By Thomas Grant Jr.
An undefeated Irmo football team headed to South Florence looking to advance to the Class 4A tile game since 2010.
Instead, the undefeated defending state champions built an early lead and held off the Yellow Jackets 28-21 in the Lower State final.
The Bruins took an early 13-0 on two rushing touchdowns by Sy’Ree Livingston. He rushed nine times for 143 yards and two touchdowns during the first 12 minutes for a 13-0 lead.
Irmo (13-1) got on the board with a rushing touchdown by A.J. Brand that made it 13-7 at halftime.
South Florence extended their lead to 21-7 after Gilbert fumbled the football during a run from the Irmo 24 and offensive lineman Justin Joe retrieved it and carried the football across the endzone.
Gilbert added a 35-yard touchdown in the third quarter to make it 28-7.
Brand looked to rally the Yellow Jackets in the fourth quarter. It started with a touchdown pass to Telvin Smith to close the third quarter and then a 46-yard scoring pass to Isaiah McClary to bring Irmo to within a touchdown.
The Yellow Jackets had a final opportunity to tie the game. On third down, Brand was sacked by Quincy Rhodes Jr. for a six-yard loss and his final pass was incomplete.
It was the 29th straight win for South Florence (14-0), who will face Westside on Saturday in the Class 4A final.
“We have gotten to the door. We got to find time to kick it in at some point,” Irmo head coach Aaron Brand said afterward.
Photos by GoFlashwin.com – Irmo’s Telvin Smith with the catch and run
