York comeback falls short, sees a special season come to an end against Irmo
Irmo coach Aaron Brand apologized to his team after Friday night’s playoff game for his conservative second-half play calling. A quick glance at his team in the huddle revealed that the apology was readily accepted.
The visiting Yellow Jackets found the end zone on the first three possessions of the game in the White Rose City, then locked down York for a 21-10 victory in the first round of the 4A South Carolina playoffs at the Cougar Den.
“I didn’t wanna mess it up, especially when the defense was playing that well,” Brand said with a laugh after the game. “The defense was playing so well. We wanted to bend but not break and do just enough to get out of here. Anytime you’re on the road — we put ourselves down 14 coming off the bus. We were able to come out with a win. (York) Coach (Dean) Boyd and that team right there, they’re tough, man. They won seven games in a good league for a reason.”
Irmo (7-3, 4-1 Region 4-4A) needed just one play following a stalled York drive to make an impact. The Yellow Jackets sent A.J. Brand in motion from his own 10, and seconds after Brand took the handoff, he found a wide-open DeAree Rogers on a pass down the right side. Rogers did the rest, sprinting 90 yards to put Irmo ahead, 7-0, at the 6:51 mark. Brand also played a role in the second Yellow Jacket tally of the first quarter, grabbing a five-yard toss from Izayah Whiteside with 2:34 to play and giving his side a 14-0 advantage.
Irmo showed no signs of yielding as the second quarter began. The Jackets stung again on a quick drive to start the period, as Rogers made his second visit to pay dirt on a three-yard run from the wildcat formation to put themselves ahead by three scores with 8:33 remaining before the half.
“We were out of position and they hit us on a trick play. We got the ball back and got in good field position, but then turned it over on the first play and they scored off that,” Boyd said. “You can’t give good teams multiple opportunities and multiple chances to get ahead. We dug ourselves in a hole 21 points.”
York (7-3, 3-1 Region 3-4A) finally notched its first defensive stop of the night on a Jacket drive that commenced inside the visitors’ 20. The punt snap sailed over the Irmo punter and into the end zone, forcing a safety that allowed the Cougars to snip the margin to 21-2 at the 3:22 mark of the second quarter. Just two plays after the ensuing free kick, the Cougars again visited the pay window. Ayden Davis ran it in from a yard out, then added the two-point conversion to cut the Irmo lead to 21-10 with 2:57 to go.
“We jumped back right there at the end of the half and got 10 points back,” Boyd said. “Credit to them. They played extremely hard. They played well. We knew they were a good football team. Everybody in the playoffs is good. That’s why it’s called the playoffs.”
As electric as the first half was, the second half was equally a showcase on the opposite side of the ball. The third period turned into a defensive slog, with neither side able to gain traction. Both sides dug deep for several key stops and forced punts on each drive of the quarter. The fourth proved much the same, with Irmo controlling the ball for much of the quarter and sealing the contest on a late interception.
“Those defensive guys had a great game plan, first and foremost. I’m really proud of the effort they put in,” Brand said. “We got off the ball on the defensive line. I told (The State) that we had to win the game interior-wise, so that meant defensive and offensive lines. I thought the offensive line did a pretty good job of holding up just enough, but the defensive line and the front seven were awesome tonight. They got after the passer.
“We kept (Davis) off-balance. He’s super-fast. We felt like we needed to contain him before he jumped outside, and I thought those guys did a great job of staying outside and keeping contain on that quarterback. He’s gonna be a really good player.”
Irmo limited Davis on the ground, as he could not finish with positive rushing yardage despite 12 carries. The sophomore also threw for fewer than 100 yards, with the Jackets clamping down on each possession.
Larontae Scroggins tallied nearly 80 yards of rushing on 23 carries, helping the Yellow Jackets win the time of possession battle in the second half. Rogers broke the 160-yard receiving barrier on nine grabs, with Whiteside throwing for just over 130 yards on 14-of-21 passing.
Irmo advances to play at Westside in round two of the playoffs next Friday. York’s season concludes with Friday’s result.
This story was originally published November 5, 2021 at 11:16 PM.