Dutch Fork, Irmo set for huge game

South Carolina powers will meet for the Region 4-AAAAA championship on Friday

Irmo will meet Dutch Fork for the Region 4-AAAAA championship game in a heavyweight South Carolina high school football showdown. / JOSH MORGAN/Staff / USA TODAY NETWORK

There’s going to be a heavyweight title fight on the gridiron Friday night.

Two undefeated powerhouses – Dutch Fork and Irmo – will play for the Region 4-AAAAA championship at Dutch Fork.

They are geographic rivals – Dutch Fork also has an Irmo address – but this will be their first meeting in football since 2019. The schools became region rivals when Irmo was moved up from Class AAAA for the 2023-24 year following the latest South Carolina High School League realignment.

Both teams are having dominant seasons.

Dutch Fork has won the last two Class AAAAA state champions and is 8-0 on the season, with all the wins lopsided. The Silver Foxes’ closest game was a 24-7 decision in the opener. That was Spartanburg’s only loss. Dutch Fork has outscored its opponents by a combined 332-31.

Irmo is 9-0. The Yellow Jackets have had a pair of close games, a 35-27 win over James F. Byrnes in the second week of the season and a 35-34 overtime triumph over Butler (N.C.) in the third week. Irmo has outscored its opponents by a combined 367-151.

As would be expected, both teams are loaded with stars.

Dutch Fork quarterback Ethan Offing, a Clemson baseball commit, has thrown for 2,002 yards and 17 touchdowns with 3 interceptions. Running back Maurice Anderson has 513 yards and 15 touchdowns. Boykin Bickley is a wide receiver with big play ability. Bickley, who just made an official visit to South Carolina, has 41 catches for 742 yards and 5 touchdowns. K.J. Smith has 31 catches for 413 yards and 7 touchdowns.

Elgin Sessions, a standout cornerback, helps anchor a defense that has recorded five shutouts. The West Virginia commit has two interceptions and eight pass breakups.

Irmo is led by prolific dual threat A.J. Brand, who has committed to Virginia Tech as an athlete. Brand just went over 10,000 yards total offense for his career. Donovan Murph is a four-star wide receiver who is the subject of an intense recruiting battle. Murph recently trimmed his college list to 12.

Both teams are coming off spectacular performances.

Dutch Fork pounded River Bluff 41-14 as Offing threw for a career-high 417 yards and 4 touchdowns. Bickley caught 7 passes for 187 yards and a touchdown. Anderson caught 6 passes for 108 yards and a touchdown while running for 66 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Smith also hauled in two touchdown passes.

Brand led the Yellow Jackets to a 55-21 rout of Chapin, doing equal damage on the ground and through the air. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound senior was 18-of-26 for 196 yards and 5 touchdowns. He ran 11 times for 263 yards and 2 touchdowns. In addition, Brand had a touchdown catch.

Murph caught 11 passes for 115 yards and 2 touchdowns. Anton Jones had 170 yards rushing.

The teams would not meet in the state playoffs. In the latest realignment, the SCHSL decided to subdivide Class AAAAA into two divisions based on enrollment. Dutch Fork is in Division I while Irmo is in Division 2.