The Bishop Hendricken football team has not lost since 2014, and it doesn’t look like that stretch of authority over the rest of Rhode Island will end any time soon.

The Hawks used a balanced attack to pick apart their 20th opponent in a row on Friday night with a 56-13 victory over Cranston West at Cranston Stadium. Quarterback Chris Hindle rushed for one touchdown and threw for three more, while the Hawks’ defense returned two Cam Harris interceptions for scores.

“We had a lot of time, the offensive line did really well,” Hindle said. “We weren’t really ready for a 3-3 stack they came out in, so that kind of threw it off at first, but they protected well, [and] they just got open. Found some open guys.”

Hendricken managed just a touchdown in the opening quarter, but it would quickly break out to effectively put the game away. After West turned the ball over on downs early in the second, Hendricken set up shop near its own 40. Hindle hit wide receiver Andrew Hopgood over the middle on second-and-16, and he glided 64 yards past the Falcons’ secondary for the touchdown.

Hindle, who had a rushing and passing score each to this point, was just heating up.

The defense forced another quick three-and-out, and the Hawks launched another aerial assault. Pinned at his own 28, Hindle found Hopgood again. The senior found separation from his defender and took off for his second touchdown of the night.

“He’s been huge all year,” Hendricken head coach Keith Croft said of Hopgood. “We’re just so happy to see his success and proud of him. He’s worked hard to get to be the player he is.”

The Hawks tried to put the game away there, but defensive penalties allowed West to find some life. Hendricken committed four penalties on the Falcons’ ensuing drive, including a personal foul and defensive pass interference, to set them up at the 3-yard line. Will Such rumbled in to cut into the deficit, 21-6.

“Yes, absolutely, 100 percent,” Croft said of whether his team’s penchant for penalties upset him. “We talked about it at halftime, we talked about it after the game and they’re going to hear about it all week in practice. It’s just, it’s inexcusable. We just gave away so much yardage.”

What happened next was near-catastrophe for Hendricken. The kickoff bounced around and no Hawk attempted to grab the live ball. West recovered at the opposing 27, sending the Red Storm into a frenzy.

West seized momentum with 4:44 to go in the half, but the Hawks snatched it right back.

Harris faced pressure on the first snap and threw it over the middle, where Hopgood stepped in front and took the pass 80 yards to the end zone. The Hawks added another less than two minutes later on a 55-yard touchdown pass to Tim Picard.

“We got a little momentum going with some turnovers on defense,” Croft said. “Like I said to the guys, I felt the game played a lot closer than the score indicated. I thought West came out with a really good game plan, I thought they really battled us. I thought their kids really stepped up in the first half and had us on the ropes a few times.”

Hendricken’s commanding 35-6 lead was more than enough of a cushion to close West out. Matt DiTondo rushed for his only touchdown of the night on the opening drive of the second half, coasting in from 25 yards out.

The Hawks would score twice more, on a rushing touchdown from backup quarterback Alex Mulvey and cornerback Anthony Witherstone’s pick-six.

The boys in green and gold will have their bye week upcoming before a matchup of undefeated teams next week. Hendricken takes to the road on Oct. 21 for a tilt with Portsmouth, led by versatile quarterback Sean Coyne.

“That’s our focus for the next two weeks,” Croft said. “We’ll have some time to recover and we’ll see him on film.”

The Patriots will try to keep their perfect record in tact when they travel to South Kingstown this Saturday for a noon contest with the Rebels.

Hendricken and Portsmouth are the only remaining undefeated teams in Division I-A.

After the game, Bishop Hendricken defensive end and Boston College commit Kwity Paye told the Warwick Beacon that his visit to the University of Michigan last weekend was “really fun” and that it “just felt right over there.”

Paye said that he will wait until the end of the season to make a decision about where he will take his talents next year.

For now, Paye is staying the course in the classroom and seeking to deliver a seventh consecutive Super Bowl.

“After this season, [my family and I] will kind of think about it because I don’t want to dwell too much on that,” Paye said. “They want me to focus more on the season and school and stuff.”