VCC schools again dominate the football playoff scene
Published 12:00 am Friday, November 9, 2007
Three of the four Division III teams that are going to the Virginia Independent Schools Football Association (VISFA) playoffs are from the Virginia Commonwealth Conference.
Isle of Wight Academy is the top seed, Fuqua School is third seed, and Blessed Sacrament Huguenot is the fourth seed. And, Southampton Academy was vying for a spot the last week of the regular season. Broadwater Academy, which is the second seed, is a former member of the VCC and is trying to get back in the conference, maybe as soon as next year. Perhaps next season, the Division III playoffs will be an all-VCC affair.
“That has usually has been a trend,” said Dale Chapman, IWA head coach, who has been with the Chargers program for 16 years. “It’s mostly been somebody from our conference, whether it’s us, Brunswick Academy, Fuqua or Huguenot.”
– Chapman has talked about varying his offense. Quarterback Rusty Brake is still the centerpiece, but Friday night against Greenbrier Christian Academy, Lance Moore put in a very workman-like performance. Moore carried the ball 15 times for 85 yards.
“I’ve been preaching all season, don’t let one man carry the load for this team,” Chapman said. “Everybody has an opportunity to step up.”
– The Windsor High School cheerleaders took second place in the recent Region A competition at King William High School.
King William won with 243.5 points.
The Lady Dukes were second with 238 points. The Franklin High School cheerleaders finished in seventh place with 188.5 points. Brittany Ford, Lauren Chase, Karissa White, and Ashley Savage all made the first team All Region Cheer Squad. Windsor’s Leah Denio and Melissa Gaskins, and Franklin’s Eboney Joyner, Caitlin Monds and Katie Gray all made the second team All Region Cheer Squad.
King William, Windsor, Arcadia and Colonial Beach all advance to the state competition, which will be held at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Siegel Center Saturday.
– The Chowan University volleyball team reached the National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association tournament and advanced all the way to the South Region championship match before falling to No. 1 seed Palm Beach Atlantic University.
– Former Chowan University basketball standout Trayvon Lathan was the 5th pick of the 6th round in the NBA’s Developmental League.
He was chosen by the Utah Flash, the developmental team for the Utah Jazz and the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association.
This comes one week after Lathan signed an NBA league contract.
During his time at Chowan he became the all-time leading scorer, was the 2007 South Region Player of the Year, and a three time NCCAA All-American.
– It happened again: Blessed Sacrament Huguenot ended Southampton Academy’s season for the second straight year. Friday’s 42-14 loss knocked the knocked the Raiders out of the playoffs in the Virginia Commonwealth Conference season-finale for both teams.
SA head coach Robert Marks was worried that a more physical BSH team would run the ball up the gut against the Raiders. The Knights outgained SA 338-210 in total yards.
“It was a tough game against a tough team, and they were really physical for us up front,” he said. “Huguenot just got their starting tailback (Matt Smith) back from injury and he was really a threat to us.”
Marks reflected on the season, as his young Raiders played beyond expectations.
“It was a good overall season and we are losing a lot of key seniors next year, but we also have a lot of good players coming back,” he said. “I’m looking forward to next year.”