No. 1 Dutch Fork runs away from Irmo to clinch region title
Dutch Fork’s fans started early, serenading visiting rival Irmo with words familiar to almost anyone who has attended sporting event: “Nah, nah, nah/hey, hey/goodbye.”
There were three minutes left in the third quarter Friday and Silver Foxes led by 31 points. It was that kind of night for Class 5A No. 1 Dutch Fork, which won 58-13 to clinch a Region 5-5A title.
Silver Foxes quarterback Reese Nichols and running back Ron Hoff combined for 292 rushing yards and five touchdowns as Dutch Fork (9-0, 5-0 Region 5-5A) won its eighth of the past nine meetings.
“We’re 9-0,” Dutch Fork coach Tom Knotts said. “We hope to set Dutch Fork history at 10-0. We’ve got a game against Lexington next week, so we’ll prepare hard.
“We came out hoping to throw, but they didn’t put up much resistance to the run.”
The late going was marred by a scary moment, when backup Irmo (3-6, 2-3) running back Jason Legette was taken off the field on a stretcher to an ambulance after getting hit and being down for well over five minutes. Irmo coach Reggie Kennedy said Legette injured his back and felt a little numbness in his legs and feet, necessitating the precautions.
TURNING POINT
Irmo cut the Dutch Fork lead to 24-13 with 46.9 seconds left in the second quarter, but the Silver Foxes went 63 yards in five plays to score a touchdown before the half.
KEY PERFORMERS
Reese Nichols: The senior threw for 111 yards and ran for 151 more in his final regular-season home game.
Ron Hoff: The freshman scored on runs of 20, 7 and 2 yards as part of his 141 yards on 13 carries.
KEY NUMBERS
67: Rushing yards for Irmo on 2.3 a carry. The Yellow Jackets averaged 290.1 coming in.
15: Minutes left when teams started pulling starters. The clock ran the final six-plus minutes after the Legette injury.
THEY SAID IT
“We just ran into a buzz saw tonight. I knew that watching them on tape. We hoped that we could limit their touches. I thought we were giving them too many touches, especially in the second half.” – Kennedy
“It feels good, putting all the hard work we’ve done, during the summer, during the season, it’s starting to pay off.” – Nichols, on claiming a region title
HOW THEY SCORED
1st Quarter
DF – Williams 33 FG, 9:10
DF – Hoff 20 run (Williams kick) 6:01
2nd Quarter
I – Lassiter 2 run (Dooley kick) 11:32
DF – Hoff 7 run (Williams kick) 8:30
DF – Nichols 6 run (Williams kick) 1:53
I – Bradley 3 pass from Lassiter (Kick blocked) 0:46.9
DF – Hoff 2 run (Williams kick) 0:01.5
3rd Quarter
DF – Nichols 4 run (Williams kick) 7:23
DF – Paredes 10 run (Kick missed) 3:08
4th Quarter
DF – Connor 15 pass from Underwood (Williams kick), 8:25
DF – Underwood 5 run (Williams kick), 5:58
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: I: Bradley 7-30, Tharp 8-23, Billups 5-6, Lassiter 5-5, Elam 1-4, Legette 2-4, TEAM 1-(-5). Totals: 29-67. DK: Nichols 16-151, Hoff 13-141, Paredes 6-76, Underwood 2-19, Ragin 5-17,. Totals: 42-304.
Passing: I: Lassiter 10-19-1-75, Billups 0-1-0-0. Totals: 10-20-1-75. DF: Nichols 9-15-0-111, Underwood 1-3-0-15. Totals: 10-18-0-126.
Receiving: I: Flowers 4-49, Bradley 3-17, Tharp 2-1, Hill 1-5, Heath 1-3. DF: Irby 4-87, Connor 2-19,Cannon 2-17, Hacklin 1-4, Paredes 1-(-1).
This story was originally published October 28, 2016 at 11:23 PM with the headline "No. 1 Dutch Fork runs away from Irmo to clinch region title."