by James J. Lidington

POWHATAN
Defending state champion Isle of Wight Academy kept its postseason hopes alive, dominating longtime rival Blessed Sacrament-Huguenot 38-6 here on Friday

Senior Donald King led all rushers with 292 yards on 18 carries and scored four touchdowns. The entire Huguenot team managed but 10 yards rushing on 20 attempts for the game.

A sloppy contest saw the combatants combine for 12 fumbles: IWA lost possession twice; Huguenot, three times. The first of two interceptions of Huguenot passes was collected by IWA’s Damond Turner on the Knights’ first drive of the game, giving IWA the ball at the Huguenot 27. A 26-yard run by King set IWA up at their opponent’s 1-yard line. Quarterback Jordan Baines then called King’s number again to make it 7-0 after the PAT.

Huguenot (2-5) fumbled on its next drive, a favor IWA returned three plays later. Huguenot went three-and-out, giving IWA the ball at their own 43. Six plays later, King ran it in from the 2 to make it 13-0.

Two possessions later, Baines capped a 22-yard drive with a 2-yard TD plunge set up by another Turner interception deep in Knight territory. Junior Colton Heard scored on a 5-yard run to open the second half to make it 25-0, and King rambled 29 yards later in the third quarter to give the Chargers a 31-0 lead going to the final period. The diminutive but powerful IWA back also finished an eight-play, 71-yard drive with a 15-yard run to make it 38-0 with 8:07 to play.

Zac Hinson led the IWA defense with 11 tackles; Cameron Riblet had 10. The Knights struggled to put together sustained offense, managing only one first down during the first half. Huguenot scored its only points of the game when Dion Butler dashed in from 4 yards out with 5:10 left in the game.

The Chargers were ranked fifth in this week’s Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association Div. III poll; the top four teams in each division make a two-week playoff bracket.

IWA, 5-2, travels to winless Greenbrier Christian on Friday and finishes its season at 2-4 Fishburne Military Academy on Nov. 4.

The Chargers claimed the Div. IV crown in 2015 before the four VISAA divisions were condensed into three.

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