EXMORE
Possibly looking ahead to its game against bitter rival Fuqua this Friday night, Isle of Wight sleepwalked through the first half Saturday’s matchup with Broadwater. Nevertheless, the Chargers came away victorious, 60-26, to improve to 5-1 on the season.

“For whatever reason, [playing on Saturday] kind of takes us out of our element,” head coach Dale Chapman said. “Playing in the middle of the day, there was a bit of a lull. We hadn’t played in 13 days , so you lose your sharpness a bit. We did stuff we typically don’t do. We made some adustments at the half, and they didn’t score after that.”

The Vikings hung with the Chargers for much of the first half, and tied the game at 26 with two minutes remaining in the second quarter. Isle of Wight marched down the field behind quarterback Bryce Casey, and extended the lead to six with only a few seconds left in the game. The Chargers then scored on the opening drive of the second half to take the wind out of the Vikings’ sails.

“Every time we did something, they rallied,” Chapman said. “We needed to try to reset the tone. I mean, Brunswick did a great job and they had a great scheme, but it was very important to reset the tempo and move the ball like we’re used to doing.

As for Fuqua, Chapman said his team was ready for the Falcons when they were originally scheduled to play on Oct. 2.

“Fuqua is a big team that has experiences sprinkled among some younger players, just like us,” Chapman said. “They can do a lot of different formations and can spread it out, too, but they try to get the ball in the running back’s hands.”

Fuqua dropped its first game of the season to now top-ranked Roanoke Catholic, 34-14, on Friday night, dropping the Falcons into a two-way tie with the Chargers for No. 2.

“I think we’ll be ready as we can be,” Chapman said. “We’re in the best shape we can possibly be. Everyone’s healthy. They’re a good team, but coming off of a tough loss … We’re going into a hostile environment where the officials and the crowd can become a factor. We just have to play well enough to make sure it doesn’t.”