What John Cantey once considered a slight early in his career is now a goal.


Opposing coaches have long praised Bishop England for its discipline, intelligence and camaraderie.

“I used to think it was a cut,” Cantey joked. “Like we didn’t have great athletes or something.”

Now entering his ninth season as Bishops head coach, Cantey strives for those same characteristics that have proven to be winning traits for the Kelly green.

“Because the reality is when you’re unselfish, you understand our system,” Cantey said. “When you take care of your responsibilities and all 11 guys play together, that’s hard to stop. That’s what we’re trying to accomplish.”

Although the Bishops’ offense is designed to be successful even without superstars, third-year starting quarterback Leo Albano looks to be a star in the making. Albano rushed for a team-high 1,035 yards and 16 touchdowns as a sophomore last year and passed for another 700 yards and 11 scores. He was an all-region pick in basketball, all-state in baseball and in Cantey’s eyes, has as much promise as any young quarterback the Bishops have ever had.

More important than his athleticism is Albano’s decision making. Cantey’s loosened the reins this year, allowing his quarterback to push the tempo, call plays and audible at the line of scrimmage — freedoms few Bishop signal callers have had in the past.

“It feels really good to know they trust me to make adjustments to whatever the defense gives us,” Albano said. “I’m just trying to help us win the game. We have a bunch of guys who can lead this team. We have probably six guys who can play running back and wide receiver. We should be fine on offense.”

Bishop England’s flex-bone, triple-option offense has churned out more than 2,700 rushing yards three of the past four years. John DeStefano and Jake Mock combined for more than 1,500 yards and 15 touchdowns last season. DeStefano graduated and Mock transferred, leaving the Bishops to replace their top running back for the third straight year.

A committee of new faces is waiting in the wings. Ian Butler moved from linebacker, Zach Pampu is returning from injury and Christian Greavu came up from the junior varsity. Carter Kilgore, a rugby standout, could fill the essential fullback spot and the Bishops have six offensive linemen with starting experience clearing the way.

“Our running backs may not have a lot of experience but they’re quality and ready to step up,” Cantey assured. “We’re solid on the offensive line. As long as our guys execute and move people, we’ll continue to run heavy and pound people.”

The Bishops’ defense showed improvement last season, a trend Cantey expects to continue. Junior nose guard Jaylen Stoney plugs the middle at 6-foot-2, 270 pounds. Senior Jack Grooms is back at cornerback after leading the team in tackles, and senior Andrew Pizzo returns at safety. Eric Vettle and Evan Phillips are both experienced linebackers. Most promising to Cantey though, is the Bishops’ understanding and willingness to play together within their defensive schemes.

“Our guys never really understood the system last year and it turned into ‘I’m going to just do my own thing,’”Cantey said. “We’re really in a much better place this year because we know how to work together. I feel a whole lot better about this year’s defense.”

Bishop England opens the season against upstate private school power Christ Church Aug. 19 in Greenville. Christ Church won three straight Class A state titles from 2012-14. Every opposing criticism Bishop England has heard from recruiting to classifications, Christ Church has heard itself.

“Our schools kind of mirror each other in the Upper State and Lower State. We’ve been trying to set this game up for a while,” Cantey said. “There’s a lot of tradition there and we’ve never played before so our guys are really excited to start with that one.”

Bishop England went undefeated through AA-Region 6 last season only to fall in the first round of the playoffs. The Bishops moved into AAA-Region 7 this year, aligned with Hanahan, Lake Marion, Marion and Timberland.

“It’s quality straight across,” Cantey said. “We might’ve taken things for granted last season. We cant’ do that anymore. All five of us could contend for a region championship.”