What We Saw: South Florence 28, Irmo 21

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>FLORENCE | Syree Livingston</strong> set an early tone. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='272722' first='Zion' last='Gilbert']</strong> took over the in the second half. And the South Florence defense did what it has all season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Make huge plays.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Because of it, the Bruins are heading back to the Class 4A state championship for the second straight season. South Florence ended Irmo's previously unbeaten season with a 28-21 win at home on Friday in the Class 4A Lower State title game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was very much evidence of how the Bruins' season has gone despite injuries and player absences and a mentality of simply muscling past whichever opponent stood in their way. This time, it was a Yellow Jackets' team that was statistically the best defense in the state and second in offensive production, too.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>None of that mattered much after the fact - thanks to South's power running game and one of the best defensive performances of the year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“It's impressive, but we expect things like that,” senior safety <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='208353' first='Quincy' last='Rhodes']</strong> said. “We expect to come out and be a hard defense to play against. [Defensive coordinator Cannon] Jordan preaches that to us. It's about having a bad attitude, and that's just what we do.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Friday, it certainly looked like it.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>South held Irmo 30 points below its season average with a bevy of big plays stacked on top of big plays. Yellow Jackets quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='272713' first='AJ' last='Brand']</strong> did throw a pair of touchdowns and run for a third, but he also threw his second interception of the year three minutes into the fourth quarter when Bruins' strong safety <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='996915' first='Dirrick' last='Goodman']</strong> adjusted mid-pass to step in front of a would-be receiver. There were also sacks from <strong>David Carroway</strong>, Rhodes, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='208354' first='Chantwan' last='Harkless']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='816736' first='Terry' last='Gordon'] </strong>during times when Irmo couldn't really afford to give up a sack. <strong>Kemonte Rose</strong> shut down top-shelf Irmo receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='377560' first='Donovan' last='Murph']</strong> for the first three quarters.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Meanwhile, the collective prevented [player_tooltip player_id='267430' first='Jaden' last='Allen-Hendrix'] from every really getting started. The big tailback finished with 68 yards on 14 carries,&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was everything the defensive staff could hope for, especially with starting defensive end Terry Moorer missing the game after he was ejected in the third-round win over Lancaster a week ago.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As for the other side of the ball?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was more of the same from a South offense that has flashed back to the days of old.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Running wildcat sets that resemble a single-wing look of the 1950s, Livingston blew the doors off the first quarter, when he rushed for 143 yards and two early 1-yard scoring runs on just eight carries. The workload included a pair of 49-yard runs - one on each scoring series - in which he found a crease up the middle.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Livingston (pictured) finished the game with 17 carries for 164 yards, two touchdowns and a two-point conversion. In four playoff games, the transfer from Mullins has 13 touchdowns and three two-point conversion runs. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“My teammates influence my role,” Livingston said. “We joke around. We do a lot, yeah. But we all want someone to do better. If it's that one guy makes us better, then that's how it'll be. We'll cheer them on the whole way.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the second half, he was mostly cheering for Gilbert, who as the team's more traditional tailback (when <strong>Messiah Jackson</strong> is playing quarterback) rushed for 91 of his 158 yards after halftime. That haul also included his 35-yard touchdown run and the first nine yards of another in which he fumbled, only to see the ball pop into the hands of offensive guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='589058' first='Justin' last='Joe']</strong> - who took it in the last 15 yards for the Bruins' third touchdown run of the game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Yes, there's been some luck in this 14-game winning streak. But it's also impossible to ignore that South essentially implemented this strategy midway through the regular season when junior receiver [player_tooltip player_id='464881' first='Jayden' last='Sellers'] was lost for the year back in September.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's safe to say it's working.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“I told the kids on Monday that tonight was going to be a test of the program we've built,” South coach Drew Marlowe said. “We're not going to try to trick them. We're going to line up and run right at them. If they stop us, they're going to beat us. If we can find ways to score, then we'll win.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->