By Thomas Grant Jr.
It was exactly a year ago White Knoll was preparing for its first state championship game against fellow Region 4-5A foe Dutch Fork.
The Timberwolves find themselves this week in a somewhat similar situation. This time, it’s a round earlier and against another Irmo-based team from the same region.
For the second time in a month, White Knoll (8-5) faces Irmo (11-1). The Class 5A Division II Lower State final will be at a different locale, W.C. Hawkins Stadium, than the last meeting won by the Yellow Jackets 35-21 on Oct. 18.
The game was tied 14-14 at halftime and 21-21 early in the fourth quarter. Shrine Bowl quarterback A.J. Brand then found Maleek Miller for a 53-yard touchdown pass and added a scoring run with four minutes left to clinch the victory.
Unlike the fist meeting, Irmo is facing a rejuvenated White Knoll team. Since that loss, the Timberwolves have won five of its last six games.
Head coach Nick Pelham credits the turnaround to two factors. There’s the play of senior quarterback Landon Sharpe, who had 200 total yards and two touchdowns in the 23-3 win over Berkeley last Friday, and improved play on defense.
“Landon Sharpe has been playing well for us lately,” he said. “He is leading our running game and picking up tough yards for us. He is throwing the ball well when it’s open and scrambling and making plays when it’s not.
“Our defense is finally playing close to my expectations. We finally have put the right players in the right spots and figured out what they do best…and the results have been a major improvement. We have been tackling much better and rushing the quarterback more efficiently.”
The growth of young players like sophomores tight end Kirkland Day, free safety Jeremy Cokley and linebacker Elijah Snuffer and first-year starting linebacker Josue Esiki have the Timberwolves also resembling the team that went to the state title game.
“It’s wild to watch film from earlier games and see how drastic the improvement in stances and the understanding our defensive system that those two have displayed,” he said.
Pelham hopes to fare better in an in-season rematch than last year when White Knoll lost 21-6 to Dutch Fork. He likes playing a team a second time, especially one with the offensive coaching caliber of Yellow Jackets’ head coach Aaron Brand.
“I have learned a lot from that first meeting with Irmo about why they attacked us the way that they did,” he said. “But the major problem with slowing down Irmo’s offense is that they are so balanced. There isn’t anything that they don’t do well so we have to be sound against the run, the pass, and the screen game.
“And finally, even if a play is defended well, you have to still tackle AJ Brand. It’s nearly impossible to tackle him consistently with the first few players near him.”
The winner faces Gaffney or Northwestern in the state final at 6 p.m. Dec. 14 at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium at Willie Jeffries Field. This matchup also guarantees a Region 4-5A team will compete for a state title for the ninth consecutive year.
Dutch Fork, which has made the state finals every year since the inception of Class 5A, looks to make it two teams for the second straight year when it plays host to Spartanburg in the Division I final.
Region 4-5A has posted a 12-3 record in the post-season.
River Bluff season ends
The 2024 season for River Bluff will be remembered for posting the school’s first 10-win season.
It also saw the Gators advance to the third round of the Class 5A Division I playoffs. For the second time this season, however, they were defeated by defending champion Dutch Fork 52-14.
Brayden Moore was 7-14 passing for 109 yards and a 68-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Griffin. Parker Murray also threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to fellow senior Stephen Collier.
Hayden Myers rushed for 91 yards to finish with 1,451 yards and 13 touchdowns.
River Bluff finished with a 10-3 record, with two losses to Dutch Fork and one to Irmo.
“I’m really just proud of my coaches and our kids,” River Bluff head coach C. Blair Hardin said. “We work with great coaches and awesome people. We’ve got 30 seniors, which is the biggest group we’ve ever had and two of them used to be ballboys. Now, they’re graduating.
“The biggest thing I told them I said when you leave our people, we want you to be better people and just have fun. And I feel that they did that and they left a mark that we will continue for a very long time. So, I’m just really proud of these awesome kids that I coach every day.”
Photo courtesy of Charlie Bryant – White Knoll quarterback Landon Sharpe with the run against Berkeley.
