for an 18-yard touchdown. The PAT tied the score at 7 with 8:22 left in the game.

IWA’s ensuing possession stalled around midfield and N-SA’s suffered a similar fate, setting the stage for sudden death.

The Chargers try to maintain their winning streak when they host Hargrave Military Academy at 7 p.m. this Friday at William M. Hooper Field.

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IWA dropped its conference volleyball contest with Portsmouth Christian on Sept. 10, 3-1.

The Chargers bounced back Sept. 12, defeating Denbigh Baptist Christian, winning that conference match 3-1.

Denbigh took the first set 26-24, but IWA took the next three, 25-6, 25-8 and 25-14.

The Lady Chargers had matches scheduled on Monday, versus Hampton Christian at IWA, before traveling to Brunswick Academy on Wednesday. Matches begin at 6:30 p.m.

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The IWA Cross Country teams took top honors at a meet last week at Kenston Forest School.

With heat indices reaching over 100 degrees, the varsity squads both took first place, as did the junior varsity girls team.

The teams have a meet scheduled on Saturday at Walsingham Academy in Williamsburg.