Friday Rewind: How Brookland-Cayce spoiled Gilbert’s perfect record and won region title
Jared Holmes picked a perfect moment to get his first interception.
The Brookland-Cayce High School defensive lineman doesn’t get many chances to pick off passes but capitalized Friday when he tipped and caught quarterback Drake Braddock’s pass just as Gilbert was moving down the field early in the third quarter.
The Bearcats (8-2) seized the momentum from that interception and went on for a 28-21 win over Gilbert (9-1) to win the Region 5-3A championship. It’s B-C’s fourth region title under coach Rusty Charpia.
“That interception by Holmes on the screen was probably the difference in the game,” Charpia said. “It was tied, and it looked like they were going to have the momentum to start the third quarter. But he tips it up there and makes a very athletic catch. I think that gave us the momentum to pull the game out.”
Gilbert had things going its way before the interception. The Indians scored on their final two possessions of the second quarter to tie the game 14-14 at halftime.
They took the opening possession of the second half and drove deep into Bearcat territory before Holmes’ interception.
“We went over that play in practice and they yelled, ‘Screen! Screen! Screen!’ before they ran it,” Holmes said. “And I backed up, saw the ball, pulled my hand out and I got it. It changed the game.”
Brookland-Cayce quickly capitalized on the interception. DeShaun Washington scored on a short run to make it 21-14 with 4:44 in the third. Washington scored his second TD of the half to put B-C up 28-14 with 8:12 to go.
Gilbert answered as Braddock passed to Conner Gooding for a 20-yard TD on fourth-and-15 to cut the lead to 28-21 with 4:50 left.
With Gilbert having no luck stopping B-C’s running game that featured QB Will Young and Washington, the Indians tried an onside kick. The Bearcats recovered and ran out the clock.
“We struggled stopping them and we didn’t make enough plays on offense to win the game,” Gilbert coach Chad Leaphart said. “They are massive on the offensive line. … and just mashed us. They just mashed us into the ground and did what they wanted to.”
The win capped an emotional few weeks at Brookland-Cayce. Seventeen-year-old B-C student Rysaun D’Marian Foster was killed in a car accident earlier this month. Bearcats football player Tyrone Jackson was in the car with Foster and suffered injuries and didn’t play Friday night.
Charpia said that has weighed heavily on the students.
“We had some tragedy and it has been tough,” Charpia said. “When teenagers lose a friend, it is tough. But we have been very resilient. This team Gilbert has been a nemesis for us. We never were able to beat them over there, but they have never been able to beat us over here.”
The home team has won the last 10 games in the series.
Young had a pair of first-half touchdowns for the Bearcats and led the team with 150 yards rushing. Washington had 124.
Running backs Jaylen Jay and Trevon Willliamson had TD runs for the Indians. Williamson finished with 100 yards rushing.
Irmo’s perfection
The Irmo football team capped off its first unbeaten season since 2002 with a 49-0 win over Lugoff-Elgin.
The Yellow Jackets finish the regular season at 10-0 and will host an at-large team in the first round of the playoffs. Irmo and White Knoll are the only area teams to finish the regular season at 10-0.
Quarterback AJ Brand threw four touchdowns and ran for another. Brand was 18-of-23 passing for 279 yards, ran for 61. Brand has 45 total touchdowns on the season and no turnovers.
Telvin Smith caught seven passes for 121 yards and a TD. Donovan Murph caught five passes for 101 yards and a TD. Jaden Allen-Hendrix rushed for 145 yards and two touchdowns.
Chapin wins thriller
Chapin earned the final automatic playoff spot from Region 4-5A with a 41-38 win over River Bluff. Chase Cline hit the go-ahead 49-yard field goal with 13 seconds left.
Brady Albro had three touchdown passes for Chapin, and the last one to Kalen Bostick put the Eagles up 38-31. But River Bluff’s Aaron Griffin returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown to tie the game 38-38 with 2:07 left. Griffin also caught seven passes for 114 yards and two touchdowns.
There were four lead changes in the fourth quarter.
Albro finished 24-of-39 passing for 299 yards. Bostick caught seven passes for 123 yards. Weldon Gunter had four catches for 118 yards and two touchdowns. Anthony Turnbow rushed for 108 yards, including a 55-yard TD.
River Bluff quarterback Parker Murray was 16-of-30 passing for 229 yards. Toriaun Leaphart led RB with 151 yards rushing.
The Gators will likely be one of the at-large playoff teams in the lower state bracket.
Around the Midlands
Dutch Fork 38, Lexington 14: Maurice Anderson ran for two touchdowns as the Silver Foxes wrapped up the No. 2 spot in Region 4-5A.
Josh Smith blocked a field goal and Rob Holliday returned it 70 yards for a touchdown on the final play of the second quarter to put the Silver Foxes up 24-14 at halftime. Trent Lodge rushed for 100 yards for Dutch Fork.
Matthew McAuley had a TD run and William Cleary an interception return for Lexington, which finished third in the region.
Dreher 21, Lower Richland 20: Willie Smith scored the go-ahead touchdown with 7:25 left and the Blue Devils held on to wrap up the No. 3 seed from Region 5-3A. It is Dreher’s first playoff appearance since 2018. Lower Richland got within 21-20 on Marcus Smith’s run with 6:55 left but missed the extra point.
Ridge View 28, AC Flora 7: Aidan Keefe had two touchdown runs as the Blazers wrapped up the No. 2 seed from Region 5-4A. The Falcons finished fourth in the region.
Batesburg-Leesville 20, Saluda 17 (OT): Tanner Watkins hit Cole Price on a 10-yard TD pass on the Panthers’ first play of overtime for the come-from-behind win. B-L earns the No. 3 seed from the region and Saluda the fourth.
Batesburg-Leesville trailed 14-0 with 10:06 left in the game. Watkins finished with 202 yards passing and three TDs, all to Price, who finished with nine catches for 110 yards.
Richland Northeast 48, Westwood 21: OD Grier and Will Wilson each had two touchdowns as the Cavs wrapped up the third spot from Region 5-4A. The Cavs finished with six wins, the program’s most since winning seven in 2015.
Camden 62, Marlboro County 7: The Bulldogs led 50-0 at halftime on its way to a win at Marlboro. Quarterback Grayson White threw three touchdowns, ran for two and Averee Hickman ran for three scores. Tylin Drakeford returned an interception for a touchdown.
Blythewood 35, Spring Valley 6: Quinton Solomon had two touchdown runs as the Bengals earned the No. 4 spot from Region 3-5A. Bryant Owens also returned an interception for a TD for the Bengals.
Hammond 41, Heathwood Hall 7: Manny Johnson and Kinson Holland each had two touchdowns. The Skyhawks will enter the SCISA 4A playoffs as the No. 1 seed.
Cardinal Newman 48, Augusta Christian 14: Quarterback Duncan Skehan threw two touchdowns and ran for one as the Cards won their eighth game of the season, the most in a year since the 1990s. Jar’kese Grant had two rushing TDs for the Cards.
Fairfield Central 35, Newberry 7: The Griffins wrapped up the No. 2 seed from Region 4-2A with a win over the Bulldogs. QB Cam McMillon threw three TD passes for Fairfield Central.
Ben Lippen 49, Camden Military 22: Jayvon Gilmore threw four touchdown passes, and Blake Bost had three touchdown catches in the Falcons’ win.
CA Johnson 38, Whitmire 6: The Hornets secured the No. 3 seed from Region 3-A with a win over Whitmire. Caleb Pearson ran for three touchdowns and Anthony Brooks had two.
Richard Winn 36, Laurens Academy 8: Charlie Bonds threw four touchdowns to Drew Spires in the Eagles’ victory. Bonds was 9-of-13 passing for 229 yards. Spires had six catches for 201 yards and four TDs. Freshman Hoffman Sharpe ran for 94 yards and two touchdowns.
North Central, 36, Central 32: The Knights jumped out to a big lead and held on to secure the third spot in the region.
Mid-Carolina 38, Eau Claire 6: The Rebels clinched a playoff spot with a win over the Shamrocks.
Northside Christian 55, Spartanburg Christian 27: John Lizewski caught three touchdown passes in the Crusaders’ victory. Sam Burks and JR Kinard also had two TDs for Northside.
