Friday Rewind: Irmo clamps down on Lexington. Dreher outlasts RNE in wild game

Irmo’s offense is usually the one making a game-changing plays. On Friday, it was the Yellow Jackets defense’s turn.

Matthew Blocker returned an interception for a touchdown in the first half and Irmo picked off three passes on its way to a 34-8 win over Lexington in the Region 4-5A opener for both teams.

The win snapped a six-game losing streak to the Wildcats.

“How about our captain Matt Blocker taking one to the house to really set the tone in the first half?” Irmo coach Aaron Brand said. “Then we kind of got rolling from there.”

Irmo was coming off a bye and didn’t return to practice until Tuesday because of the impacts of Hurricane Helene. The Yellow Jackets’ offense wasn’t as crisp as it usually is. Lexington’s defense had a lot to do with that.

“The bye is like a curse in high school. You never know what you are going to get,” Brand said. “But I am proud of my guys. They were really resilient. … and we were a little bit better tonight. That is just the way it is.”

After a scoreless first quarter, Irmo recorded a pair of touchdowns in less than a minute to take a 13-0 lead in the second quarter. Quarterback AJ Brand took it in from 11 yards out to make it 7-0.

Blocker picked off Brennan Carter and returned it for a touchdown to make it 13-0 with 6:03 in second.

“As soon as I got the ball, my instinct was just go and run and get to the end zone and score,” Blocker said. “It was good for momentum and got us going.”

Tucker Williams added a field goal on the final play of the second quarter to make it 16-0.

Irmo extended the lead to 23-0 in the third quarter on Brand’s 2-yard pass to Donovan Murph. Amire White also had a TD run for Irmo.

Lexington got on the board in the fourth quarter on Brennan Carter’s 39-yard touchdown to Zareth Owens to cut the lead to 23-8.

Dreher 35, Richland Northeast 34 (3OT)

Luke Cruz’s 6-yard run and Gustavo Zomora’s extra point helped the Blue Devils stun unbeaten Richland Northeast.

Dreher (3-3, 1-2) trailed late in the game but Willie Smith’s 25-yard run and Luka Cruz’s two-point conversion tied it at 21-21 with 1:34 left.

RNE got the ball first in overtime and Camryn Buckley scored to make it 28-21. Dreher answered with a Smith 2-yard run to tie it at 28.

Neither team scored in the second overtime. In the third extra period, Buckley scored again but RNE missed the extra point.

The loss ends the Cavs’ best start since 2005. RNE played the game without its starting QB and N.C. State commitment Will Wilson.

River Bluff 24, White Knoll 21 (OT)

Georgia Southern commitment Tripp Bryant hit a field goal in overtime to give the Gators a thrilling win in their region opener.

River Bluff led 21-7 on Hayden Myers TD run with six minutes left before a furious Timberwolves comeback.

White Knoll quarterback Landon Sharpe scored on a 6-yard run to cut the lead to 21-14 with 4:45 left. The Timberwolves recovered the onside kick, then Sharpe’s 5-yard run cut the lead to 21-20. WK lined up to go for a two-point conversion but ended up kicking the extra point with 2:14 left.

River Bluff’s Aaron Griffin picked off Sharpe late in regulation to send it to overtime.

Dutch Fork 63, Chapin 10

Maurice Anderson rushed for five touchdowns in the first half as the Silver Foxes scored 56 points in the first two quarters to win their region opener.

Anderson finished with 65 yards rushing. Quarterback Ethan Offing was 11-of-13 for 201 yards and a TD. KJ Smith had a pair of catches for 80 yards and a TD.

West Virginia commitment Elgin Sessions returned an interception for a touchdown in the first half.

South Pointe 64, Camden 0

Mason Hicks rushed for three touchdowns and the Stallions returned two interceptions for score in the win over Camden.

QB Cam McMillon also had two TD passes for the Stallions, who led 57-0 at halftime.

Ridge View 54, Spring Valley 14

Quarterback Tre Howard threw for two touchdowns and ran for two as the Blazers moved to 2-0 in region play.

Hayden Morris led RV with two TD catches. Darius Carter, Jordyn Mack and Ja’lyq Black each had one.

AC Flora 17, Lancaster 14

BJ Mack ran for two touchdowns, including the game-winner with 3:21 left as the Falcons notched their second straight come-from-behind victory.

Mack also had a 74 yard run on Flora’s first possession to make it 7-0. The lead was 10-0 in the third before the Bruins scored twice in the second half to lead 14-10.

Blythewood 37, Lugoff-Elgin 24

The Bengals rallied from a 14-0 first-quarter deficit to defeat the Demons.

Johnny Collins threw four touchdown passes, two each to Darius Carter and Kanye Reed. Desmond Macklin also had a TD for the Bengals.

Hammond 65, Laurence Manning 14

QB Andrew Turner threw for two touchdowns and ran for two in the Skyhawks’ win.

Turner finished with 203 yards passing . Manny Johnson ran for 75 yards and two scores for Hammond.

Kinson Holland, Blaze Barnes, Mike Tyler and Daylin Haltiwnager also had TDs for the Skyhawks.

Northside Christian 14, Providence Athletic Club 12

BJ Suits and Sam Burks each TD runs in the first half as the Crusaders held off a second-half comeback for a win.

North Central 40, Chesterfield 35

Jon Clarkson had three touchdowns and Brayden Price two as the Knights defeated the Rams.

North Central led 40-28 in the fourth quarter before Chesterfield returned a kickoff back to cut it to 40-35.

Chesterfield got the ball back with two minutes left but the Knights’ defense stopped them on a fourth-and-1.