By James J. Lidington

Junior Jackson Cofer’s interception with 1:37 left in the game sealed the win for the Chargers (2-3), who knocked off Fredericksburg Christian, the second-best team in their division, 34-28, Friday night.

Facing their fourth undefeated team of the season, IWA — ranked sixth in Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association Div. II (among middle-sized private schools) — held on to defeat the No. 2-ranked Eagles (4-1), who ran up 295 yards of total offense to IWA’s 249.

It was a Cofer punt return to the Fredericksburg 8-yard line that set up the go-ahead score on a 1-yard run by Kody Kosiorek. His PAT fixed the margin of victory with 2:12 remaining.

IWA also withstood a last-minute Fredericksburg pass play from the Eagles’ 20-yard line; a receiver gathered in a pass and advanced to the IWA 30 before being corralled by Charger defenders as time expired.

JT Taylor rushed for 154 yards, along with a touchdown, to lead the Chargers. IWA quarterback Trent Holland did not complete a pass, but rushed for 42 yards and scored twice. Cofer led the IWA defense with 10 tackles.

Averaging more than 45 points per game coming into the contest, the high-flying Eagle offense didn’t miss a beat in the early going. A 60-yard, 11-play drive, capped by a 1-yard run by Noah Martin, ate up the first five minutes of the game. Not to be outdone, IWA continued strides to find its offense, launching its own 6-yard drive, finished with Cofer’s 10-yard run.

Fredericksburg faced a fourth down on its next drive, but called on Martin at the IWA 10 to set up first and goal at the IWA 7. Three downs later, they faced another fourth down at the IWA 2 when Tyson Jones hauled in a pass from Drake Morris with 9:38 left in the second quarter. The ensuing PAT made it 14-6 in favor of the Eagles.

IWA faced its own fourth-down drama on its next possession on fourth and 2 at the Eagles’ 18. Quarterback Trent Holland called his own numbers, rushing for 9 yards, giving IWA a first down at the Fredericksburg 9. Holland also bulled in the touchdown. Kody Kosiorek’s PAT cut the Eagle lead to 1 point, 14-13.

A shanked punt on the next Fredericksburg drive set up the Charger offense at the visitors’ 40. On the next play, Taylor rushed for 40 yards to pay dirt and Kosiorek’s PAT kick put the Chargers up to stay, 20-14.

IWA travels to Washington, Virginia, for a game Friday night at Rappahannock County High School.

The IWA cross country team continued its dominance, trouncing opponents at a Virginia Commonwealth Conference meet Thursday at Windsor Castle Park.

The Chargers swept varsity boys (average time: 20:51.60) and girls (average time: 21:55.24) team competitions and also the junior varsity boys (average time: 24:03.31) race.

The JV girls team finished second to Richmond Christian by 9 points.

The team also honored senior runners Petra Cutler, Alyssa Donnelly, Jack Lineberry and Lorraine Upton during a pre-race ceremony.

The team has no scheduled scholastic meets this week, but will participate in the Hog Jog event in Smithfield Saturday.

The Charger volleyball squad ran its record to 8-2 on the year with defeats last week of Richmond Christian, 3-1, Tuesday and Tidewater Academy 3-0 Thursday.

IWA hosted Southampton Academy at 5 and 6 p.m. Tuesday and travels to Powhatan Thursday to square off against Blessed Sacrament-Huguenot.