Perhaps it's a bit unusual to see a football team race across the field and hoist a trophy over its heads after only the second game of the season, but that's what happened Friday night at Riverwood when the Holy Innocents' Golden Bears won the first ever Episcopal Bowl with a convincing 31-0 victory over Christ Church Episcopal School of Greenville, SC.
 
HI is now 2-0 on the year and expects a big test next Friday when they travel to Bogart to take on the defending state champs in Prince Avenue.
 
"There's something special going on here," Coach Todd Winter said after the game, regarding the atmosphere both on and off the field. "The guys are playing for each other, and they kept battling. Looking ahead, we need to stay humble and stay hungry."
 
The Bears certainly came out hungry as, after forcing a Cavalier punt on the visitor's first possession, HI went on an incredible 99-plus yard drive to go up 7-0. A huge key came on 2^nd-and-9 from the 2 when Drew Bomar raced 48 yards to put it near midfield.
 
From there, Joe Hingson, Nemo High, and Nick Morgan had solid runs before fittingly, Bomar finished the drive with a nine-yard TD run. Equally as impressive, the march took up more than eight minutes.
 
In the second period, the Cavaliers had a great chance to tie the score after recovering a fumble on the HI 20. But the defense – led primarily by Luca Chuecos and Bomar – held stiff and forced a field goal that was missed.
 
On the third play of the Bears' next possession, William Wright hit Zach Jackson for a 77-yard TD bomb to put the Bears up 14-0. 
 
The defense then again stepped up, as Jackson James picked off a Cavalier pass, giving the Bears the ball on the Christ Church 35. After some short runs moved it to the 15, Jackson – who went to throw it on a halfback pass – scampered right out of the pocket and raced into the corner of the end zone. Ethan Reuther then converted his third PAT of the half, making it up 21-0 at the intermission.
 
Reuter's foot then provided the only scoring in the third period; HI took the opening kickoff and drove to the Cavalier 18 before the senior booted a 36-yard field goal to make it 24-0. The points were set up by another Wright to Jackson pass, which put it down to the 2 before a couple of penalties backed the Bears up. 
 
The final quarter saw more good defense – Chuecos recovered a fumble at the visitor's 15. Stephen Jones ran it in from the 2 a few plays later to cap off the scoring. Bomar later picked off another Cavalier pass.
 
Christ Church came in as the #9 ranked team in 2A in South Carolina. The Bears, winners of the newly found Episcopal Bowl, will keep the trophy until at least next year when HI travels to Greenville to continue the friendly rivalry.