Midlands roundup: SCISA playoffs begin, big win for Irmo, rivalry games and more
Irmo rode a strong running game and defense in the second half to clinch a playoff spot Friday night.
Dedrick Starkes ran for three touchdowns and Irmo shut Westwood out over the final two quarters in the 36-14 win at WC Hawkins Stadium. The Yellow Jackets will travel to Westside for a first-round playoff game next week.
Westwood led 14-8 after Nick Gilliam scored on a hook-and-ladder play with 6:07 left in the second quarter.
But Starkes gave Irmo a 15-14 lead with 1:02 left in the half on a 4-yard run. The Lower Richland transfer’s second TD of the night put Irmo up 22-14 with 6:20 left in the third. Irmo’s drive was aided by a Westwood roughing-the-punter call.
Starkes, who finished with 107 yards and also had 15 tackles on defense, was used in the Wildcat formation at QB and rotated with Dylan Williams in the second half to give Irmo a 1-2 punch running the ball.
“We wanted to use our athletes especially in a game like this where it was winner take all,” Irmo coach Aaron Brand said. “...We wanted to get behind big offensive lineman and get downhill. Westwood was a little bit fatigued. I know they missed some games. ... They were gassed a little bit and we wanted to play fast when we saw they were gassed.”
After that, the Yellow Jackets (5-2) took control from there and guaranteed their first winning season since 2014.
Jayon Chambers led Irmo with 139 yards rushing and a TD. Williams had 107.
River Bluff 35, Lexington 10
Riley Myers rushed for 140 yards and five touchdowns as the Gators defeated their rivals for the third straight season.
River Bluff will travel to Fort Dorchester for the first round of the playoffs. Lexington will host Spring Valley in a plus-one game next week for its final contest.
River Bluff led 14-10 at half but Myers scored a pair of touchdowns less than five minutes apart to make it 28-10.
Reese Marcum had a TD pass to Dionta Sanders as Lexington tied it at 7 in the first quarter.
Camden 30, Byrnes 19
The Bulldogs completed an unbeaten regular season with a win over the 5A Byrnes program.
Running back Willis Lane rushed for 245 yards and three touchdowns for Camden, which is ranked No. 4 in the Class 3A poll.
Camden trailed 19-18 going into the fourth quarter but Leroy Bracey scored on a 23-yard run to make it 24-19 with 11:42 left. Lane scored his third TD, a 1-yard run, to make it 30-19 with 3:06 left.
The Bulldogs finished with 368 yards rushing and will host Brookland-Cayce in the first round of the playoffs next week.
AC Flora 71, Lugoff-Elgin 8
Matt Pack rushed for two touchdowns and caught a TD pass at the top-ranked team in Class 4A won its final game before the playoffs.
AC Flora hosts Travelers Rest in the first round next week.
Quarterback Ethan Beamish threw for 185 yards and two touchdowns and seven different players scored for the Falcons.
Hammond 44, Porter-Gaud 13
Running back CJ Stokes ran for 144 yards and three touchdowns, and caught two passes for 118 yards and two scores, in Hammond’s first-round win in the SCISA 3A playoffs.
The Skyhawks will host Augusta Christian in the semifinals next week.
QB Whit Muschamp was 6-of-12 for 196 yards and three scores. Cam Scott had four catches for 75 yards and a TD.
Gaffney 24, Blythewood 18
Ken Littlejohn ran for 135 yards and a touchdown in Gaffney’s win over Blythewood.
Desmond Boatwright had a pair of touchdown runs for Blythewood; the second cut the lead to 24-18 with 1:36 left. But Gaffney recovered the onside kick.
Blythewood quarterback Angelo Donato was 20-of-42 for 199 yards and a touchdown.
Blythewood will play a plus-one game next week, likely against Westwood.
Spring Valley 55, Richland Northeast 6
DQ Smith threw three touchdown passes, two to Tysean Osby, in the Vikings’ victory. Smith finished with 124 yards passing.
Evan Javis added 97 yards rushing and a TD for Spring Valley. The Vikings also scored three defensive touchdowns.
Newberry 35, Batesburg-Leesville 19
The Bulldogs clinched a playoff spot with a win over the Panthers.
Zy Epps threw a pair of touchdowns to OT Sims for Newberry, which will travel to Chesnee for the first round of the playoffs.
B-L is likely to get an at-large spot and travel to face Abbeville.
Keenan 52, Timberland 8
Marquece Williams ran for two touchdowns as the Raiders rolled to a lopsided victory.
Jaden Gipson returned a punt for a touchdowns and Jaden Gipson returned a fumble for a score.
Chapin 27, York 21
Chapin rallied from a 14-0 deficit to defeat York in the final regular season game.
The Eagles will travel to Mid-Carolina next week in a plus-one game to close the season.
Columbia 42, Bethune Bowman 8
Jani Broadnax, Zamir Grey, Randall McDaniel and Jalen Blunt all ran for touchdowns in the Capitals’ victory.
Cam Williams also returned an interception for a touchdown.
North Central 54, Great Falls 6
Kalab Haven rushed for 175 yards and three TDs as North Central won its final tuneup before the playoffs.
Shyheem Shropshire had six catches for 125 yards and two TDs and also picked off two passes.
Saluda 26, Ninety-Six 13
Tyleke Mathis ran for three touchdowns as Saluda won its regular-season finale.
Richard Winn 52, Clarendon Hall 30
The Eagles scored the final 28 points of the game to win their first-round game in the SCISA 8-man playoffs.
Richard Winn will host Andrew Jackson next week.
The Eagles trailed 30-24 at halftime but tied on B Baker’s 65-yard run 90 seconds into the third quarter. Zack Taylor’s 2-yard run put RW up 38-30 with 3:40 left in third. Taylor added two more scores in the fourth to put it away.
Baker led the team wth 240 yards rushing and three touchdowns. Taylor finished with 141 yards on the ground and four TDs.
Pelion 12, Wade Hampton 6
On Thursday, Azwan James ran for two touchdowns including the game-winner with 7:25 left as the Panthers won their first region title since 2006.
It was only the third region title in school history. Pelion will host Phillip Simmons in the first round of the 2A playoffs next week.
Orangeburg-Wilkinson 37, Airport 12
On Thursday, Anthony Mack threw three touchdown passes in the Bruins’ win over the Eagles.
Immanuel Bovain had a TD run and Tyler Dasher threw for a score for Airport. The Eagles will close their season out next week against Swansea.
This story was originally published November 6, 2020 at 11:43 PM.
