Bishop England Boys claim soccer state champions

COLUMBIA-Bishop England High School concluded its most successful athletics year in the institution's 93-year history with a 4-0 victory over Emerald Saturday in the boys' Class AA state championship at the University of South Carolina's Stone Stadium.

The victory gave the Bishops seven team state championships for the 2007-08 year.

"The competition is always great," senior defender Alvin Hooper said. "We had to come out and win today because that's the tradition at Bishop England: to come to the state championship, win it and bring it home. We don't feel pressure when our other teams win. When the other sports (teams) win, it puts us in a good position to win because it boosts our confidence."

Said senior defender Hunter Wilson: "It's hard to defend your title because everyone else is hungry, coming after you to take it from you. You have to defend your name, keep that No. 1 ranking."

Saturday's victory gave the Bishops their 13th state title in boys' soccer. Only six other schools in the nation have won more state soccer championships than the Bishops. One of those schools is Irmo, which has 15 state titles.

"Our job as coaches, it to keep that momentum going," said coach Ed Khouri, who has led the Bishops to 10 state titles since 1994. "The mental preparation is critical. These modern kids today, there's a lot of distractions so we have to think up something new every time to motivate them. We have let them know what time it is, meaning the position they are in to make history. I always tell them, 'You're a man. You are born a man-child, and you were born to make history and break history."

There was little suspense as the Bishops dominated from the opening minutes and held a commanding 24-1 advantage in shots. Sophomore midfielder Joseph Santos scored in the seventh minute to make it 1-0. Santos assisted Jorge Villamizar's goal in the 14th minute to make it 2-0. The Bishops had nine shots in the first half, while the Vikings managed only one.

Senior David LeBlanc scored on an assist from Eric Rastogi in the 48th minute to make it 3-0. George Khoury scored to make it 4-0 in the 61st minute.

The Bishops have won four straight titles, and three of those have come against the Vikings. Bishop England ended the season with a 17-5-2 record, while Emerald checked out at 16-7-1.

"Four in a row, I'm really happy for the other guys," Wilson said. "It was supposed to be a rebuilding year and we won 4-0. Every thing is good."

Khouri said the school's administration is the reason the Bishops are successful in so many sports.

"Bishop England gives you the platform to play the best competition, no matter where they are located. We play the best competition and that benefits our program. The guys before me built it and the people who come after me will continue that success."