Bishops and Hawks to head to state football playoffs
Bishop England and Hanahan closed out the regular-season portion of the 2016 season at the opposite ends of the football spectrum.
But both teams still have the same goal: make a deep run in the Class AAA state playoffs.
The Bishops ended a two-game losing streak with a 42-0 victory at Lake Marion Friday night to finish with an 8-2 record, including 2-2 in Region 7-AAA play, which was good enough for third place in the league.
Lake Marion suffered through its fourth straight shutout and finished the season with a 2-8 record, including 0-4 in league play. The Gators eliminated Bishop England in the first round of the playoffs last year.
Hanahan, meanwhile dropped a 41-35 decision to Timberland to finish with a 3-7 record, including 1-3 in the region. That gave the Hawks the fourth and final qualifying spot for Region 7-AAA.
Both teams are off this weekend because the regular-season schedule was pushed back a week because of Hurricane Matthew. Both teams will be on the road Nov. 18. Bishop England travels to Lake City and Hanahan is at Dillon.
“It will be a tough challenge,” Bishop England coach John Cantey said. “It will be physical. That region they play in includes Dillon, so you know they will be a tough opponent.”
Bishop England’s Christian Greavu carried three times for 70 yards and scored three touchdowns. He also caught a touchdown and picked off a pass to lead the Bishops over Lake Marion, while Jacob Shiver ripped off a 30-yard TD run.
Quarterback Leo Albano rushed 11 times for 109 yards and scored a touchdown as the Bishops outgained the Gators 409-200 in total yardage.
Cantey watched his offense explode for 42 points while the defense recorded its second shutout of the season. He said it was good to have momentum heading into the second season.
“We got back to more like how we play,” he said. “We didn’t do the things we needed to do the last two games. We didn’t play loose. But we got our momentum back Friday night. Our offense played well and our defensive played really well.”
Hanahan, which suffered through its first losing season since 2008, gave Timberland all it could handle as quarterback Victor Colbert led a valiant Hanahan effort.
He passed for 261 yards and four touchdowns as the Hawks threw a major scare into the Wolves, who play Manning this weekend for the Region 7-AAA championship. Both teams are 3-0 in league play.
The Hawks had a chance to win late in the game, but a turnover in Timberland’s redzone doomed the Hawks with approximately two minutes left in the game.
Colbert’s touchdown passes went for 35, 5, 84 and 32 yards. Javante Grant caught two TDs passes while Jamie Watson and Tyler Duncan both scored on receptions.
Joseph Moultrie led Timberland with 195 yards rushing while scoring three touchdowns. Timberland, which began the season with a 1-3 record, upped its record to 6-3, 3-0.