Chargers lose opener 54-12 to higher division team
Published 9:28 am Saturday, August 23, 2014
![Isle of Wight Academy’s Aaron Fronfelter returned a punt for a touchdown in the first score of the game. -- CAIN MADDEN | TIDEWATER NEWS](https://www.thetidewaternews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/26/2014/08/IMG_9287.jpg)
Isle of Wight Academy’s Aaron Fronfelter returned a punt for a touchdown in the first score of the game. — CAIN MADDEN | TIDEWATER NEWS
ISLE OF WIGHT—Blown coverages led to several big plays overhead as Isle of Wight Academy fell 54-12 to Atlantic Shores Christian School in VISAA football. IWA plays in Division 4, while the Chesapeake-based team is one level above in Division 3.
Seahawks quarterback Ryan Chamberlain only attempted 11 passes, but 8 of them were complete for 284 yards through the air. He threw 4 touchdowns.
“Defensively, we would get them in third and long, and then they would go over the top on blown coverages,” Chargers Head Coach Dale Chapman said. “Big plays, basically on the defensive side of the ball — I am not going to say that is what caused the loss, but it was beneficial for them.”
Meanwhile IWA struggled with only 177 total yards on offense, and Chapman said they’d have to work on sustaining drives.
That said, the Chargers fans had something to get excited about early. Late in the first quarter, a high snap sent Chamberlain 20 yards back to the Atlantic Shores 28-yard line, with 2:35 to go. A screen pass put them back even further, with 2nd and 33 to go. Chamberlain pulled back to pass, but IWA’s Chad McCann got a hand on the ball before it could connect with the receiver. On third down, Senior Jacob Wait pressured the quarterback into throwing a pass short of his target, forcing the Seahawks into a 3-and-out.
The punt went to Senior Aaron Fronfelter, who returned it all the way down the Chargers’ sideline for the game’s first score, putting IWA up 6-0 after Josh Weihe’s extra point attempt went wide left.
But it was all downhill from there. After Austin Loudermilk tackled Seahawk’s running back Brehon Britt in the backfield on second down, Atlantic Shores was faced with 3rd and 12. But Jordan Cannady beat his man and Chamberlain found him for an 82-yard touchdown with 45 seconds left in the first. ASCS added to that with a two-point conversion to tight end Sam Stainback.
After a Charger fumble gave the Seahawks the ball on their own 26-yard-line, Chamberlain quickly found Aaron Ferguson for a 74-yard score down the ASCS sideline. The kick was good, making it15-6 with 11:50 to go in the second.
As the Chargers were putting together a drive, Braxton Zivic picked off IWA QB Bryce Casey’s pass and he brought it to the 42-yard-line.
On the next play, an early missed tackle led to a 58-yard touchdown run for Atlantic Shores’ Britt. After the extra point, the score was 22-6 with 7:43 to go in the half.
On the Chargers’ next offensive series, a McCann fumble was picked up by Cannady and he took it all the way for a 54-yard touchdown on the recovery. The kick was good, and the Seahawks went up 29-6 with 6:13 left.
The next Seahawk score came with 3:42 to go in the half, an 88-yard TD pass to Ferguson. The Chargers did block the extra point attempt, making it 35-6.
After that Chamberlain had a screen pass to Brandon Hall, and he took it all the way in from 24-yards out, breaking tackles. The extra point was blocked, and the score was 42-6 with 35 seconds left in the second.
In the third quarter, the running clock started. Britt scored next on a run from 12 yards out with 4:45 to go in the third. The kick was good and it was 48-6.
Hall got the next score by getting several good blocks as he took it up the middle from 50-yards out. The snap was botched on the extra point attempt, and the score was 54-6 with 10:43 to go in the game.
Isle of Wight would then put together a 14-play drive that culminated in an Alec Edwards touchdown from 4 yards out. The extra point attempt was blown off by the referees after a penalty delay caused the clock to expire. The final score was 54-12.
“Tonight was a great eye-opening experience,” Chapman said. “They did a good job blocking an upper division team to give our quarterback some time. So, I think all in all, it was a good learning experience for us. We are going to take that and fix everything and be ready to go for next Friday.”
The Chargers will face Portsmouth Christian on the road at 7 p.m. on Aug. 29.