The Irmo Yellow Jackets are off to their best start since the 2005 season after defeating the Ridge View Blazers 38-6 on the road Oct. 6. 

Irmo star quarterback A.J. Brand continued to shine bright, completing 11 of 19 passes for 131 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also made an impact on the ground rushing for 49 yards and a touchdown.

“He's the best player in the region. There's no doubt about it,” A.J.’s father and Irmo Head coach Aaron Brand said. “He's proved it night in and night out. I’m a little bit father-struck because my time's winding down with him. I know he's a junior, but this season has flown by, and I'm sure next year will also, so I'm cherishing every moment with the kid.” 

Various skill players also made big contributions. Running back Jaden Allen-Hendrix took 20 carries for 96 yards and had a 30-yard reception. Receiver Donovan Murph pulled in 6 passes for 65 yards and 2 touchdowns, and Caleb Alexander caught a 12-yard touchdown pass.

The Irmo defense almost forced a shutout, but it was spoiled by a late touchdown from Ridge View’s Siah Mack. Aside from the lone score, Irmo’s defense dominated the Blazers and forced 3 turnovers.

“I've definitely preached to them, ‘If we want to be a state team, it starts with y'all,’” A.J. said. “So every time they get off the field, I'm like ‘Thank you for the stop. Just go get another one. We're going to keep scoring.’”

A.J. rushed in the first touchdown for the Yellow Jackets, keeping it on a 4th and 1 from the goal line near the end of the first quarter. 

Irmo pulled away in the second quarter by scoring 24 points with contributions from the offense, defense and special teams units. 

A.J. threw two touchdown passes in the quarter. The first was the pass to Alexander, and the second hit Murph for a 23-yard touchdown.

“I'm definitely feeling a lot more comfortable,” A.J. said. “Me and my teammates playing together, you know, everybody knows where they want to be on this team.”

Marquel Lewis scored a defensive touchdown off a pick-six and Jose Villanueva nailed a 32-yard field goal to cap a dominant half for the Yellow Jackets. 

“We get out so fast every game, so we definitely needed to do that,” A.J. said. “It definitely just helps our defense out a lot more too, relieves some stress off them.”

The Irmo offense took its foot off the gas in the second half, opting to run more. Still, the team managed to find the endzone one more time. 

The final Irmo touchdown was sparked by a red zone interception by Telvin Smith. Smith first picked the ball off by jumping after a tipped pass, but after some debate from the officials, it was ruled the ball hit the ground. On the next play, Smith snatched the ball out of the air, leaving no doubt about this one.

“One of our best receivers, he was in on defense, and he just kind of mirrored the ball, followed the quarterback a little bit, and then kind of went and got it,” Coach Brand said. “He just used his athleticism, and he went and made a play.”

Irmo then marched the ball down the field, ending the drive after A.J. and Murph connected on their second touchdown of the game.

Ridge View narrowly avoided a shutout. In the final 30 seconds, the Blazers went downfield and scored a 2-yard rushing touchdown from Mack.

The win improves Irmo to (7-0) on the season and (2-0) in its region. The Yellowjackets will return home next week for a game against the A.C. Flora Falcons. The Falcons lost their game Friday night against Richland Northeast in a 73-58 shootout.

“We worry a little bit more about A. C. Flora interior-wise,” Coach Brand said. “We're going to try to get after the young quarterback, make him throw the ball quick and short.”