Mistakes cost Bishops in 14-13 loss to St. John's
If you are looking for a reason why the Bishop England football team dropped a 14-13 decision at St. John’s Friday night, take your pick. The Bishops had four turnovers, 11 penalties for 95 yards and one fateful missed point after a touchdown.
The mistakes cost the Bishops dearly against St. John’s, a team that is now 3-0 for the season. The Bishops dropped their second straight decision after opening the season with an exclamation point and 774 total yards in a 64-46 victory over Christ Church. The two losses are by a combined nine points. West Ashley posted a 35-27 victory over the Bishops last week.
The Bishops, 1-2, face another tough challenge this week as they travel across town to battle rival Porter-Gaud in a game that is known as the “Holy War.” Porter-Gaud enters the contest with a 3-0 record, outscoring foes by a combined 90-9 margin.
Bishop England coach John Cantey admitted his team’s play was a bit sloppy against the Islanders.
“We made way too many mistakes,” he said. “We had some offsides penalties that hurt us, and we were called for a pass interference on third down. We weren’t in sync. We had a weather delay and weren’t focused. We dropped our guard and didn’t get things done.”
The Bishops now have eight turnovers in three games. Three of Friday night’s turnovers were interceptions as Bishop quarterback Leo Albano was under pressure all night against a fast and athletic defense.
Albano finished the night with seven completions in 19 attempts for 42 yards. He produced most of the Bishops’ offense, accounting for 224 of the Bishops’ 294 total yards.
Albano carried 18 times for 182 yards and scored both of the team’s touchdowns. He already owns the school’s career record for rushing touchdowns and is closing in on Derek Hughes’ career rushing yardage record.
St. John’s, which totaled 356 yards in total offense, took a 7-0 lead after one quarter and then it was time for Albano to go to work. He scored on TD runs of 33 and 10 yards in the second quarter to give the Bishops the lead. But the second PAT attempt failed and that turned out to be the difference.
Neither team scored in the third quarter, and the Islanders managed a score with about five minutes left in the game when quarterback Kameron Smiley completed a 12-yard TD pass to Jalen Hammond.
An interception set up the Islanders first score, as they needed only three plays to march 89 yards for the first score. Wide receiver Tyrus Richardson scored on a 49-yard touchdown run, outracing the Bishops’ defense on the running play.
Cantey said his team must play with discipline when it travels to Porter-Gaud.
“That’s what we lacked against St. John’s,” he said. “We have to cut down on mistakes and create more opportunities. It’s always exciting when we play Porter-Gaud. We have to prepare for this one. I think it’s going to be a good game.”