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By James J. Lidington

Isle of Wight Academy

CHRISTCHURCH

Isle of Wight Academy fell to Christchurch School 21-7 on Oct. 19 in a battle of two top teams in Virginia independent school football.

The loss dropped the Chargers to 4-4 on the season. After losing their first two games of the campaign, they rattled off four consecutive wins. The team has gone 0-2 the last two weeks against tough competition.

Versus the Seahorses, IWA managed only 85 yards of total offense. Without the services of leading rusher Colby Williams, with a shoulder injury, they struggled to keep up with Christchurch, which rushed for 117 team yards. Quarterback Jaylen Woods was 10-for-18 passing for 125 yards and an interception.

Though IWA didn’t manage a first down until 6:00 remaining in the first half, the game remained scoreless at that point. However, on its next drive, Christchurch cracked the code, rambling 65 yards in five plays, capped by a 25-yard run by leading rusher Lawrence Porter.

IWA fumbled on its next offensive play, giving the Seahorses a cushy starting point at the Charger 20. Four plays later, Porter converted again with 14 seconds left in the half, giving the home team 14 points in just over 2 minutes.

Christchurch would score on its first drive of the third quarter, when DJ Sims hauled a Woods pass for 20 yards. The PAT made it 21-0 with 7:46 left in the period.

Its next drive stalled, but IWA got its offense started when defender Trent Holland intercepted Woods, giving IWA the ball at the Seahorse 47. Quarterback Cade White found Odin Bristol downfield and the trusty receiver did the rest, traveling 47 yards for IWA’s only touchdown of the game.

Bristol keyed a hard-hitting IWA defense with 13 tackles. Seth Baker had 12 and Andrew Holt had 10 for the Chargers.

IWA wraps up its regular season this Friday, when they travel to Fuqua School for a 7 p.m. kickoff. The Falcons are undefeated and ranked No. 1 in Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association (Small-School) Div. III.

The Chargers were ranked fourth in the most recent VISAA Div. II Poll. With only the top four teams qualifying for state playoffs, poll points are at a premium for Isle of Wight. With a win on Friday, No. 5 Atlantic Shores is likely to leap-frog IWA for fourth place.

With a win over IWA, No. 3 Christchurch, now 5-1, appears likely to stay put, as do No. 1 North Cross and No. 2 Blue Ridge.

 

Cross Country

The IWA Girls Varsity squad finished eighth out of 42 teams in the Varsity B Girls Division Competition in the MileStat.com XC Invitational on Oct. 19, in Mechanicsville, Virginia.

The IWA varsity boys finished 27th of 54 teams in the Boys B Division Competition.

The teams will compete in the VISAA State Cross Country Championships, also in Mechanicsville, on Thursday, Nov. 7.

 

Varsity Volleyball

The 2019 Metro Conference Varsity girls’ volleyball tournament starts on Thursday, Oct. 24, with quarterfinal matches and will continue on Saturday, Oct. 26, with the semifinals and the championship match.

All seven matches of this tournament will be played at Hampton Christian. The No. 4-seeded Lady Chargers began tournament play at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday versus No. 5 Broadwater Academy.

Semifinal matches will be at noon and 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26, with the tournament title match to follow at 3 p.m.

 

JV Volleyball

The 2019 Metro Conference Tournament was held on Monday at StoneBridge School.

The No. 2 Lady Chargers began play at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, versus No. 3 Broadwater Academy.

Semifinal winners play for the tournament title at 7 p.m.

 

JJV Volleyball

The team finished its season as the second-place team in the Metro Conference Tournament.

The Chargers lost to tournament champion StoneBridge 25-20, 25-19. IWA had defeated Broadwater Academy 25-11, 22-25, 15-10 in a semifinal.

 

JAMES LIDINGTON teaches at Isle of Wight Academy. Contact him at 357-3866.