North Augusta wrecks Irmo as its defense and special teams flip a 16-14 halftime deficit into a 25-16 homecoming win.
IRMO, S.C. — From the sideline, this one felt different before the ball was even kicked.
Homecoming at W.C. Hawkins Stadium. Packed stands. The band going. Students dressed for the night. Two ranked Class 4A teams opening Region 5-4A play.
And, just to make it better, both teams were called the Yellow Jackets.
For a half, Irmo looked like it might own the night.
Then North Augusta took it from them.
Here is how North Augusta wrecks Irmo: the visitors erased a 16-14 halftime deficit without scoring a single offensive point in the second half, using a blocked punt, two safeties and a pick-six to walk out with a 25-16 win.
Overall, that second half was ugly if you were wearing Irmo colors.
North Augusta (6-1) didn’t need a long touchdown drive. It didn’t need its offense to take over. Its defense and special teams did all the damage.
How North Augusta wrecks Irmo’s first-half shootout
But early on, this looked like it might turn into a shootout.
North Augusta struck first after Irmo muffed a punt and gave the visitors the ball at the 18. Jayden Hatcher eventually punched it in from a yard out.
7-0.
However, Irmo answered immediately.
First, a long kickoff return flipped the field, and quarterback Britton Davis finished the drive himself, keeping it from two yards out and getting into the end zone.
7-7.
Now Hawkins Stadium was alive.
Irmo takes the lead in the second quarter
In the second quarter, Antwoine Pierce picked off a North Augusta pass, and Irmo started rolling. Alabama commit Tai Phillips got involved on the ground, and then Davis dropped one to Eady for a 37-yard touchdown.
North Augusta blocked the extra point.
Even so, Irmo still had the lead, 13-7.
And for a few minutes, it felt like the home team had control.
Still, North Augusta never played like it was rattled.
Quarterback Collin Tillman connected with Kydre Wright for a 9-yard touchdown, and Jacob Degennaro knocked through the extra point to put North Augusta back in front, 14-13, with 1:33 remaining before halftime.
Even so, Irmo wasn’t finished.
Isaiah Motton drilled a 33-yard field goal just before the break.
Irmo 16. North Augusta 14.
Homecoming crowd feeling good.
The second half: North Augusta wrecks Irmo’s night
Then came the second half.
And everything changed.
North Augusta got through Irmo’s protection and blocked a punt out of the back of the end zone.
Safety.
16-16.
You could feel the game shifting from the sideline.
Meanwhile, the Irmo offense that had moved the ball in the first half couldn’t find the same rhythm. North Augusta’s defense was flying around, the pressure kept building, and suddenly every possession felt heavier than the one before it.
Darden’s pick-six breaks it open
After that came the play that broke it open.
Deante Darden read Davis, jumped the throw and was gone.
In all, thirty-seven yards.
Pick-six.
No offensive snap needed.
Afterward, Degennaro added the extra point, and North Augusta had turned a two-point halftime deficit into a 23-16 lead with 3:41 left in the third.
Next, Irmo tried to answer but turned the ball over on downs.
As a result, the frustration kept building.
Later, with Davis trying to make something happen deep in his own territory, he was called for intentional grounding in the end zone.
Because of that, another safety.
25-16.
That was it.
There was no fourth-quarter comeback, no homecoming finish and no late celebration for the home crowd.
North Augusta had walked into Hawkins Stadium, spotted Irmo a halftime lead and then shut the Yellow Jackets out over the final two quarters.
Meanwhile, Irmo had its moments. Phillips showed flashes. Davis made plays with his legs and through the air. Miami commit Jaiden Bryant got his homecoming moment when he was crowned Homecoming King.
But football doesn’t care about the script.
And that is how North Augusta wrecks Irmo, ripping up the script.
In total, the visitors scored all 11 of their second-half points with defense and special teams. Irmo scored zero.
Two Yellow Jackets walked into Hawkins Stadium Friday night.
Only one walked out celebrating.
By The Numbers
- 25-16 — North Augusta over Irmo
- 11 — North Augusta second-half points, all produced by defense and special teams
- 0 — Irmo points after halftime
- 37 — Yards on Deante Darden’s pick-six
- 2 — North Augusta safeties
- 16 — Irmo penalties, according to The State
- 6-1 — North Augusta’s record after the win
North Augusta wrecks Irmo and improves to 6-1. Next up, the Yellow Jackets face South Aiken on Friday, Oct. 16.
More from the sidelines: OK3Sports football coverage and Benedict’s 31-3 win over Clark Atlanta.