By Thomas Grant Jr.
Dutch Fork and Irmo looked to bring back two state titles to the “Gateway of Lake Murray” this past weekend in Orangeburg.
The Silver Foxes were successful in adding another championship to their dynasty. They defeated Summerville 35-21 in the Class 5A Division I final played Friday at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium.
The next day saw the Yellow Jackets face Northwestern in the Division II final. Their quest to complete the “Town Sweep” ended in the final seconds of a 34-31 loss.
Dutch Fork 35, Summerville 21
In winning a third consecutive title and ninth overall under head coach Tom Knotts, the undefeated Silver Foxes rallied from its biggest deficit of the season.
It only took 72 seconds for Dutch Fork to take the lead. A 63-yard pass play by Offing to K.J. Smith set up an 8-yard touchdown run by Maurice Anderson.
The PAT by Justin Welch went wide left and the lead was only 6-0 with 10:48 left first quarter.
Despite losing starting quarterback Jaden Cummings to a knee injury following a crushing hit by linebacker Raleigh Salters, Summerville (13-1) answered with 14 straight points to take the lead into the second quarter.
This marked the most points Dutch Fork had trailed in a game since falling behind 10-0 to White Knoll on Oct. 3, 2023. The Silver Foxes went on to lose 17-14 to the Timberwolves.
Dutch Fork got a19-yard touchdown pass by quarterback Ethan Offing to Boykin Bickley. Offing then threw a 2-point conversion pass to Jayden Westbrook to tie the game.
After an interception by Shrine Bowl cornerback and Georgia Tech commit Elgin Sessions, the Silver Foxes drove 93 yards before halftime for the go-ahead touchdown by Touchstone Energy Cooperatives selection Maurice Anderson.
Dutch Fork extended its lead to 28-14 in the third quarter on a 20-yard touchdown pass by Offing to Bickley. A Clemson baseball signee, Offing finished with 252 passing yards and two touchdowns.
Summerville got within a score entering the third quarter on a 77-yard touchdown pass by backup Cooper Kafina to Jaiden Kelly Murray.
Kafina finished with 179 passing yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions coming off the bench. Kelly-Murray had seven receptions for 158 yards, matching Boykin who had the same number of catches for 148 yards and two touchdowns.
The fourth quarter saw Dutch Fork’s defense make key defensive stops. Junior Julian Walker had consecutive sacks on Kafina to force a punt which Dutch Fork turned into a 38-yard touchdown run by Anderson with 2:07 left in the game.
Anderson finished with 145 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
Summerville’s final drive ended with a fourth down interception by White with 36 seconds left.
This was the fifth undefeated season in school history for the Silver Foxes (13-0) and Knotts’ 16th state title in North and South Carolina.
“It sounds pretty impressive, but it’s due to a lot of different things,” Knotts said. “We’ve had great players. We’ve got great coaches. Great administration. We do things the right way. It didn’t really shown that we were great student-athletes tonight (Dutch Fork was penalized 10 times for 107 yards). But it was an intense game. It got a little chippy, out of control.”
Northwestern 34, Irmo 31
The Yellow Jackets were seeking their first state title since 1980.
Things got off to an unpromising start. Following a fumble by Shrine Bowl and Virginia Tech signee quarterback Aaron Brand, the Trojans took a 7-0 lead 90 seconds into the first quarter on an 8-yard touchdown pass by Finley Polk to TaDarrian Knox.
Irmo (12-2) answered with a 10-play, 80-yard scoring drive. Brand found Donovan Murph for a seven-yard touchdown to tie the game.
The game remained tied as Irmo forced two turnovers on defense and special teams. They were unable to score off either turnover as the Trojan defense forced consecutive punts.
Northwestern (14-0) reclaimed the lead with 2:26 left in the second quarter on another 8-yard touchdown pass by Polk to Knox.
A 26-yard field goal by Tucker Williams before halftime brought Irmo to within 14-10. The Trojans opened the second half with a 20-yard field goal by Fish to go up 17-10.
Prior to the field goal, Polk completed a 5-yard pass on third down to Vance. He and Irmo safety Jamar Grissett got tied up fighting for the football, but it was ruled in favor of the offense.
Brand tied the game with a 19-yard touchdown run with 4:51 left in the third quarter. After Grissett stopped Northwestern’s Jayden Nichols short on fourth down, Irmo took the lead on a 29-yard touchdown run by Brand early in the fourth quarter.
Northwestern came back with another quick drive to tie the game. After converting a fourth and 15 with an 18-yard pass, Folk found Vance for a 5-yard touchdown with 8:13 left in the game.
Brand was sacked on Irmo’s next series and it was forced to punt. After a 47-yard reception by Kameron Vance, Folk found him again in the endzone to take the lead.
Irmo answered again behind Brand. He broke off a 49-yard run and followed two plays later with a 33-yard touchdown pass to a leaping Murph.
With 1:43 left in the game, the Trojans managed to reach the Irmo 10 and run the clock down to one second. After two Yellow Jacket timeouts, Fish booted a 27-yard field goal as time expired to give Northwestern its sixth state title.
Polk finished with 427 passing yards and four touchdowns. Northwestern had two receivers with double-digit receptions and two touchdowns.
Brand led Irmo with 319 total yards and four touchdowns. Murph caught two touchdowns and had eight receptions for 123 yards.
Both played their final game for the Yellow Jackets.
“We’ve got a bunch of winners,” Brand said. “We’ve got some playmakers and our playmakers made plays. Unfortunately, we didn’t get enough stops and the early turnover…but we were able to come back and take advantage.
“I called a bonehead play on the sack. I thought it was enough time to get Maleek (Miller) over the top. But sometimes you get the bear. Sometimes the bear gets you. Tonight was not our night and the bear got us.”
Photos by GoFlashWin.com
