Friday Rewind: Dutch Fork fends off Irmo. Batesburg-Leesville wins region

Dutch Fork football coach Tom Knotts didn’t want his team limping into the playoffs. They won’t be.

The Silver Foxes defeated Irmo, 24-14, in front of a capacity crowd at Silver Fox Field on Friday night to win the Region 4-5A title.

With the victory, Dutch Fork (9-0) completes an unbeaten regular season and will be the No. 1 seed with home-field advantage in the Class 5A Division I Upper State playoffs. The Silver Foxes have a bye next week before opening its postseason on Nov. 22.

“We like to get to this time of year,” Knotts said. “The kids behave better, focus better, lift better and meet better. This is our time of year.”

The much-hyped game was the first meeting between the two high schools, located nine miles apart, since 2019. It lived up to the billing.

The intensity began in pregame with both teams’ coaches and players trading verbal jabs, with some having to be separated. But there was no animosity afterward, with postgame handshakes and each team declaring respect for the other.

Knotts talked in pregame with Irmo coach Aaron Brand — they coached together in North Carolina. Knotts also greeted Brand’s son and Irmo quarterback AJ Brand before the game.

“To me, I pay attention to Dutch Fork but now that I played Irmo. These are the two best teams in the state,” Knotts said. “... Thank goodness we don’t have to play them again, and they might say thank goodness they don’t have to play us again. Maybe, two Irmo teams bring home two state championships.”

Class 5A is split into two divisions for the playoffs. Dutch Fork will compete in Division I, with Irmo battling in Division II.

On Friday, Dutch Fork quarterback Ethan Offing ran for a pair of scores and threw a touchdown. The Clemson baseball commitment finished with 184 total yards. Running back Maurice Anderson rushed for a game-high 166 yards.

The Silver Foxes’ defense also clamped down on Irmo quarterback AJ Brand and the Yellow Jackets’ high-powered offense in the second half. Brand, the Virginia Tech commit, threw for 161 yards and rushed for 119 and a pair of touchdowns, both in the first half.

Brand hooked up with Maleek Miller on a 78-yard pass to tie the game at 14-14 with 8:46 in the second quarter.

But Dutch Fork answered as Offing hit Boykin Bickley in the right corner of the end zone on a 7-yard pass to make 21-14 with 3:37 left in the third.

The teams didn’t have many possessions — three each — in the second half. The Silver Foxes made the most of their only drive of the third quarter as Justin Welch hit a 29-yard field goal to make it 24-14 with 44 seconds left.

The Yellow Jackets (9-1) had a chance to cut the lead late in the fourth quarter, but Raleigh Salters picked off Brand with 3:11 to go.

Salters also recovered a fumble in the first half to set up the Silver Foxes’ second touchdown of the game.

“It was a crucial point in the game and we needed to make a play in the game. I knew I needed to make a play,” Salters said. “I saw No. 6 (Donovan Murph) and followed him and they made a bad throw. And I was there.”

The loss snapped Irmo’s 21-game regular-season winning streak and capped the end to an abnormal week. The Yellow Jackets had to win an appeal in front of the S.C. High School League executive committee, regarding an ineligible player, to keep their season going.

The Yellow Jackets should be the No. 2 overall seed and have a first-round bye in the 5A Division II Lower State playoffs.

“I learned we’ve got a bunch of guts, and we fell to a better football team,” Irmo coach Aaron Brand said. “Those guys are polished and ready to make a four-peat or whatever peat they got going on. They are a really good football team.”

Batesburg-Leesville 8, Strom Thurmond 7

Amadre Wooden scored on a 9-yard run and ran in the two-point conversion with 3:43 left to give Batesburg-Leesville the Region 2-2A title and an unbeaten regular season.

The Panthers only had 98 yards of offense and trailed 7-0 in the fourth quarter, but Strom Thurmond tried a fake punt on its own 15. After that failed, B-L capitalized two plays later, capped off by Wooden’s TD.

Strom Thurmond had a chance to win it but missed a 34-yard field goal.

North Augusta 20, Gray Collegiate 17

Corey Tillman hit Connor Brown with a touchdown pass with 1:22 left to give the Yellow Jackets the win and a region title.

Gray now has to make an appeal before the S.C. High School League’s appellate panel Monday to see if it will be allowed in the 4A playoffs. The War Eagles would be between a No. 4-6 seed if they get in.

Chapin 35, White Knoll 34

Anthony Turnbow had a go-ahead kickoff return in the fourth quarter as the Eagles won a wild game against the Timberwolves. Turnbow finished with three touchdowns for the Eagles.

After White Knoll scored to tie it at 28, Turnbow returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown to make it 35-28 in the fourth. The Timberwolves answered with their own kickoff return by Devin Geronomi for a TD but missed the extra point. Geronomi also returned an interception for a touchdown.

Chapin was able to run out the clock and seal the victory.

River Bluff 24, Lexington 10

Hayden Myers rushed for 103 yards and two touchdowns as the Gators defeated their rivals. Stephen Collier also had a punt return for a River Bluff TD.

Matthew McAulay had a TD run for Lexington, which led 7-0.

Newberry 33, Silver Bluff 21

Kenton Caldwell threw three touchdown passes as the Bulldogs won their first region title since 2016.

Bryce Satterwhite caught two touchdowns and Caleb Levy had one. Ty Abrams had a TD run.

Sumter 49, Ridge View 6

The Gamecocks clinched a region title and completed a 10-0 regular season.

Fairfield Central 45, Mid-Carolina 13

The Griffins won their ninth straight game and clinched a region championship.

Saluda 57, American Leadership 0

Drew Arant threw two touchdowns and Jaiden Myers ran for two in the win over ALA.

West Florence 53, Spring Valley 12

Keshawn Johnson had four touchdown in West Florence’s win over the Vikings.

Hammond 35, Cardinal Newman 6

Manny Johnson rushed for 113 yards and two touchdowns as the Skyhawks advanced in the SCISA 4A playoffs.

QB Andrew Turner had a TD pass to Jack Croft and Kinson Holland also had a TD run.

Northside Christian 53, First Baptist 28

Sam Burks had three rushing touchdowns and also threw a TD pass as the Crusaders advanced in the SCISA 3A playoffs.

BJ Suits added two TD runs and Northside returned two interceptions for touchdowns.

Richard Winn 58, Newberry Academy 16

Charlie Bonds ran for three scores and threw a TD to Josh Tyndall as the Eagles won in the SCISA 8-man playoffs.

Ethan Smith also had two TD runs for RW.