VIRGINIA BEACH—Daniel Brown’s 3-yard touchdown run in the third quarter paced Isle of Wight Academy to a 10-6 win over Bishop Sullivan Catholic High School in the rain-soaked football opener for both schools.

Trailing 6-3 at the half, the Chargers began a drive at their own 47 at the 5:56 mark of the third quarter after Brown’s interception. On fourth down, Brown hit John Hibbard with a 29-yard pass down to the Bishop Sullivan 15. After a sack and an illegal motion penalty put the Chargers back on the 24, Brown threw a 9-yard completion to Charles Keyt down to the 15. Heath Price bolted 12 yards down to the 3 and Brown followed with his 3-yard scamper for the score with 1:03 to play in the third quarter. The extra point by Justin Vick knocked the lead up to 10-6.

A heavy rain fell at the end of the first half, preventing much offense from either team in the second half. The Crusaders had 161 yards of offense in the first half but could manage just 53 in the second half. Bishop Sullivan also committed three key turnovers in the second half. A huge one occurred when Bishop Sullivan quarterback Brandte McIntyre was picked off by Price with 8:46 to play in the game with the Crusaders with the ball on the Isle of Wight 42. It was the only time Bishop Sullivan had crossed midfield the entire second half.

“I just think we were too tentative. They kind of smacked us in the mouth right off the bat,” said Dale Chapman, IWA head coach. “It took until the half to wake us up. For whatever reason, I didn’t think we were as physical as we needed to be in the first half, but we cleaned it up in the second half and took advantage of some mistakes.”

After a scoreless first quarter in which both teams fumbled the ball back and forth to each other and back again, IWA used a blocked punt by Cody Bradshaw to pick up good field possession for its first score. Vick booted a 27-yard field goal with 9:04 to play in the half to give the Chargers a 3-0 lead.

The Crusaders then marched down the field 80 yards on their next possession and scored when Andrew McCrite crashed the goalline with a 3-yard run at 3:56 in the half. The extra point kick failed and the Bishop Sullivan lead stood at 6-3.

Vick helped IWA maintain good defensive field possession. All of his kickoffs were touchbacks, and a key 35-yard punt late in the game pinned back the Crusaders on their own 19 with 1:38 to play.

“He’s as solid as he can be,” Chapman said about his kicker. “We’re just glad to have him.”

Brown was 6-for-13 for 78 yards passing. Price led the IWA rushing attack with 35 yards on 16 carries.

Isle of Wight hosts Hargrave Military, another Division I school, at 7:30 p.m. Friday.