by James J. Lidington

ISLE OF WIGHT
Isle of Wight Academy couldn’t withstand a scoring onslaught from Fuqua School and fell to the Falcons 41-21 at Isle of Wight Academy on Friday night.

With a capacity Homecoming night crowd looking on, the Chargers took a 7-3 first-quarter lead when K.J. Jackson gathered in a 20-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jordan Baines. The PAT made it 7-3 with 3:07 left in the opening period.

They would be the last points IWA would score until the closing minutes of the game. During that same stretch, Fuqua ran off 38 straight points.

A usually staunch IWA defense was raked by Fuqua’s offense. Falcon running backs rushed for 309 yards and quarterback Devin Allen passed for 121 yards, rushing for 56.

Bad omens abounded for the Chargers. They stopped Fuqua on downs on the Falcons’ first possession, but a Charger kickoff returner bobbled the punt and Fuqua recovered, setting up the visitors at the IWA 34-yard line. Fuqua would have to settle for a field goal.

IWA’s next possession was an 11-play, 80-yard effort, culminating in Baines’ pass to Jackson. The teams traded offensive series then Fuqua went for it on fourth down at the IWA 32 and failed to convert. Then IWA’s Donald King fumbled on first down on a play where the crowd and Charger coaches thought King was already down. The fumble was one of three for IWA on the night. Fuqua dropped the ball five times, but only lost possession once, late in the contest with the outcome all but determined.

Fuqua had a touchdown run wiped on by a penalty but came back and scored on the next play on a 23-yard run by Allen, which gave his team a 10-7 lead. In the second quarter, IWA pinned Fuqua deep in their own territory, but a 90-yard run by Ed Newman made the score 17-7. A subsequent 22-yard pass to Newman gave Fuqua a 24-7 halftime edge.

King keyed a late IWA comeback bid. With his team trailing 38-7, the speedy back hauled in a fourth-quarter kickoff and rambled 85 yards. Baines’ conversion run cut the lead to 23, 38-15. Fuqua’s next drive sputtered and, two plays later, King broke a 68-yard touchdown run to make it 38-21 with 7:36 left.

IWA fell to 3-2 on the year; Fuqua continues its undefeated season after four contests.

JAMES J. LIDING is a teacher at Isle of Wight Academy. He can be contacted at 357-3866.