Bishops overpower Hawks in 29-7 victory

The Bishop England High School football team continued its quest for a Region 7-AAA championship with a 29-7 road victory over Hanahan Friday night.

It was more of the same for the Bishops, who relied on quarterback Leo Albano and running back Christian Greavu to conquer the Hawks. Albano rushed 26 times for 167 yards and scored three touchdowns while Greavu carried only 11 times for 126 yards and scored one TD.

The Bishops upped their record to 5-2, including 2-0 in league play. Hanahan fell to 3-6, 1-2.

Timberland leads the region with a 3-0 record and the Bishops are 2-0. Hanahan is in third place at 1-2 while Manning and Lake Marion are both 0-2.

Hanahan travels to Lake Marion this weekend, while the Bishops host Manning at Jack Cantey Stadium. Both games are slated for 7:30 p.m. Friday.

The Bishops were one dimensional against the Hawks but it didn’t matter with the 1-2 punch of Albano and Greavu. The Bishops gained 308 yards against the Hawks and 306 came on the ground.

While Albano and Greavu grabbed the headlines, the offensive line did the hard work, controlling the line of scrimmage. The upfront push was the difference.

“I thought the offensive line did a great job,” Bishop England coach John Cantey said. “We struggled early and made some adjustments. Then, they made things happen. I also thought the defensive line played well.”

Albano now has 1,180 yards on the ground and has scored 20 touchdowns. Throw in nine touchdowns via the air, and Albano has accounted for 29 of the Bishops’ 37 touchdowns on offense.

Greavu has 665 yards on the ground this fall and has scored four touchdowns. Perhaps the most impressive stat on Greavu’s resume is that he’s averaging 9.5 yards per carry.

The Bishops took a 3-0 lead in the first quarter on Jarren McCoy’s field goal.

Hanahan took its only lead of the game when Quincy Mitchell scored on a 9-yard run to give the Hawks a 7-3 lead. Mitchell, who entered with 1,100 yards rushing, carried 21 times for 82 yards.

After that, it was all Bishop England. Albano scored on runs of 15 and 5 yards and Greavu exploded for a 76-yard TD run.

Albano closed out the scoring with a 34-yard keeper.

The Bishops face Manning this weekend. The Monarchs opened the season with six consecutive victories, but have lost two straight league games.

“Manning handed us our first loss of the season last year,” Cantey said. “Year in, year out, they have a heck of a team. They have a ton of talent. They are always physical and present a big challenge.”

A victory would guarantee the Bishops a home game in the first round of the playoffs.

“That would be huge to have a home playoff game,” Cantey said. “When you hit the road for a playoff game, it usually is about a two-hour trip and there’s a lot of logistics involved. Playing at home makes it so much simpler.”