Bishops top Woodland after 17-day layoff, improve record to 2-2
A 17-day layoff can leave a team a little rusty. For Bishop England, it was just a matter of turning to “Mr. Reliable,” Leo Albano, the talented quarterback who just happens to wear No. 17 on his jersey, to kick it into high gear.
Bishop England, which had its game against Porter-Gaud canceled last week because of Hurricane Irma, stepped on the field at Jack Cantey Stadium on Monday for its first game since Sept. 1. It was more like a misstep early as visiting Woodland took a 13-6 lead at halftime.
But Albano took control, scoring the first two touchdowns of the third quarter to lead the Bishops to a 35-25 victory over the Wolverines.
“It’s awful,” Bishop England coach John Cantey said of the layoff. “It’s so boring…The season started quickly with three games and then we just had to sit there. It’s counterproductive.”
Albano finished with 166 yards rushing and three TDs on the ground. He scored on runs of 5 and 10 yards in the third quarter to help Bishop England take control of the game. The senior added a 25-yard TD run in the fourth quarter. Friday’s effort gave him 3,126 career rushing yards to close in on Derek Hughes’s school record of 3,229 yards. Hughes was the Bishops’ only Parade All-American and played from 1974-78.
Christian Greavu also had a big game for Cantey’s crew. He caught a 79-yard TD pass from Albano in the first quarter and added a 59-yard TD run. He finished with 131 yards rushing.
The victory gave Bishop England a 2-2 record. Woodland fell to 1-3. The Bishops have another home game Friday, battling Academic Magnet at Cantey Stadium. The Bishops have an open date on Sept. 29 and then conclude a stretch of three straight homes games with a region game against Lake Marion on Oct. 6.
Bishop England outgained Woodland 416-400 in total yardage, and 325 of the Bishops’ yards came on the ground as they played ball control.
“We had to grind it out,” Cantey said. “Woodland’s a good football team. We did break some long ones, but we had to put drives together. We didn’t execute well in our blocking in the first half. We just didn’t have that flow or focus.
“It took us a while, but we played with a lot of heart in the second half,” Cantey added. “We did a better job of executing our plays in the second half.”
Albano now has 1,224 yards in total offense, including 748 yards on the ground. He has accounted for 17 of the Bishops’ 20 touchdowns so far in 2017.
The Bishops survived 17 days without a football game and now have just four days to prepare for Academic Magnet.
Tuesday’s practice was light so the bumps and bruises of game action could heal.
“We also need to get our legs back,” Cantey said. “We just need some solid practices. This week, we’ll focus on the mental aspect of football.”