Dutch Fork routs rival Irmo in regular-season finale
Dutch Fork put an exclamation point on an unbeaten Region 5-5A season Friday with a 49-0 rout of rival Irmo at W.C. Hawkins Stadium.
Ty Olenchuk, Bryce Thompson and Jalin Hyatt each had huge games for the Silver Foxes (8-1, 6-0).
Olenchuk threw for 309 yards on 18-of-24 passing with five touchdowns. He’s passed for more than 200 yards in each of the past three games.
Thompson and Hyatt more than did their part. Thompson ran for a touchdown and caught two more scores to give him 27 touchdowns on the season.
Hyatt added 152 yards on seven receptions with two touchdowns as Dutch Fork rolled to 536 yards of offense. It’s his third consecutive game with more than 100 yards receiving.
“They’re D-1 players that’s probably going to play on Sunday’s,” Olenchuk said of Thompson and Hyatt. “I know they’re there. If something is messed up, I know where my star players are. It’s crazy to have.”
Dutch Fork will host Stratford, Goose Creek or West Ashley in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs next Friday. Irmo (6-4, 2-4) finishes fourth in the region and will be on the road in the first round of the playoffs.
KEY PERFORMERS
Bryce Thompson: The highly touted senior ran for 144 yards on 18 carries and added 76 yards on seven catches. He played running back, receiver and wildcat quarterback.
Ty Olenchuk: The sophomore was making just his third start on varsity and completed 75 percent of his passes (18-24-0) for 309 yards and touchdowns that covered 28, 12, 18, 29 and 35 yards.
KEY NUMBERS
95: Total offensive yards for Irmo. The Yellow Jackets had 70 yards in the first half and 25 in the second. They averaged 2.11 yards per play.
9: Dutch Fork has taken control of this rivalry by winning nine of the past 10 games.
THEY SAID IT
“We talked about making this a playoff game and rolling into the playoffs. We treated it like a first-round game, and we were all or nothing. I think everybody was all in.” – Dutch Fork coach Tom Knotts
“When the defense plays lights out like that, and they’re capable of doing that, we’re a tough opponent to handle.” – Knotts
HOW THEY SCORED
1st Quarter
DF – Jalin Hyatt 28 pass from Ty Olenchuk (Ford Williams kick) 9:07
DF – Bryce Thompson 2 run (Williams kick) 3:36
2nd Quarter
DF – Thompson 12 pass from Olenchuk (Williams kick) 6:50
DF – Thompson 18 pass from Olenchuk (Williams kick) 0:05
3rd Quarter
DF – Hyatt 29 pass from Olenchuk (Williams kick) 5:13
DF – Michael Jamison 35 pass from Olenchuk (Williams kick) 2:12
4th Quarter
DF – Jon Hall 5 run (Williams kick) 10:16
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: DF: Bryce Thompson 18-144, Jon Hall 6-51, Josue Paredes 6-11, Ty Olenchuk 8-28. I: Kendrell Flowers 12-42, John Ragin 8-(-12), Jason Legette 5-6, Omarion Dollison 1-3, Team 1-(-12).
Passing: DF: Olenchuk 18-24-0-309, Graeson Underwood 0-1-0-0. I: Ragin 7-18-1-68
Receiving: DF: Jalin Hyatt 7-152, Thompson 7-76, Gage Zirke 1-18, Jon Hall 1-12, Michael Jamison 1-35, Taj Thomas 1-16. I: Raekwon Heath 3-28, Dollison 2-18, Hasuan Rivers 1-15, Flowers 1-7.