Friday Rewind: Dominant Irmo rolls to region title. White Knoll, Gilbert stay unbeaten

Irmo’s football team wasn’t going to let another opportunity to win a region title slip out of its hands.

Quarterback AJ Brand threw three touchdown passes and ran for two more as the Yellow Jackets defeated Westwood, 63-0, to clinch the Region 5-4A championship. It’s the program’s first outright region title since 2009.

The Yellow Jackets had a chance to win the region title outright in 2021 but lost at Westwood and were forced to share the championship with the Redhawks and A.C. Flora.

“We talked about this all week. We came down here two years ago and we lost,” AJ Brand said. “We didn’t want to lay a goose egg like we did. We played hard the whole game and came out successful.”

Irmo goes for its fourth unbeaten regular season in school history next week at Lugoff-Elgin. The Yellow Jackets last went undefeated in 2002.

Irmo (9-0) has been one of the most complete teams in the entire state this season, giving up just 17 points over its last five games. For the season, the Yellow Jackets have outscored their opponents 450-53 and are one of the favorites to win the Class 4A championship.

The Yellow Jackets, who have a strong football history, have been on the upswing since head coach Aaron Brand arrived from North Carolina five years ago. Irmo won three games in Brand’s first year and have won six or more games in each of the seasons since.

“We have really turned the corner, so to speak,” Aaron Brand said. “We are explosive on offense and we are as good on defense as there is around. I keep waiting for some adversity, but it just hasn’t happened yet. We have been able to kind of score at will and kind of stop people at will. I hope it isn’t fool’s gold.

“But when you win nine games like we have, it means a lot for the community.”

While Irmo has bigger goals ahead in the playoffs, Brand wanted his players to enjoy the moment. The team posed for group photo after the game and had a curtain call for some of his top players late in the fourth quarter.

Irmo scored on its second play of the game on an AJ Brand TD run. Brand was 12-of-18 passing for 212 yards and also ran it for 53 yards.

The Yellow Jackets scored 49 points in the first half, and there was a running clock in the second half.

Running back Jaden Allen-Hendrix had three touchdown runs and finished with 120 yards rushing. Donovan Murph had six catches for 88 yards and two TDs. Isaiah McClary also returned an interception for a score.

Timberwolves clinch perfect season

White Knoll clinched its first unbeaten regular season and outright Region 4-5A championship with a 20-14 win over Chapin on Thursday.

The Timberwolves (10-0) are off next week and will host a first-round playoff game on Nov. 4.

Quarterback Landon Sharpe threw a pair of touchdown passes to CJ Earl, and Sean Evans had a TD run as the Timberwolves led 20-0 going into the fourth quarter.

Sharpe was 20-of-29 for 246 yards and also rushed for 81. Earl had seven catches for 140 yards.

But Chapin stayed in it and forced four turnovers. Quarterback Brady Albro threw a pair of TD passes to Collone Martin to cut the lead to 20-14 with 1:49 left. The Eagles couldn’t recover a second onside kick, and White Knoll was able to run out the clock.

Albro was 25-of-41 for 211 yards, and Martin led the Eagles (5-4) with nine catches for 73 yards.

Region 6-3A decided

Crestwood ended Camden’s winning streak with a 34-28 victory to win the Region 6-3A championship. It was the Bulldogs’ first region loss since 2019.

Khalil Moody picked off Camden’s Grayson White with a minute left to seal the win. The game was delayed more than 30 minutes because of lighting in the fourth quarter.

Azarian Yates rushed for three touchdowns for Crestwood and Seneca Moore had one. Moore’s TD run put the Knights up 27-22 in the fourth quarter.

White had three TD passes for Camden. Jo Jo Crim had a kickoff return for a touchdown.

B-C, Gilbert stay on collision course

Gilbert and Brookland-Cayce didn’t have a letdown on their way to next week’s anticipated matchup.

The Indians defeated Dreher, 53-6, while B-C handled Swansea, 49-0. The two teams will play for the Region 5-3A championship at B-C next week.

In Gilbert’s win, freshman Trevon Williamson rushed for 189 yards and had five total touchdowns. Quarterback Drake Braddock threw for 230 yards and four touchdowns, two to Connor Gooding. Krew Morris had five catches for 100 yards and a TD.

In B-C’s win, Will Young rushed for 164 yards and three touchdowns and also caught a 66-yard pass from Brogan Sox. The Bearcats scored on their first seven possessions.

Sox was 6-of-10 for 130 yards and two touchdowns. Running back Deshaun Washington had 57 yards rushing and went over 1,000 for the season.

Around the Midlands

Dutch Fork 56, River Bluff 3: Quarterback Jon Hunt threw for 313 yards and three touchdowns for the Silver Foxes (4-5), who will play for the second spot in Region 4-5A against Lexington next week. Ron DiePetro had two TD catches and Boone Miller had five catches for 165 yards and a score. Running backs Trenton Lodge and Maurice Anderson each two touchdown runs for Dutch Fork, who had 510 yards of total offense.

Ridge View 42, Richland Northeast 21: Breylon Boyd had three touchdowns as the Blazers (7-2) moved into second place in Region 5-4A.

A.C. Flora 44, Lugoff-Elgin 3: The Falcons snapped a two-game losing streak with a win over the Demons.

Fairfield Central 60, Eau Claire 0: The Griffins (7-2) got their third shutout of the season and play Newberry next week for second place in Region 4-2A.

Newberry 47, Columbia 8: Jamel Howse and Bryce Satterwhite each had two touchdowns in the win for Newberry (5-4).

Saluda 28, Fox Creek 10: Drew Arant threw two TD passes to Victavis Gaines in the Tigers’ victory. Gaines also had a 74-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

Orangeburg-Wilkinson 22, Lower Richland 21: The Bruins scored a late touchdown in the fourth quarter for their first win of the season.

Augusta Christian 31, Ben Lippen 28 (OT): Augusta Christian kicked a field goal in double OT to beat the Falcons. Buzz Buxton, Tae Copney and Blake Bost all had touchdowns for Ben Lippen.

Northside Christian 60, Palmetto Christian 20: Northside rushed for 538 yards and had three backs go over the 100-yard mark in the win over Palmetto Christian. Sam Burks led the way with 242 yards and four TDs. JR Kinard had 112 yards and two scores, and John Lizewski had 104 yards and a TD.

Thursday

IMG Academy (Fla.), 55, Gray Collegiate 7: Liberty commit and former Chapin quarterback Jayden Bradford threw four first-half touchdowns as the nationally-ranked Ascenders defeated the War Eagles. Texas commit Jarrick Gibson had a rushing TD for IMG.

Gray’s lone score came on a fake punt when Tyler Waller connected with Zai Offord.

Keenan 42, Mid-Carolina 13: The Raiders (4-5) clinched the fourth spot in the region with a win over the Rebels.

Lexington 48, Aiken 18: Quarterback Taiden Mines threw for 118 yards, two touchdowns and ran for a score as the Wildcats won the non-region matchup. Matt McCauley led Lexington (7-2) with 114 yards rushing and a TD.

Porter-Gaud 49, Cardinal Newman 42: The Cyclones (7-2) scored a touchdown late in the fourth quarter to knock off the Cardinals. Cortez Lane had three touchdowns for Cardinal Newman (7-2) and Duncan Skehan threw a pair of touchdowns to Amarii King.

Andrew Jackson 42, North Central 14: Brady Williams threw three touchdown passes and Trey Thompson ran for three as the Volunteers (6-3) clinched the Region 5-2A title.