Bishops punch ticket to second round of playoffs to face No. 1 seed
The Bishop England High School football team’s offense was efficient, while the defense played with energy, in a 24-7 victory over Lower Richland High School in a first-round Class AAAA playoff game.
The Bishops tallied 302 total yards on offense and held the Diamond Hornets to just 135 yards – only 15 on the ground – in an opening round contest played Nov. 7 at Jack Cantey Stadium.
The Bishops, who recorded 15.5 tackles for a loss, including nine sacks, upped their home record to 7-0 and improved to 8-3 overall.
“It’s a testament to the program,” second-year coach Logan Hall said of the solid performance. “We’ve had to shuffle some players around the last couple of weeks (because of injuries), and they have responded. It’s awesome to see our players come together.”
The Bishops will now need more of the same, perhaps in a more potent dose, when they travel to South Florence High School for a second-round encounter this weekend against the Bruins, who are the No. 1 seed in the Lower State.
South Florence blasted Darlington 47-7 in the first round to improve to 10-1. The playoff win was a microcosm of the Bruins’ season. They are averaging 45.2 points on offense and are allowing only 12.6 points per contest.
“We have a big task in front of us at South Florence,” said Hall, who owns a 2-1 playoff record at BE. “I’m excited to see how we respond. They put their pants on the same way we do: one leg at a time.”
The Bishops, who allowed only 13.5 points a game in the regular season, received another strong effort from their 11 defenders as they led 7-0 at the end of the first quarter and expanded the margin to 17-0 at halftime to win for the third time in four games.
Will Donato, who began the season as a wide receiver, has been a steady replacement at quarterback with Quinn Mahoney out with an injury. Hall expects Mahoney, who has thrown for 1,369 yards and 14 scores, to return to action this weekend.
Donato, in his fill-in duties, completed eight of 15 passing attempts for 198 yards and a touchdown, while adding 27 yards on the ground against Lower Richland. That pushed his season totals to 28 of 47 passing for 413 yards and five scores. He’s added 200 yards and a TD rushing.
He completed four passes to Zach Balog for 69 yards. Balog also picked off a pass on defense. Brody Tonon hauled in two passes for 59 yards.
Mitchell Plaisance led the Bishops with 67 yards and a TD on 12 carries. Chase Tonon also scored a touchdown against the Diamond Hornets, who closed the season with a 5-6 record.
Hunter Alex logged 15 tackles, including four for a loss, to lead the defense. Matthew Ponkow tallied 10 tackles, including three for a loss and 2.5 sacks. Sophomore Luke Balog was credited with three tackles for a loss, while Jackson Kunz had 2.5 sacks.