Rock Hill’s Defense Comes Up Clutch In Opening Win Over Irmo

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>IRMO |</strong> Clinging to a 17-14 lead in the fourth quarter, the Rock Hill Bearcats' defense came up with two interceptions – one by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1603697' first='Zymier' last='Gordon-Miles'] </strong>leading to the game-sealing touchdown which he also came up with and the other by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1823452' first='Donovan' last='Franklin'] </strong>as the Bearcats pulled away for a 24-14 win over Irmo to open the 2026 season on Friday night at W.C. Hawkins Stadium.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As the game was tight in the fourth quarter, there was only one thing on Gordon-Miles' mind.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“I've got to do what I've got to make our team win. You know what I'm saying? But it's not just me. My teammates helped me with that play (on the interception). My linemen, they blocked. It's a team sport so it's not just me. I thank my teammates, man,” Gordon-Miles told Prep Redzone SC after the game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Said Rock Hill head coach Leon Boulware on the play of the defense: “We expect for those guys to make plays and they did it. When we put our hats on our defense, we feel like we've got one of the best defenses in the state. We're proud of them, and we knew that if it came down to defense, they were going to come through.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both defenses ruled things early in the contest.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was clear that Irmo wanted to run the ball throughout the night and the Bearcats were dialed in on it. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1635381' first='Kaleb' last='Wright'] </strong>beat his man off the ball to limit a gain before <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1818158' first='Tristan' last='Nelson'] </strong>strung out a toss play on 3rd-and-6 on Irmo's opening possession to force a Yellow Jackets punt. Nelson was all over the ball making tackles, and nearly had an interception in the fourth quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Bearcats first possession on offense fizzled out with some great coverage by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2163548' first='Zion' last='Gates'] </strong>on a third down pass attempt. Irmo got the ball back on the next series and would get into Rock Hill territory as a pass interference penalty on <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1816894' first='Myles' last='Brooks'] </strong>moved it down to the 29-yard line. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1856841' first='Britton' last='Davis'] </strong>appeared to be in for a touchdown on the next play, but a holding call negated it.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Jackets got nothing out of the drive as the field goal was no good as the defensive slugfest continued in the first quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1816896' first='Jonah' last='Young'] </strong>would get the Bearcats going with a completion to <strong>Corinithan Bowser </strong>over the middle for a first down. Young and Brooks connected with a big gain down a few plays later to the Irmo 18 along with a toe-tap sideline catch from <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1036779' first='Kaiden' last='Watkins']</strong>. The drive would be capped with a <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1822769' first='Jalen' last='Culp'] </strong>touchdown on a slant with 10:37 to play in the second quarter to make it 7-0 Bearcats.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We have a feeling that <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1615102' first='Jay'Sean' last='Culp'] </strong>(pictured above)<strong> </strong>is going to cause problems for teams all season, if Friday is any indication.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Case in point where he had a strip sack and the recovery to set the Bearcats up inside Irmo territory with 7:28 to play before the half. He was difficult to block in one-on-one situations, as he got into the backfield on numerous occassions throughout the contest.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“I think I did pretty good, but I know I've got more in the tank. Just stay tuned for the rest of the season,” Culp told Prep Redzone SC after the game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Irmo attempted a fake punt on 4th and long to try and get something going but it didn't work. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1818204' first='James' last='Heckard'] </strong>knocked through a 40-yard field goal to make it 17-0 Rock Hill with 1:57 to play before the half. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1809198' first='Jasiah' last='Lewis'] </strong>capped off a nice first half for the Bearcats, stringing out a run play as the teams went to the halftime locker room.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1088328' first='Nigel' last='Lightner'] </strong>converted a third down to the Irmo 46 on their first drive of the second half, as it looked like the Bearcats were about to blow the game open, but back-to-back sacks from <strong>Teddy Waymyers </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1172366' first='Tyrone' last='Jennings'] </strong>squashed the Bearcats' momentum.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Davis and the Irmo offense found their footing after that point with a power run from the junior signal caller before he connected with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1467834' first='Jay' last='Eady']</strong> as he found a hole in the zone coverage on a 39-yard touchdown reception to get the Jackets back in the game at 17-7 with 3:59 to play in the third quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Jackets' defense nearly had a pick six on the ensuing series on a screen pass on 3rd down, forcing the Bearcats to punt, and that's when the momentum really started to shift towards the hosts from the Midlands.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1675598' first='Tai' last='Phillips'] </strong>had back-to-back carries on the next series, both of them first downs getting down inside the Rock Hill 10 before Davis capped the drive with a 8-yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 3 at 17-14 with 1:17 to play in the third period.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Miami commit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='755914' first='Jaiden' last='Bryant'] </strong>was active throughout the evening, making several tackles for loss and a key sack on third down in the fourth quarter. <strong>Jaden Arrington </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2163548' first='Zion' last='Gates'] </strong>made things difficult at times for the Rock Hill receivers to get open.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Irmo got the ball at the Rock Hill 47 with 10:47 to play in the game, but a tackle for loss and an illegal shift penalty forced them to punt, setting up the eventual fun finish.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While knocking off one of the top teams in 4A is nice, Boulware knows there is more work to do.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“(This win) sets our program up to continue to work. This is not our cleanest and our best, but I'm proud of where we are right now,” Boulware said.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>UNSUNG PLAYER OF THE GAME</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1818213"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":2341623,"_player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6a893d3c4fe3a"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Erby ran hard throughout the evening and found his way through the open lanes that his offensive line gave him. He knows when to turn the speed on and is not afraid to put his head down and fight to get extra yardage. The quick pass play touchdown to extend the Bearcats lead to 14-0 in the second quarter after the turnover looked to us like it was a designed screen pass and he found a way to knife his way through the defense and get into the end zone. He'll be fun to watch as the 2026 season progresses.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Said Erby on the touchdown and on the offense: “That's not just something that happens. We prep for that all week and we've got to execute. I've known ([player_tooltip player_id='1816896' first='Jonah' last='Young']) since I was in middle school. That's always been my guy. I've always got to make sure he's good.”</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->