Last week was an abbreviated week of football around Lexington County as the state deals with the fallout from Hurricane Helene. 

Nine Lexington County teams were in action across six games. It was the first region competition for the six local teams that make up the 5A Region 4 conference. 

Chapin hosted Dutch Fork, Lexington hosted Irmo and River Bluff hosted reigning region champion White Knoll. Dutch Fork and Irmo dominated, while River Bluff and White Knoll came down to the final play. 

The Silver Foxes won their game over the Eagles 63-10 behind running back Maurice Anderson’s five touchdowns. Quarterback Ethan Offing added more than 200 passing yards and a touchdown to help Dutch Fork remain undefeated. 

Irmo defeated Lexington 34-8 to remain undefeated at 6-0. It was the Yellow Jackets' first game in its new region after the latest realignment moved the team up from 4A. 

The Yellow Jackets have had one of the most explosive offenses this season led by quarterback A.J. Brand. Against Lexington, Brand had 270 total yards of offense. Receiver Donovan Murph caught eight passes for 75 yards. 

Irmo’s defense came up big for the Yellow Jackets, recording three interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown by Matthew Blocker. 

White Knoll came back from 14 down in the final six minutes to force overtime in its game against River Bluff. However, a Landon Sharpe interception on the team’s first possession set the Gators up for the walk-off win. 

Kicker Tripp Bryant walked onto the field and drilled a 27-yard kick on the Gators' first play of their possession, sealing the victory. River Bluff, which went winless in region action last season, knocked off last year’s undefeated region champions to improve to 6-0. 

Irmo, River Bluff and Dutch Fork all enter this week unbeaten, but at least one of those teams will take its first loss this week as River Bluff is set to travel to Irmo. 

Elsewhere around the county, Swansea continues its exceptional turnaround, picking up another win. This time, the team beat Keenan 44-38 to start region play 1-0. It was also the first time in five seasons the Tigers earned a region victory. 

Running back Dante Caldwell finished the game with over 150 yards rushing and two touchdowns, including the game-winning 64-yarder with under a minute to go. Quarterback Jacob Harper added 130 passing yards and two touchdowns. Defensively, Ahmad Johnson had two interceptions, and he returned a kickoff for a touchdown.

Northside Christian improved to 5-1 with a 14-12 win over Providence Athletic Club. BJ Suits and Sam Burks each had a touchdown to lead the Crusaders to victory. 

Pelion was the only other Lexington County team in action last week. The Panthers fell to 1-5 with a loss to Ninety Six in the region opener. It is Pelion’s worst start to a season since 2019 when the team finished 1-9 overall. 

Big Performances

Maurice Anderson had five touchdowns for Dutch Fork in the team’s blowout win over Chapin. 

Hayden Myers ran for 185 yards and a touchdown as River Bluff upset reigning region champion White Knoll. 

Ahmad Johnson had two interceptions and a kick return touchdown for Swansea in its win over Keenan.

Donovan Murph caught eight passes for 75 yards in Iro’s region-opening win against Lexington. 

Week 6 Area Scoreboard 

Dutch Fork: 63, Chapin: 10

Irmo: 34, Lexington: 8

River Bluff: 24, White Knoll: 21

Swansea:  44,  Keenan: 38

Ninety Six: 42, Pelion: 8

Northside Christian: 14, Providence Athletic Club: 12

Week 7 Games to Watch

Dutch Fork vs. White Knoll

Irmo vs. River Bluff

Gilbert vs. Midland Valley

Chapin vs. Lexington