QB Trad Beatty, Chapin rally past Irmo
Chapin made history, and it came in dramatic fashion.
Trad Beatty connected with Xzavion Gordon on a 9-yard touchdown scoring strike with 17 seconds remaining to give the Eagles a 34-31 victory – their first win over Irmo – on Saturday at W.C. Hawkins Stadium
Chapin (2-1) has played the Yellow Jackets four times and come up short in each one. Thanks to Beatty and Gordon, the Eagles wouldn’t be denied this time.
“Chapin’s been long overdue and it’s well deserved,” Chapin coach Justin Gentry said. “We’re just glad we can bring a win over Irmo back to Chapin.”
Late in the third quarter, it looked like Chapin would win with ease. Gordon hauled in a 41-yard scoring pass from Beatty to give the Eagles a 28-10 lead with 1:34 remaining.
But Irmo (1-2) wouldn’t go away quietly. Mason Lassiter guided the Yellow Jackets to 21 straight points, including a 1-yard touchdown run with 3:18 remaining to give Irmo a short-lived 31-28 lead.
Beatty then directed a 15-play, 72-yard drive in 3:01 for the winning points.
“We practice the two-week offense and the coaches do a good job making it game-like situations,” Beatty said. “So when we stepped it out there trailing late it felt natural. The offensive line, backs and receivers were great. They made the plays at the end.”
It’s the second close loss by Irmo, who dropped a one-point decision to Nation Ford two weeks ago.
“We need to get the coaches involved and just make plays down the stretch,” Irmo coach Reggie Kennedy said. “We’re finding ways to lose instead of finding ways to win and I think that will change in time.”
TURNING POINT
Chapin wasn’t in field goal range when it faced a third-and-14 on the game-winning drive. Beatty hit Gordon for a 25-yard gain to move it inside the Yellow Jackets’ 10.
KEY PERFORMERS
Trad Beatty: Chapin’s junior quarterback missed the opening-week loss to River Bluff with an injury and was replaced last week in a win over Mid-Carolina. But he was 21 of 29 for 253 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 48 yards and another score.
Xzavion Gordon: Chapin’s junior wide receiver was held in check most of the night, but when the Eagles needed a big play, he was there. He finished with 135 yards on five catches with two touchdowns. He also added a 4-yard scoring run.
Mason Lassiter: Irmo’s junior quarterback almost did enough to rally the Yellow Jackets. Lassiter finished 18-of-27 for 171 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He also ran for 118 yards and a touchdown.
KEY NUMBERS
307: Lassister, Jeffery Tharp and Shakem Bradley’s combined rushing yards for Irmo. Each had at least 88 yards, with Lassiter (118) and Tharp (101) going over 100 yards.
11: Catches for Irmo’s Raekwon Heath, who finished with 108 yards.
8: Receptions for Chapin’s Cooper Bemis. Six Eagles caught at least two passes.
THEY SAID IT
“I’ve been at Chapin seven years and we have a never die mentality. I’m proud of the coaches and players for fighting to the end. It was just a team effort.” Chapin coach Justin Gentry
“He didn’t play for the tie, he played for the win and it paid off.” Irmo coach Reggie Kennedy
How they scored
1st Quarter
I – James Dooley 20 FG 3:27
C – Cooper Bemis 12 pass from Trad Beatty (Colin Kitchens kick) 2:32
2nd Quarter
I – Mason Lassiter 13 run (Dooley kick) 5:12
C – Xzavion Gordon 4 run (Kitchens kick) 2:49
3rd Quarter
C – Beatty 16 run (Kitchens kick) 2:34
C – Gordon 41 pass from Beatty (Kitchens kick) 1:34
I – Winston Hill 10 pass from Lassiter (Dooley kick) 0:12
4th Quarter
I – Shakem Bradley 14 run (pass failed) 10:15
I – Bradley 1 run (Hill pass from Lassiter) 3:18
C – Gordon 9 pass from Beatty (run failed) 0:17
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: C: Trad Beatty 7-48, Case Barber 14-37, Xzavion Gordon 4-13, Cooper Bemis 1-2 . I: Mason Lassiter 16-118, Jeffery Tharp 12-101, Shakem Bradley 15-88, Keylin Roach 1-2, Team 1-(-4).
Passing: C: Beatty 21-29-0-253. I: Lassiter 18-29-2-171.
Receiving: C: Bemis 8-64, Gordon 5-135, Kale Rhame 2-33, Will Register 2-16, Mark Shealy 2-1. I: Raekwon Heath 11-108, Winston Hill 2-20, Bradley 2-19, Hassuan Rivers 1-10, Tharp 1-6, Tyon Billups 1-8.
This story was originally published September 3, 2016 at 8:42 PM with the headline "QB Trad Beatty, Chapin rally past Irmo."