BE in search of a QB after injury woes

Brother, can you spare a quarterback?

 

If so, Bishop England High School football coach John Cantey just might want to talk to you.

 

The Bishops were scheduled to play Stall last Friday night, but the game was canceled because the Warriors were in quarantine because of COVID-19. The Bishops were able to come up with a replacement game, with a road trip against the Ashley Ridge Swamp Foxes.

 

But the game was costly for the Bishops, who had two quarterbacks go down with injury. Starting quarterback junior Marco Pampu suffered an injury that will probably force the first-year starter to miss at least two games. His backup, freshman Jacob Mackara, was injured as well, and he is expected to miss the remainder of the season.

 

The Bishops dropped a 20-3 decision to the Swamp Foxes, and one of Cantey’s first duties was to hit the hallways of the school searching out potential quarterbacks to try out for the team. Cantey said there’s a good chance that a BE baseball player or too, might be the answer to the dilemma.

 

“We’re looking for a quarterback,” said Cantey, whose team is 0-2 with a home game up next against James Island.

 

The Bishops finally scored their first points of the year when William Poole kicked a 31-yard field goal in the second quarter in a game the Bishops led 3-0 against the Class AAAAA school.

 

However, the Bishops’ inability to move the football meant the BE defenders were on the field way too long and the Swamp Foxes slowly wore the Bishops down. The Swamp Foxes entered the scoring column in the third quarter to take a 6-3 lead into the fourth quarter. They added two touchdowns in the final quarter, including a 40-yard scoop-and-score to win their season opener.

 

Although the score was similar to Week 1’s 20-0 loss to Porter-Gaud, Cantey was pleased with his team’s effort and saw a big improvement.

 

“We felt good going into the game, and we had a good game plan,” Cantey said. “Then we were hit with the injuries.”

 

The QB injuries were the most recent developments in a season that hasn’t gone the way it was expected to be scripted. The Bishops were quarantined for the first 10 days of fall practice and had to cancel their scrimmage games.

 

Because of that, Cantey viewed the first two games of the season as full-dress scrimmages, and was pleased with his team’s progress between the first and second weeks.

 

The defense played well against the Swamp Foxes, forcing six turnovers. Jack Hugey led the way with two interceptions.

 

The Bishops play James Island on Friday and the two squads played a memorable game last fall. The Bishops led 14-0 after the first quarter and 21-7 at halftime, but the Trojans rallied for a 42-35 overtime victory.

 

“James Island is big and athletic,” Cantey said. “But our guys will be ready. They want to avenge what happened last year.”

 

The Bishops are scheduled to play Philip Simmons in Week 4.