Dajon Drinkard (84) bolts through the open field. | Ross Burton
BLYTHEWOOD – The Blythewood Bengals nudged out the Irmo Yellowjackets in close contest on Friday night, pushing Blythewood’s win streak to four. The Bengals led by 14 after the first half, but Irmo countered back with two of their own scores in the second half. Jaylon Boyd scored the go-ahead touchdown with four minutes left in the game and secured the 21-14 victory.
Blythewood took the opening kick-off of the game and orchestrated a nine-play, 80-yard drive that chewed up the first three minutes of the game. A 14-yard Brandon Edwards touchdown run gave the Bengals an early 7-0 advantage.
Irmo’s offense sputtered out in their first drive, but they marched deep into Bengals’ territory on their second possession. The Yellowjackets worked their way inside the Blythewood 25-yard line, but the Bengals defense forced Irmo into a turnover on downs.
A short Irmo punt early in the second quarter opened the door for the Bengals to add another touchdown to the lead. Blythewood began their first possesion of the second quarter on their own 38-yard line, but a 21-yard Brandon Edwards rush busted the drive open. Jaylon Boyd tacked on a 17-yard run later in the drive, and, a few plays, later King Ford completed a 16-yard touchdown pass to Jacob Owens.
The Bengals nearly added to their 14-point lead late in the second quarter. Blythewood was at the Irmo 30-yard line when the Bengals coughed up the ball. Irmo’s Eric Vincent hopped on the loose ball and prevented the potential for Irmo to go down 0-21 before halftime.
Mile’s Heitman sent a booming kickoff downfield to begin the second half, and Irmo took over inside their own-20 yard line. They powered their way to the 39-yard line before they were faced with a long fourth-and-23. Blythewood committed a roughing the kicker penalty on the Yellowjackets and gave up an automatic first down.
The penalty breathed a new life into Irmo’s drive. Three plays after the foul, Kendrell Flowers broke off a 39-yard touchdown run. The 11-play drive ate up 81 yards and more than five minutes of the third quarter.
Defense ruled the rest of the third, but Irmo got the ball back at the beginning of the fourth quarter and struck in less than two minutes. Yellowjacket quarterback John Ragin had a 46-yard pass to Omarion Dollison that brought them back within one. Angel Camarena tacked on the game tying extra point.
Blythewood did not allow the tie to stand for long. They started their next possession on their own 20-yard line, and Ford opened the drive with a short pass to Edwards. Ford found Edwards again for a first down, then Ford unleashed a 17-yard pass to Owens. He followed that with a 16-yard pass to David Patten.
After the Bengals were in Irmo territory, Edwards ripped off a 19-yard run. Three plays after the long Edwards run, Boyd stomped into the end-zone for a three-yard touchdown. The successful Miles Heitman extra point pushed the lead to 21-14.
Nic Rodgers sacked John Ragin on a fourth-and-one attempt to squash Irmo’s potential comeback drive. The win improved Blythewood to 5-1 on the year and 1-0 in region play. Blythewood is on the road Friday at Sumter.
Scoring
BHS– 7-7-0-7-21
IHS– 0-0-7-7-14
First Quarter
BHS – Brandon Edwards 16 run. (Miles Heitman kick).8:42.
Second Quarter
BHS – Jacob Owens 16 pass from King Edwards. (M.Heitman kick).8:32.
Third Quarter
IHS– Kendrell Flowers 39 run (Angel Camarena kick).6:27.
Fourth Quarter
IHS – Omarion Dollison 39 pass from John Ragin Jr. (A.Camarena kick).9:47.
BHS – Jaylon Boyd 3 run. (M.Heitman kick).4:06.
TEAM STATS BHS Irmo
First Downs 17 20
Rushes/Yards 40-201 44-184
Passing Yards 111 133
C-A-I-TD 12-19-0-1 8-17–0-1
Fumbles/ Lost 1/1 2/1
Penalties/Yards 10-100 4-45
INDIVIDUAL STATS
Rushing: IHS- Kendrell Flowers 14-117, Omarion Dollison 9-35, John Ragin Jr 16-21, Jansen McGahee 4-18. BHS- Jaylon Boyd 24-122, Brandon Edwards 6-61, King Ford 8-10, Jacob Owens 2-(-1).
Receiving: IHS- Jaden Shepard 6-79, Omarion Dollison 2-54. .BHS- Brandon Edwards 4-35, Jacob Owens 2-33, Kevon Catoe 2-17, David Patten 1-16, Joshua Burrell 1-11, Jaylon Boyd 1-4, Noble Cooper 1-(-5).
Passing: IHS- John Ragin Jr. 8-16, 133 yards, one touchdown. BHS – King Ford 12-19, 111 yards one touchdown.
