Bishop defense turns up big in 33-17 victory over Waccamaw
Bishop England High School football coach John Cantey was defensive when he talked about his team’s effort against Waccamaw in Region 7-AAA play.
The Bishops posted a 33-17 victory, and Cantey sang his praises about the team’s Big D.
“They played really well,” said Cantey, whose team recorded its second win in a row and upped its record to 5-2. The Bishops took a big step toward securing a berth in the Class AAA playoffs with the conference win, which gives the Bishops a 2-0 record.
“It’s rare when you record a safety and have a Pick 6 in the same game. They had 105 yards in total offense, and they had one play for 76 yards. So literally, they had all their yards on one play,” he said.
Waccamaw led 10-7 early in the second quarter and that’s when the defense stepped up and running back Michael Long hit his stride.
Long scored on a 22-yard run to give the Bishops a 14-10 lead. Sammy Gress picked off a pass and raced 30 yards for a touchdown with 2:02 left in the first half to make it 21-10. The Bishops recorded a safety with 1:10 left in the first half to push the lead to 13 points. That was all the Bishops needed to drop Waccamaw to 5-2, 1-1.
Quarterback Cam Costa was sharp, completing 24 of 32 for 256 yards and a touchdown. Sullivan Clair was his favorite target with 11 catches for 107 yards and a score, a 12-yard completion. Charlie Michel hauled in seven passes for 72 yards.
Long led the Bishops in rushing with 28 carries for 113 yards and the touchdown that gave the Bishops the lead for good.
Waccamaw rushed 21 times for a net of 34 yards. Quarterback Denson Crisler completed 7 of 18 for 121 yards. Tyree Funnye caught a 76-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter. He also returned a kickoff 96 yards for his second touchdown of the game.
The Bishops’ defense totaled four takeaways. Gress and Drew Owens intercepted passes while Jarren McCoy and Robert Mallard recovered fumbles.
Anderson led the Bishops with 10 tackles, while Michel logged nine stops. Long was credited with the safety.
The Bishops tallied 360 yards in total offense, but Cantey was unhappy the Bishops left points on the field. They lost a fumble on Waccamaw’s 2-yard line and couldn’t convert a first-and-goal.
“We’re almost there,” said Cantey when asked to evaluate his team’s play after seven games. “We execute well, but we make some mistakes. We’re not at the point of perfection.”
The Bishops have three games remaining on the regular-season schedule. They play Academic Magnet this weekend and follow that with home games against Georgetown and Manning.
“It works out really well having those two games at home,” Cantey said.
Manning and Bishop England both head into this weekend’s action with 2-0 record in Region 7-AAA. Hanahan and Waccamaw are 1-1, while Georgetown and Academic Magnet are 0-2.