The Irmo Yellow Jackets scored 49 unanswered points to defeat the A.C. Flora Falcons 49-3 Friday, October 13.

The Falcons struck first, beginning their first possession at their own 30. It took eight plays for A.C. Flora to travel 60 yards. The highlights on the drive were a 29-yard pass from Roper Wentzky to Kendall Byrd and a 21-yard pass from Wentzky to Trenle Wright. The drive ended with a 23-yard field goal from Carter Toole to give the Falcons a 3-0 lead with 7:56 left in the first quarter.

The Yellow Jackets by overcoming three penalties to drive 69 yards in eight plays. The drive started with a 17-yard pass from A.J. Brand to Telvin Smith. Jaden Allen-Hendrix carried the ball three times for 18 yards. Brand capped the drive off with a 21-yard touchdown run. Jose Villaneuva tacked on the extra point and Irmo led 7-3 with 4:40 left in the quarter.

“We saw that they were running the clock down to one second before they were snapping it, so as an offense we had to be patient,” Irmo head coach Aaron Brand said. “It was a big three that the defense held them to. After that it was pretty much a shutout. Once again, our defense just performed. They did their thing all night long and we were able to scratch some things out on offense. I’m really proud of the team tonight. They did a great job.”

The Yellow Jackets’ defense tightened on the second A.C. Flora possession, which began at the Falcons’ 20. On the third play, Jylil Favor intercepted a pass and returned it 28 yards for a touchdown. Villaneuva added the extra point and Irmo led 14-3 with 2:53 left in the quarter.

“My outside linebacker (Marquel Lewis) was calling the play out the whole time,” Favor said. “We ran it. He hit the slot. I jumped the route and picked it.”

“Jylil Favor is our leader on defense. He and Marquel (Lewis) get us going,” Brand said. “These guys refuse to lose. I hope we can keep it going through these remaining regular season games, and then we’ll see where we land in the playoffs.”

The Yellow Jackets’ next offensive possession began at their 37-yard line. It took them nine plays to score. Brand again connected with Smith to start the drive, this time for ten yards. Later he found Allen- Hendrix for 13 yards. Then Irmo went to the ground as Anton Jones Jr. rushed twice for 18 yards to move the ball into the A.C. Flora red zone. Allen-Hendrix capped the drive off with a 3-yard touchdown run. Villaneuva added another extra point as Irmo led 21-3 with 8:48 left in the second quarter.

Irmo’s defense forced a turnover on downs, handing the ball to its offense as the Yellow Jackets took three plays to travel 56 yards. The drive started with a 22-yard pitch-and-catch between Brand and Don Murphy. Allen-Hendrix then rumbled 33 yards to the one. Brand ended the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run and Villanueva tacked on the extra point to give the Yellow Jackets a 28-3 halftime lead.

Irmo added to its lead with its second possession of the third quarter, using five plays to move 89 yards. Allen-Hendrix kicked things off with a 52-yard run, moving the ball into A.C. Flora territory. Then Brand found Murph for 16 more yards. The two connected later in the drive for an 11-yard touchdown and Villaneuva kicked another extra point to increase the Irmo lead to 35-3.

The Yellow Jackets needed six plays to go 40 yards on their next possession. A 14-yard pass to Smith moved it to the Falcons’ 26. A penalty moved it half the distance. Then Allen-Hendrix ran the ball three times for 13 yards, including a 1-yard touchdown run. Villaneuva connected on his sixth extra point of the game as the lead grew to 42-3 with 11:56 to go in the fourth quarter.

Irmo added a 9-yard touchdown pass from Brand to Caleb Alexander to set the final score at 49-3.

Brand completed 12-of-20 passes for 170 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 131 yards and two scores on eight carries. Allen-Hendrix rushed for 160 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries. He also had one catch for 12 yards. Murph had four catches for 64 yards and one touchdown. Alexander had one catch for nine yards and one touchdown.

Wentzky completed 9-of-21 passes for 140 yards. Heath Moser caught two passes for 54 yards. Aiden Mosley rushed for 88 yards on 18 carries.

A.C. Flora falls to 3-5 overall and 1-2 in the region. The Falcons host the Lugoff-Elgin Demons on October 20.

Irmo improves to 8-0 overall and 3-0 in Region 5-4A. The Yellow Jackets will face the Westwood Redhawks Friday, October 20.

“It means we have more work to do,” Brand said. “We aren’t resting on our laurels. We aren’t harping on what we’ve done tonight. We have a 12-hour rule. We have to get back in here tomorrow and try to get better.”

October 19, 2023 | Columbia Star, The (SC)
Author/Byline: Josh Cruse; joshc@thecolumbiastar.com | Section: Article