BE remains undefeated in rare win over Hanahan
Bishop England’s 45-24 victory over Hanahan Friday night at Jack Cantey Stadium might be best described as a case of rust and relaxation.
Coach John Cantey said the Bishops seemed to be a little rusty at times as they played on the gridiron for the first time since Sept. 23 thanks to an open date on Sept. 30 and a postponement the following week due to Hurricane Matthew.
And, Bishop England seemed to relax after taking a 24-3 lead in the first half. Hanahan rallied for two touchdowns in five minutes in the third quarter to cut the lead to 24-17. But the Bishops rebounded to remain undefeated.
“We continually preach that football is a 48-minute game,” said Cantey, who picked up his 70th career victory against 33 losses. “There’s going to be a time when we can’t afford to take our foot off the pedal.”
The Homecoming victory gave the Bishops a 7-0 record, including 1-0 in Region 7-AAA. Hanahan fell to 2-6, 0-2.
The Bishops picked up a rare victory over Hanahan, a team that entered the showdown with 17 victories in its last 18 games against BE. Bishop England’s triumph Friday night was the first over the Hawks since 2011. That was the same year Bishop England won its first state championship in football. The Bishops, who repeated as state champs in 2012, are bidding for their first undefeated regular season since 1977.
Hanahan outgained the Bishops 455-338 in total yardage and held a whopping 334-18 advantage in passing yardage. But that was all for naught as BE quarterback Leo Albano rushed for 217 yards and four touchdowns.
He scored on runs of 11, 1 and 21 yards to help stake the Bishops to the 24-3 lead.
But Hanahan didn’t quit. Quarterback Victor Colbert threw a 75-yard TD pass to Jamie Watson, and Jerry Bailey scored on a 6-yard run to make it a 24-17 game.
But the Bishops continued to come up with big plays on both offense and defense. Albano scored on a 35-yard run and Jacob Shiver picked off a Colbert pass and raced 66 yards to pay dirt. The interception was one of Hanahan’s four turnovers.
Colbert completed 26 of 38 passes for 334 yards and a score. Bailey led the Hawks running game with 86 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries.
Zach Pampu gained 65 yards on only four carries to aid the Bishops’ effort. He broke off a 51-yard TD run to close out the scoring.
“We just need to get better every week,” Cantey said. “I think we looked OK for having three weeks off. The defense came up with some big plays. As they say, defense wins championships.”
Bishop England plays at Manning (5-2, 1-0) this week while Hanahan hosts Lake Marion (2-5, 0-1).