Bishop England wins "Holy War" with Porter-Gaud
Charleston - Charleston’s version of “The Holy War” took place on Friday night as Bishop England visited longtime rival Porter-Gaud.
Both schools are religion-affiliated private schools – Bishop England is a Catholic-based school while Porter-Gaud is affiliated with the Episcopalian church.
The schools have been playing in football for decades but there have been breaks in the series over the years. Friday night’s game was the fourth consecutive meeting in the most recent renewal with Porter-Gaud winning two of the last three contests.
Bishop England, ranked fifth in the state Class AAAA rankings, had their toughest test of the season but improved to 4-0 with a 40-23 win. Porter-Gaud fell to 2-3 on the season.
Bishops’ quarterback Quinn Mahoney passed for more than 200 yards and three touchdowns while adding a two scores on the ground. He added more than 50 yards on the ground.
“This is an unbelievable group of young men who have put their heart and soul into this program,” Bishops coach Logan Hall said. “This was an important game for us. We’re proud the school, our community and everyone associated with our program. Now we have to get ready for another one. But we will enjoy this one.”
The Bishops out-scored their first three opponents, 147-6, but the defense was challenged by the SCISA Cyclones. The teams combined for 23 penalties, totaling 224 yards. Bishop England finished the game with 374 yards while Porter-Gaud totaled just over 300 yards.
The Bishops opened the game with an impressive nine-play drive that ended with three-yard pass from Mahoney to Will Donato.
The Cyclones answered with a 12-play drive that resulted in a 35-yard field goal by Hunter Thiem.
The second quarter was full of penalties, punts and turnovers. The Bishops intercepted two passes. Hunter Alex’s pick set the offense up deep in Porter-Gaud territory and Mahoney’s three-yard run made it 14-3 with 4:15 left in the half.
Zach Balog returned his interception to the endzone but the score was nullified with a penalty. Two plays later, Porter-Gaud’s Allen Chisolm intercepted Mahoney. The Cyclones needed only two plays to score as Tibbals found Wilson Yarborough on a 23-yard scoring pass, cutting the deficit to 14-10.
Porter-Gaud had one last possession in the half and made it count. A 33-yard pass to Yarborough set up Thiem’s 45-yard field goal as time expired, sending the teams into the half with Bishop England leading 14-13.
The first half featured 12 penalties. Both teams had more than 150 yards in the half.
Porter-Gaud opened the third quarter with a gamble, failing to pick up a first down on a fourth-and-three from their own 41-yard line.
Mahoney hit Zach Balog on the Bishops’ third play, pushing the lead to 21-13.
Porter-Gaud had a time-consuming drive, aided by Bishop England penalties, and Thiem booted his third field goal of the game from 37 yards, pulling the Cyclones closer at 21-16. The teams combined for 18 penalties through three quarters.
Brody Tonon’s two-yard run with 8:01 left in the game, making the score, 27-16. Porter-Gaud, however, struck back quickly with Tibbals hitting Amir Chisolm on a 70-yard pass, cutting the lead to 27-23 with 5:26 remaining.
Facing a third-and-nine from their own 38, Mahoney connected with Brody Tonon on the sideline. Tonon ran through a tackle and did not stop until he reached the end zone for a 33-23 lead with 4:09 left.
The Bishops intercepted a pass on Porter-Gaud’s next possession and Mahoney scored on a five-yard run for the final margin.
