Leo Albano seemed surprised but even before the announcer echoed his name throughout Johnson Hagood Stadium and his teammates blanketed him at midfield there was little doubt who was most valuable.


Albano led Bishop England on three touchdown drives in two quarters of a 19-0 win over Pinewood Prep in the 46th annual Sertoma Football Classic on Friday. The junior quarterback ran for two scores and passed for roughly 50 yards to earn the Roddy White MVP award in the Bishops’ first win at the preseason jamboree in six years.

“Sertoma is huge for our students and players,” Bishop England head coach John Cantey said. “It’s something they look forward to, something they enjoy. So to have as much success as we did tonight, it means a lot to our school.”

Albano is calling his own plays from the line of scrimmage this year in a modified hurry-up, no-huddle version of the Bishops’ option offense. He ripped off 19 yards on the Bishops’ first play from scrimmage, called from the sideline. Then he dialed up a 10-yard run from Zach Pampu on the second play before calling his own number for a 10-yard touchdown run on the third. The Bishops’ 39-yard scoring drive lasted just one minute and 12 seconds.

“It’s his call out there,” Cantey said. “He knows our offense and knows how to attack defenses. It says a lot about his intelligence on the field for him to operate the offense like that.”

Albano connected with receiver Christian Greavu twice for 44 yards on the Bishops’ second drive before breaking free for a 21-yard touchdown run. This time the Bishops went 65 yards in one minute, 32 seconds.

With a two-score cushion and still three minutes to play in the first half of the two-quarter scrimmage, the Bishops defense unloaded on the reeling SCISA AAA state runner-up Panthers.

Ian Butler came up with an interception at the Pinewood 43-yard line. Less than two minutes later, Pampu scored from 1-yard out. The Bishops stuffed the Panthers in the backfield on fourth-and-2 on the following drive. Pinewood finally approached the Bishops’ red zone in the final minute of the scrimmage. Andrew Pizzo ended the threat with an interception returned 65 yards back to the Pinewood 26-yard line.

“We played a lot more disciplined on defense and that’s what we have to have in our scheme,” Cantey said. “I feel good about our progress. We needed some quality success tonight and we had it.”