Bishops winless skid worsens losing seventh in a row

If you want to talk about the Bishop England High School football team’s woes on offense, the conversation begins with the Bishop England defense.

 

Coach John Cantey’s stoppers have been outstanding, allowing only one touchdown in their last two games. With a rock ‘em, sock ‘em defense like that, the effort should equate to two victories.

 

However, the Bishops squandered their opportunities and Oct. 7 the beat went on as Lake Marion posted a 12-7 home victory over the Bishops in Region 6-AA action under the Friday night lights.

 

For the second straight week, the offense gave up a touchdown as the Bishops fell to 1-7, including 0-2 in the region.

 

The week before, Timberland used a scoop-and-score off a BE fumble to post a 6-0 victory.

 

The Lake Marion Gators scored first when they pinned the Bishops deep in their own territory in the first quarter. A Bishop pass on a roll-out was picked off and returned for an interception to make it 6-0.

 

Bishop England took a 7-6 lead when Chase Miller scored on a 30-yard run in the second quarter. However, in the third quarter, Lake Marion scored on a slant pass, the first touchdown surrendered by the BE defense in two games. The score was the difference as Lake Marion improved to 4-3, 1-1 in region play.

 

“It comes down to execution,” said Cantey, whose team is off this week. “The defense has played well. They play tough and they play with emotion. The plays we call (on offense) should work, but we’re not blocking right. On defense, we know our assignments and know how to execute. On offense, we know the assignments but just don’t know how to execute.”

 

Cantey had praise for his defense, which is led by senior defensive back Charlie Ranney, a two-year captain. Ranney had another big game with his effort against the Gators, which included 10 tackles and an interception, his seventh of the year. His best effort of the season came against Philip Simmons when he collected 16 tackles and three picks.

 

Linebacker Cole Preiditsch was credited with 10 tackles, including two for a loss while Miller logged 13 tackles, including one for a loss.

 

The Bishops are a combined 4-15 the past two years. One of the reasons for the record is injuries, which decimated the Bishops last season. Against Lake Marion, 10 players including mostly starters, didn’t play because of injuries.

 

It doesn’t get much easier for the Bishops as they battle for a playoff spot. The Bishops play Class AA state championship contender Oceanside Collegiate Academy in the penultimate week of the regular season and close out the schedule with Academic Magnet.

 

Meanwhile, the Philip Simmons Iron Horses had an open date over the weekend and will resume Region 8-AAA play Oct. 14.

 

The Iron Horses have lost two of their last three games heading into the game against the North Charleston Cougars. The Iron Horses are 4-3, 0-1 while North Charleston is 3-5, 0-2. Philip Simmons concludes the regular season with conference games at Hanahan on Oct. 21 and a home game against Battery Creek on Oct. 28.