Hanahan rallies in fourth quarter to beat Bishops

HANAHAN — The Hanahan Hawks scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter Friday to beat Bishop England, 28-14, and snap the Bishops’ 14-game winning streak.

Coming off a tough-to-stomach 25-21 loss at Timberland on a last-minute fumble that was returned for a touchdown, Hawks coach Charlie Patterson was pleased with his squad’s rebound effort, for the most part.

“We made a couple of the same mistakes early in the game that we made last week,” Patterson said. “But hopefully we’ll get that corrected. Our kids bounced back really well in the second half.”

The Bishops’ Reed Fosberry hauled in a 30-yard touchdown pass from Nick Theos for the only scoring of the first quarter, but the Hawks countered in the second quarter on Anthony Smalls’ 35-yard quarterback keeper.

After Parkwood Griffith’s 81-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown put Bishop England ahead again, Mason Schwerzler’s 20-yard TD reception knotted the contest at 14-14 with 11 seconds remaining in the first half.

Bishops standouts DeAngelo Stephenson and Nick Shiver fell victim to the humidity, as leg cramps limited their action and effectiveness.

“It was a humid night out here,” Patterson said. “I think it was a little bit of a war of attrition — who was going to have the last guy standing.”

Hanahan used a bit of trickery to take a 21-14 lead that would not be relinquished. Schwerzler collected Smalls’ screen pass and threw to Mario Gates for a 64-yard touchdown reception.

“It seems like every time we run (that play) it works,” Patterson said. “And we just felt like it was the right time to call it.”

Five minutes later, Octavius Hayes reached the end zone on a 40-yard carry to effectively put the game out of reach.

Bishop England (1-1) once again looked to Theos as the offensive catalyst. While coach John Cantey wanted to throw the ball more frequently, a lack of success in the air forced the defending Division II-AA state champions to keep the ball on the ground.

Aided by junior Mack Marquise’s momentum-swinging interception and fumble recovery, the Hawks’ defense was up to the challenge, keeping a usually-potent Bishop England offense off the scoreboard in the second half. The Bishops were unsuccessful on all seven of their third-down conversion attempts in the game.

Theos was Bishop England’s leading rusher for the second week in a row, carrying the ball 22 times for 86 yards.

Hanahan, led by Hayes’ 149 yards on 19 carries, outgained the Bishops in total yardage, 349-249.

“I thought Hanahan did a great job,” said Cantey, whose team defeated the Hawks, 49-35, last season. “Defensively, they were mixing things up on us and we had a hard time adjusting.”

Bishop England 7 7 0 0—14

Hanahan 0 14 0 14—28

Bishop England — Reed Fosberry 30 pass from Nick Theos (Drew Costa kick)

Hanahan — Anthony Smalls 35 run (Kyle Spigner kick)

Bishop England — Parkwood Griffith 81 fumble recovery (Costa kick)

Hanahan — Mason Schwerzler 20 pass from Smalls (Spigner kick)

Hanahan — Mario Gates 64 pass from Schwerzler (Spigner kick)

Hanahan — Octavius Hayes 40 run (Spigner kick)