BLACKSTONE
Isle of Wight Academy ran roughshod through the Kenston Forest defense on Friday night, beating their Virginia Commonwealth Conference rival 47-6. The Chargers rode a stable of nine running backs for a total of 192 yards and five touchdowns in the win.

“It was a good win,” said head coach Dale Chapman.

Sophomore Colton Heard led all rushers with 65 yards on only eight carries, as Isle of Wight scored all of its points in the first half and played its second team for the remainder of the game.

“Their program has a bunch of young kids,” Chapman said. “In those types of situations, we try to do our best to keep the score down. It’s good to get our starters rest, too, because it’s going to help us down the road. Live action is hard to simulate in practice, and when we get into the thick of our schedule, they’ll be called upon when others need rest.”

Junior running back Donald King, the reigning Western Tidewater Player of the Week, was held relatively quiet on the ground, totaling 13 yards on the night. His modest stat line was boosted by two short touchdowns from five and three yards out, respectively, and a 55-yard punt return for a touchdown. It marks the second-consecutive week that King scored on a special teams play.

“He brings a whole new skill set to our team,” Chapman said. “He’s not the main focus of our offense, but he’s very explosive when he touches the ball. If he doesn’t score, he puts us in excellent field position.”

Senior Alec Edwards also got in on the fun, running the ball five times for 51 yards and two touchdowns. The yardage may have been higher had Isle of Wight not started each drive with great field position. Eight of the Chargers’ drives began in Kavalier territory.

Senior quarterback Bryce Casey only attempted two passes on the night, but completed both, hitting Curtis Waters for 20 yards and Chad McCann for 25 yards. The latter resulted in the game’s final touchdown.

“We don’t go into each game saying that we’re going to throw or run,” Chapman said. “Obviously, we’d like to have balance, but in situations where you’re defeating your opponent [handily], it’s bad form to throw the ball. We just want to make sure we get through the game with no one getting hurt. Now there may be situations down the road that call for it when we face a tougher opponent, but that’s when we’ll decide if that’s what we want to do.”

Isle of Wight Academy (2-1) returns to Hooper Field on Friday to host Brunswick Academy (1-3). The Vikings’ lone win of the season came against Kenston Forest in a 46-42, high-scoring affair in week two.

“They’re a pretty good team,” Chapman said of the Kavaliers. “They’re smaller in numbers, so that may play a factor. We’re just going to play our game and play as hard as we can and hope we get a positive outcome.”