Bishops strong-arm Raptors: Bishop England rushes for 322 yards in region win

Bishop England scored a pair of touchdowns in each of the first three quarters en route to a 42-0 shutout of Academic Magnet on Friday night at Jack Cantey Stadium in the Region 6-AA opener for both teams.

It was the Bishops' eighth win in as many games against the Raptors. The teams had last met on the gridiron in 2005, but Bishop England's move from Region 7-AA necessitated a renewal of the local rivalry this season.

“Whenever you play a team with the letters 'B-E' on the side of the helmet, you know you're in for a tough night,” said Academic Magnet coach Bud Walpole. “We played a very aggressive, well-coached team tonight. But our players fought hard. They'll bounce back next week.”

Griffie Loy provided the Bishops (3-1, 1-0) with a 14-0 first-quarter lead on touchdown runs of 6 and 18 yards. The senior's first score capped an efficient 6-play, 74-yard opening possession.

DeAngelo Stephenson set the stage for Bishop England's second TD with a punt return to the Raptors' 38-yard line. The senior standout reached the end zone on a 35-yard run of his own 60 seconds into the second quarter, and Nick Shiver hit paydirt with a 47-yard run eight minutes later.

“I think offensively we were clicking pretty good,” said Bishops coach John Cantey, who acknowledged the uphill battle Academic Magnet faced with a limited number of players on the roster.

“Younger guys that deserve a chance to play got a chance to play tonight and got some reps. Hopefully we can use that a little bit later in the season.”

Stephenson's 37-yard touchdown run on the first play of the third quarter was negated due to a holding penalty, but that didn't cause a problem. On the ensuing snap, he ran it in from 42 yards instead.

Weston Marvin rounded out the scoring midway through the third quarter with a 22-yard run.

The Raptors (3-1, 0-1) were unable to stop the powerful attack of the defending Division II-AA state champions, who finished with 322 yards on 28 carries while adding 110 yards passing.

For the second consecutive week, Kevin Herbst filled in for quarterback Nick Theos, who injured an ankle two weeks ago against Hanahan. Cantey was initially prepared for Theos to play a limited role against Academic Magnet but changed his mind during pregame warmups.

“When Theos warmed up, (his ankle) didn't feel right,” Cantey said. “We weren't going to push him back in. Kevin's doing a great job for us, so we wanted to stay with Kevin and let Nick heal up a lot more.”

Bishop England's defense limited the Raptors to 137 total yards, of which 135 were on the ground. Paramount to the Bishops' success was limiting the effectiveness of Academic Magnet senior Stuart Walters, who recorded 12 touchdowns entering the contest.

Academic Magnet 0 0 0 0— 0

Bishop England 14 14 14 0—42

BE—Griffie Loy 6 run (Drew Costa kick)

BE—Griffie Loy 18 run (Costa kick)

BE—DeAngelo Stephenson 35 run (Costa kick)

BE—Nick Shiver 47 run (Costa kick)

BE—Stephenson 42 run (Costa kick)

BE—Weston Marvin 22 run (Costa kick)