by James J. Lidington

ISLE OF WIGHT
Hunter Edwards rushed for 144 yards and backfield mate Colton Heard ran for 90 as Isle of Wight Academy fell to visiting First Flight (Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina) 48-19 on Friday at William Hooper Field.

In rare matchup with a public-school squad, the Chargers struggled to muster much offense and were held scoreless for three quarters. IWA was without the services of its starting quarterback and a starting running back due to injuries. One of its starting offensive/defensive linemen was out with an illness.

Freshman quarterback Luke Scrivanich, in his first varsity start for IWA (2-3), did not attempt a pass and the Chargers posted 251 yards of total offense. The Nighthawks (5-1) rushed for 251 yards, but added 250 passing yards. Senior QB Braxton Hughes scored a rushing touchdown and passed for two more despite only completing five passes.

The game began strongly enough for IWA. Hughes misfired on his first two pass attempts and faced third-down-and-10. Then he dropped back and tucked the ball away, running 53 yards for the opening score.

On First Flight’s next possession, IWA forced the Nighthawks into a third-and-22. This time, Hughes dropped back and connected with Noah Nurney for a 78-yard catch-and-run to make it 13-0.

A fumbled punt snap set the stage for First Flight’s next drive and the Nighthawks scored 14 more points in fewer than six minutes, including a 93-yard pass play from Hughes to Nurney.

IWA scored 19 unanswered points in the fourth quarter. Colby Williams had a 12-yard touchdown run. Edwards later scored from 27 yards out and Heard found the end zone from an identical yardage with 2:56 left.

Odin Bristol led IWA’s defense with 17 tackles; Zach Stroud added 12.

The Chargers return to action at 7 p.m. this Friday in a Homecoming Night contest against rival Broadwater Academy at Hooper Field.

JAMES J. LIDINGTON is a teacher at Isle of Wight Academy. Contact him at 357-3866.