For the first time since 2006, the Irmo football team is going to the state championship. 

The Yellow Jackets earned a spot in the 5A Division II title game after beating region rival White Knoll 29-25 in the Lower State Championship. 

“God almighty White Knoll’s tough as all get out. They're so well-coached. They're so disciplined. But we just have made a couple more plays than they did tonight,” Irmo head coach Aaron Brand said. 

It was a back-and-forth first half with each team scoring multiple touchdowns. 

Quarterback A.J. Brand scored the game’s first points on a six-yard rushing touchdown at the end of the first quarter. Brand, the recently named Gatorade Player of the Year, finished with four touchdowns and over 300 yards of offense. 

It took White Knoll almost no time to respond with its first touchdown, scoring on the first play of the following drive. Tiyon Fanning found a lane and took off for a 66-yard rushing touchdown. 

Irmo’s next drive stalled, but the team ran a fake punt and converted. However, there was a holding flag that wiped away the big gain and forced the team to give the ball back to White Knoll. 

The Timberwolves took its only lead of the game on the next drive when quarterback Landon Sharpe ran into the endzone for a two-yard touchdown. Sharpe and Fanning combined for over 200 yards rushing and four touchdowns. 

White Knoll’s point after try was no good, so the lead was just six. Irmo took advantage of the point left off the board and retook the lead on its next possession after a 31-yard rush from Brand on fourth down and one. 

“He's the absolute best player in the state, the best football player in the state of South Carolina,” coach Brand said. 

Irmo led 14-13 and added three more points before the halftime break. 

After a catastrophic fumble on a White Knoll punt attempt, Irmo got the ball back inside the Timberwolves’ 15-yard line. However, the drive failed to go anywhere and the team settled for a 27-yard field goal. 

The second half also remained close, but White Knoll failed to catch Irmo and trailed by at least four points the entire half. 

The Yellow Jackets expanded their lead on an exciting 30-yard touchdown catch to Donovan Murph from Brand. Murph finished the game leading the team in receptions with three catches for about 50 yards. 

“Good gracious, we got one, and a lot of people don't,” coach Brand said. “We have A.J. Brand and we have Donovan Murph and we have Jaiden Bryant, and a lot of people just don't. Those guys made plays all night.” 

White Knoll and Irmo traded punts before the Timberwolves found the endzone again. Sharpe’s eight-yard touchdown run cut the lead back to four points with 45 seconds left in the third quarter. 

Each team scored one final time in the fourth quarter. 

Brand used his legs to move the ball downfield and capped Irmo’s first drive of the quarter with an eight-yard rushing touchdown to go up 10. The team then attempted a two-point try but failed to convert. 

White Knoll scored the last points of the game with over seven minutes left on the clock. Sharpe broke free for a 40-yard run to the endzone for his third touchdown of the game and cut the lead back to four. 

While there were no more points scored in the game, there were still plenty of exciting plays. White Knoll got the ball back and had a chance to win with over four minutes left in the game.

A great Irmo punt placed the ball at the Yellow Jacket two-yard line, meaning White Knoll needed a 98-yard scoring drive. 

The Timberwolves' first play blew up and nearly resulted in a safety, but Sharpe was able to escape the endzone and go down at the one. 

Facing a third and 11 from the one, the Timberwolves converted a 26-yard passing play between Sharpe and receiver Caleb Geronomi. Geronomi took a huge shot on the play and had to be helped off the field. 

White Knoll had the ball at their own 41-yard line but failed to get any further after straight incompletions from Sharpe. On fourth and 10, Sharpe’s final pass was deflected and fell to the ground, resulting in a turnover on downs and clinching Irmo’s win. 

“These guys just did not want to lose, and we carry this home winning streak on into next year,’ coach Brand said. “We thought we had a good game plan, but our guys just went out and made plays, especially when it was crunch time.” 

Irmo is now one game away from winning its second-ever state championship. The last came in 1980 over Summerville. 

The Yellow Jackets (13-1) will travel to Orangeburg for the 5A Division II championship game. The team will play Rock Hill’s Northwestern (13-0) on Dec. 14 at 6 p.m. 

“We told the principal that hired us, we told him ‘we're going to get to the state championship,’” coach Brand said. “We're just happy our people came out and celebrated us. And we're just happy that we get to go on and play again next week.”