Bishop Sycamore Reportedly Could Return to Action in November

By Andy Anders on October 25, 2023 at 5:40 pm
Bishop Sycamore quarterback getting tackled
Jeff Lange/Akron Beacon Journal via Imagn Content Services
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A Virginia high school coach told the Richmond Times-Dispatch that the infamous and thought-to-be-defunct Bishop Sycamore is playing his team on Nov. 9.

Life Christian Academy coach David Fitzgerald told the Times-Dispatch that his squad and the Ohio-based program will meet at Virginia State, where LCA plays all its home games.

As depicted in the HBO documentary series "BS High," former Bishop Sycamore coach Roy Johnson is alleged to have fabricated a high school based out of Columbus and garnered national attention. The Centurions managed to wrangle a nationally-televised game on ESPN against famed prep football powerhouse IMG Academy, a game they lost 58-0 while announcers questioned the validity of the entire school.

Johnson and his program received national infamy for the hoodwink, and an investigation by the Ohio Department of Education found that the school did not meet state requirements.

In September of last year, however, Bishop Sycamore's Twitter account posted something for the first time in more than a year, a cryptic Tweet suggesting it may be attempting a rebuild.

Fitzgerald echoed such sentiments to the Times-Dispatch.

"They're looking to rebound and possibly enter into a league we play in," Fitzgerald said. "We needed to fill a game, and we were presented with the opportunity. We spoke with their coaching staff and felt comfortable that they were legitimately moving forward in the right direction. We're a Christian school, we believe in second chances and we wanted to make this happen."

Whether the game will actually happen, however, remains uncertain. Fitzgerald said Life Christian Academy was contacted by “a very reputable company that matches high school football games up,” but Prep Gridiron Logistics – the company that arranged the 2021 game between Bishop Sycamore and IMG Academy – said in a Twitter reply that a game between the two schools has not yet been finalized.

Fitzgerald's Eagles play in a league called East Coast Power Prep, an eight-team group of private schools from New York, Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. He said Bishop Sycamore is hoping to join that league.


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