One of the Lowcountry’s oldest rivalries lived up to its billing Friday as Bishop England pulled off a last-minute 39-38 win at Porter-Gaud.
Trailing by seven with just over three minutes to play, Bishop England marched 55 yards in less than two minutes to set up quarterback Leo Albano for a 5-yard touchdown run. Albano then added the two-point conversion with a charge up the middle to give the Bishops a one-point lead.
Junior defensive back Jack Mock sealed the win for Bishop England with an interception at midfield with just 1:19 remaining.
“We wanted to win now. We were going for two regardless,” Cantey said. “Three and a half minutes, three timeouts, I wasn’t concerned about the time. (Porter-Gaud) looked worn out and we knew we could keep getting pieces and pieces. Just stick to what’s been working and win the game.”
Bishop England (1-2) racked up 336 yards on the ground led by Albano averaged 8 yards per carry, rushing for 168 and three touchdowns. Senior fullback John DeStefano added another 91 yards on just 10 carries.
“(Albano) is a great athlete. He made some really good plays tonight,” Porter-Gaud head coach Rick Reetz said. “It’s hard to simulate their speed in practice and we really had a hard time handling them upfront.”
Bishop England fumbled at the Porter-Gaud 1-yard line with the game tied at 31 three minutes into the fourth quarter. Cyclones junior quarterback Oliver Michaud capped a five-minute 99-yard drive with a 37-yard touchdown pass to Dante Smith on fourth-and-6 to give his team its first lead since the 8-minute mark of the second quarter.
Michaud was 29-39 passing for 319 yards and two touchdowns. Smith finished with six catches for 110 yards and one touchdown.
“Our defense, we still have to tweak a couple things,” Cantey said. “But they came through when we needed it. That interception (on Porter-Gaud’s final possession) was a big play for Mock and our defense, and that’s something we need out of them, more big plays.”
Mock retuned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown. Albano broke a 65-yard touchdown run on the first play of the Bishops’ second possession and added a 5-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. By halftime, the Bishops had tallied 198 rushing yards, 105 from Albano.
“It was the offensive line,” Albano said. “They played a heck of a game.”
Bishop England has won five of the last six games against Porter-Gaud and now leads the all-time series 16-6, dating back to 1967.
Porter-Gaud falls to 4-1 on the season and will travel to Hammond next week. Bishop England hopes to carry the momentum of its first win to defending Class AA state champion Timberland next week.
“It’s a whole lot better going (to Timberland) with a win,” Cantey said. “Playing such a tough non-region schedule, it can sometimes be hard for our guys to see the bigger picture. You’ve got to have some success mixed in there, so tonight was big for us.”
