Franklin, which travels to Colonial Beach this week, is now ranked third in the VirginiaPreps.com poll for single A teams. The Broncos moved up one spot after beating previously undefeated West Point last Friday.

-Nansemond-Suffolk Academy football continues to surprise. Friday night, the Saints dropped Atlantic Shores 18-12 in overtime.

-Good news for Southampton football this week as it faces Warhill, a first-year Bay Rivers District School from Williamsburg. The Indians will play a a demoralized team that was pounded by Smithfield 47-0 Friday.

-One of the few bright spots for Southampton continues to be Andre Rawls, who picked off his third pass of the season Friday night against Grafton. “He’s improving with every game,” said Littleton Parker, Southampton head coach.

-Isle of Wight Academy’s 29-14 win over Fuqua School Friday was even more impressive considering the Chargers started from their own 1-yard line the first two drives of the game and Fuqua started from midfield.

-The Chowan University volleyball

team is on a roll. The team improved to 16-6 after beating Roanoke Bible College in three games Monday night.

-The Chowan Ujiversity football team continues to struggle with close games. On Saturday, the Hawks (1-5) lost 26-20 to UNC-Pembroke at home. Chowan will

have a big test on October 13 when it faces Coastal Carolina, a Division I-AA school, in Conway, S.C. Chowan beat Methodist 31-30 in overtime on Sept. 15. The last home game for Chowan will be a noon kickoff against North Greenville University on Oct. 20.

-Chowan University will join the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association for the 2008 football season. The Hawks will initially enter the conference to participate in football only.

This is a natural fit for Chowan as several teams in the conference — Elizabeth City State University, Virginia State, and St. Paul’s College — are in close range of Murfreesboro.

-Todd Faison, former QB at Southampton, put on a nice performance for Christopher Newport University this past weekend. Faison, a senior, was 13-for-14 through the air for 188 yards in CNU’s 42-0 win over Shenandoah. The Captains are 2-2 so far this season.

JEFFREY J. Zeigler is a contributing writer to The Tidewater News. His sports column appears weekly. His e-mail address is jzeigler@hotmail.com.