Isle of Wight falls in clash of unbeatens
Published 11:45 pm Friday, October 17, 2008
After Friday night, there is no doubt who is the No. 1 Division 3 private school football team in Virginia.
Deon Watts rushed for 94 yards and scored two touchdowns to lead Blessed Sacrament Huguenot to a 19-0 win Friday over previously unbeaten Isle of Wight Academy in a Virginia Commonwealth Contest.
With the rain falling, the first half was a defensive battle. Both teams drove the ball close enough for field goals. With 5:08 left in the first quarter, Isle of Wight blocked a 37-yard field goal attempt by Blessed Sacrament’s Thomas Young.
With 5:06 left in the second quarter, IWA’s Justin Vick slipped on the slick field and missed a 40-yard attempt.
After Vick’s miss, the Knights marched down the field on an 80-yard scoring drive.
Isle of Wight Academy’s defense broke down and allowed four running plays over 11 yards. Several times the Chargers had a Blessed Sacrament runner stopped in the backfield, only to let him escape for a long gain.
The Knights got on the board when Watts ran for a 22-yard touchdown with 1:49 to play in the half. Young missed the extra point, and the home team led 6-0 at halftime.
The Blessed Sacrament defense held Isle of Wight Academy to 68 yards of offense in the first half. The Knights used big plays again to open the second half.
On their second drive of the half, running back Watts took a direct snap and bolted 22 yards to the IWA 23. Three plays later, quarterback Austin Wingfield tossed a pass over the middle to Paul Conner that went 16 yards to the 5. Watts then ran the ball 5 yards and dived into the end zone for the touchdown with 4:41 left in the third and a 12-0 lead.
The Chargers moved the ball on their next series, including a 15-yard pass from Daniel Brown to Zack Lamb, down to the Blessed Sacrament 33. The Knights were called for pass interference on the next play, moving to the ball to the 18.
Just when it seemed that IWA was gaining momentum, Brown, attempting a screen pass, was picked off by Watts, ending the drive.
On IWA’s next drive, Brown was picked off by John Moore, who ran the ball 25 yards for a touchdown with 7:55 left in the game.
IWA coach Dale Chapman knew coming into the game that mistakes would cost his team.
“I knew the team making the fewest mistakes would be the team that won the game,” he said. “We were outsized. We were outmanned. I asked someof the guys to make big plays. You can’t expect them to make big plays all of the time. It’s a learning experience.”
Brown led the IWA rushing attack with 61 yards on 13 carries.
The Chargers, 7-1, host Southampton Academy at 7:30 p.m. Friday.