DAGSBORO — Sometimes balancing sports and school can be tough, but for Indian River High School athlete Zach Izzo, the chore is doubled.

“It’s definitely a hectic schedule, but it’s worth it,” he said. “It’s fun and the environments are different. I really enjoy doing both.”

Every year, football coach Jim Bunting and soccer coach Steve Kilby work out an agreement that allows a few soccer players to play football. Thanks to little or no scheduling conflicts, athletes have rarely had to make a choice. But if that was ever the case, Izzo has made his feelings clear — soccer comes first.

Last year, a conflict was looming. If the boys’ soccer team had defeated Caravel Academy in the quarterfinals of the state tournament, Izzo — then the back-up kicker — along with punter Sean Lewis and starting kicker Luke Wingate, would have missed Indian River’s matchup with Concord High School.

Instead, they lost, eliminating them from the state tournament and allowing the football team to use their soccer players in different capacities. Lewis proved to be the Indians secret weapon, amassing nearly 100 yards receiving in the loss.

Asked if he could duplicate the effort of his former teammate, Izzo laughed and responded, “I probably don’t have that level of athleticsm, but if they wanted to try something like that, I would definitely be up for it. I think we could do something like fakes because soccer season will probably be over by then and they wouldn’t need to worry about me getting hurt.”

Izzo began playing soccer at a young age and said there’s no doubt in his mind that he would be playing football if soccer was a spring sport. And that doesn’t surprise Kilby.

“If I was looking at Zach as a football player, I would think he would be an offensive or defensive tackle,” he said. “But he’s too smart for that position. That’s not knocking those players, he’s just got a quarterback’s brain.”

Since the two sports coincide, Izzo must settle with being the place kicker. Seeing action on kickoffs, extra points and field goals, Izzo has plenty of opportunities to make his impact on the game’s outcome. If it came down to it, he believes he could nail a long field goal to win the game.

Coach Bunting said if he had to put the game on the line, he would have the utmost confidence in Izzo nailing the game winner.

“What a competitor,” Bunting said. “He’s got as much confidence as any kid I’ve coached. He truly believes that if he’s 60 yards out he can make it.”

To his recollection, Bunting believes Izzo has the strongest leg of any kicker the Indians have ever had.

Practicing before the big win over Delmar, Izzo kicked what coaches figured to be a 50-yard field goal, quite an accomplishment for a kicker at any level. While he believes many soccer players could easily step into that role, Kilby believes Izzo is perfectly suited for the position.

“Zach’s got what I call a thick body type, so he’s able to push his center of gravity through the ball and really bang it,” he said. “The difference between kicking a football and a soccer ball is that we try to keep (soccer players) over the ball, where as in football they need to lean back a little to get it lifted. I wouldn’t doubt that he could kick a 55 yarder.”

Izzo has enjoyed his time as a kicker so much that he said he may pursue it in college as a walk on player. Currently looking at Division I schools like the University of Maryland, Clemson University and Auburn University, Izzo feels he could have a decent shot at making the team.

“I don’t think I’m going to try to play soccer,” he said. “To play football and see myself on ESPN would be amazing. It would be so surreal.”

nroth@dmg.gannett.com 302-537-1881, Ext. 206

DAGSBORO — The table was set for the Indian River High School football team. To claim their first Henlopen Conference Southern Division championship, they only needed to remain undefeated in division play, with Milford being the only team that could prove problematic.

“We didn’t think it would be (a let-down game),” coach Jim Bunting said. “We have a tendency to be business like. It was a very somber bus ride up, so you figure that part of it was good. When they run a 95-yard kickoff back in the first 12 seconds of the ball game, that kind of sets you on your heels and I don’t think they ever recovered.”

Now, IR has to hope for the best and win their remaining Southern Division games in order to secure a spot in the Division II state tournament. They still also have an outside chance at claiming the division championship.

If Delmar tops the Bucs in their Friday, Oct. 24 matchup, a three-way tie atop the Southern Division standings will be created. In that case, the Indians will have to win a tiebreaker, which, according to Bunting, is determined by the score margin in the head-to-head games between the opponents.

But for that to happen, the Indians will have to take care of business in their three remaining games against Southern opponents.

First up is Lake Forest. In the midst of a year-long struggle to stay in games, the Spartans find themselves with an overall record of 1-5 and are still searching for their first win the Henlopen South.

“I think we’ve got to demonstrate our dominance,” Bunting said. “We’ve got to go out and play like the contenders that we are and believe we are.”

In their favor, the IR team will be at home for Friday’s game. Already in the midst of spirit week, the Indians will have plenty of time to get hyped for the game.

Cooke, on the other hand, sees the homecoming festivities as a potential outside distraction that may work against the team.

“Homecoming is always a big game,” he said. “You always want to win, but we’ve got to look at like it’s just any other game. We need to do everything we can to win and not worry about the fans or anything like that.”

Preparation, he said, will remain the same.

“We know that we’ve got to come back strong,” he said. “But we also know that we lost the game and there’s nothing we can do about that now. We’re just going to come out to practice and work hard in order to get ready for the game.”

If there is anything the players can hang their hats on following last week’s loss to Milford, Bunting said it should be the way the team finished the game. Down 24-7 with more than one minute remaining, the Indians defense forced Milford to take an intentional safety. On the ensuing offensive drive, the team drove down the field for a touchdown, which was capped off by a 19-yard run by quarterback Jamie Jarmon.

“I thought they finished the game in a way we expected Indian River players to, and that’s playing hard,” Bunting said. “I’m not going to say that they didn’t have flat spots in the game because they did, but they finished strong.”

The Indians’ homecoming game against the Spartans of Lake Forest High School is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 10, at Indian River High School.

nroth@dmg.gannett.com 302-537-1881, Ext. 206