Home Care In Irmo, SC

Jaiden Bryant made his college pick known Saturday.

The Irmo High junior defensive lineman picked LSU in an announcement during the fourth quarter of the Under Armour All-American game in Deland, Florida. The game is for the top juniors and seniors in the country. Bryant was one of two Irmo players in the game, with teammate Nate Carson also selected.

“Go Tigers, Lane Train,” Bryant said on the televised announcement after he pulled out a gray LSU hat from a bag.

Bryant picked LSU over Alabama, Georgia, Miami, South Carolina and Texas A&M. He took recruiting visits almost every weekend during the fall. South Carolina was in the mix but fell behind others after defensive ends coach Sterling Lucas left for LSU.

Bryant’s connection with Lucas, who recruited him when he was at South Carolina, played a big role in the decision.

“The connection I had with coach Sterling Lucas and him leaving South Carolina and going to LSU. It just made my recruitment process very easy,” Bryant said. “I had that good connection, and it was a good fit for me.”

The commitment of Bryant is the third for new coach Lane Kiffin, who left Ole Miss for the Tigers’ job last month.

“He is the type of coach that stands on business,” Bryant said of Kiffin. “He is the type of coach that is going to make me a better player on and off the field. That is the coach I want to be coached under.”

The 6-foot-4, 240-pound Bryant is regarded as a four-star prospect by recruiting services and ranked as the No. 11 player in the country for the Class of 2027 by On3/Rivals.

Bryant had a big junior season in helping the Yellow Jackets to their second straight state championship game. This year, he had 79 tackles (23 tackles for loss) and 11 sacks, blocked two punts, had an interception and scored three touchdowns.

4-star WR Tyren Hornes and 4-star DE Jaiden Bryant make their commitments at the Under Armour Next All-America Game pic.twitter.com/0vmmjuPZqB

— SportsCenter NEXT (@SCNext) January 3, 2026

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - The South Carolina High School League (SCHSL) has finalized the classifications of all schools beginning with the 2026-27 school year. This classification placement will be in effect for two years.

According to the SCHSL, schools were assigned based on their enrollment count, including district additions and the 3.0 multiplier. Flexibility, as approved by the Reclassification/Realignment Guidelines Committee, was also used with consideration given to geographics and travel.

Several Midlands teams have moved up or down in the new realignment.

Gray Collegiate, which was a 4A school in the previous realignment, has moved up to 5A. The War Eagles are the only Midlands team to move up in classification.

Irmo, the 5A Division 2 runner-up the past two seasons, has moved down to 4A.

Several 2A schools, including Eau Claire, Fairfield Central, and Batesburg-Leesville, have moved down to 1A due to the realignment.

SCHSL said the Executive Committee will meet January 13-14, 2026, to hear appeals regarding the classification placements.

Here is a breakdown of Midlands teams in the new realignment:

5A

Spring Valley

Lexington

River Bluff

Blythewood

Sumter

Dutch Fork

Gray Collegiate (4A → 5A)

Ridge View

Chapin

White Knoll

4A

Lugoff-Elgin (5A → 4A)

Westwood (5A → 4A)

Irmo (5A → 4A)

Richland Northeast

Dreher

A.C. Flora

Brookland-Cayce

3A

Airport (4A → 3A)

Lower Richland (4A → 3A)

Gilbert (4A → 3A)

Hartsville (4A → 3A)

Crestwood (4A → 3A)

Camden (4A → 3A)

Swansea

2A

Orangeburg-Wilkinson (3A → 2A)

American Leadership

Keenan (3A → 2A)

Newberry (3A → 2A)

Pelion

Strom Thurmond

Andrew Jackson

Columbia

Manning

Lake Marion

Saluda

Mid-Carolina

1A

Fairfield Central (2A → 1A)

Barnwell (2A → 1A)

North Central (2A → 1A)

Batesburg-Leesville (2A → 1A)

Edisto (2A → 1A)

Eau Claire (2A → 1A)

Bamberg-Ehrhardt

Lee Central

C.A. Johnson

Calhoun County

Mcbee

Ridge Spring-Monetta

Wagener-Salley

Scott’s Branch

Williston-Elko

Bethune-Bowman

Denmark-Olar

Hunter-Kinard-Tyler

North

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There was no drama needed this time around for Northwestern football.

The Trojans put together a dominant first half and defeated Irmo, 55-13, in the Class 5A Division II championship game Friday night at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium.

The title was Northwestern’s seventh in program history and second straight. It’s the first time the Trojans have won back-to-back championships.

“I’m still in a bit of shock over it,” Northwestern coach Paige Wofford said. “To do something that hasn’t been done at Northwestern — there aren’t many things left. ”

Wofford did his best to escape a Gatorade bath from his players, but they tracked him down around the 40-yard line. The celebration will continue as another title heads back to Football City USA.

This was the second-straight year the two teams played for the championship. Last season, Northwestern defeated Irmo, 34-31, on a field goal as time expired .

On Friday, the game had a running clock in the second half after the Trojans put together what Wofford called a “surreal” first half.

Quarterback Xavier Means ran for four touchdowns and threw another to David Flood in the first half. Texas A&M signee and Mr. Football finalist Tamarion Watkins returned an interception for a score and the Trojans blocked a punt for a touchdown. They led 49-6 at halftime.

“Never in a million years I thought that would have happened,” Wofford said. “It goes beyond description.”

Wofford didn’t have a problem describing the play of Means. The junior came into the year with big shoes to fill from last year’s quarterback Finley Polk. But Means was more than capable in the role and finished with more than 4,000 yards of total offense this season.

In the title game, Means was 14 of 17 passing for 188 yards, carried it 10 times for 60 yards and accounted for six touchdowns.

“It means a lot to come in and filling a guy like Finley’s shoes, I am glad that I did it,” Means said. “I am just fortunate for the opportunity.”

Running back Nigel Smith rushed for 104 yards. Flood caught six passes for 92 yards and Kameron Vance caught five passes for 67 yards and a score. Vance also returned the blocked punt for a touchdown.

The loss dropped Irmo to 1-8 all time in state title games. The Yellow Jackets were trying to win their first championship since 1980. It was the first time Irmo played in a title game in back-to-back seasons.

And for the second-straight year, Irmo coach Aaron Brand stood on the opposing 50-yard line watching the other team celebrate. It’s something he did to show respect to Northwestern and to provide an example to his players.

“I have to teach by example,” Brand said. “We talked about it at halftime that if things don’t go our way, we’ve got to stand by the road. I’ve got to be an example and show kids that the sun will come up tomorrow. Sometimes you’ve got to cheer as the winners go by.”

The blowout doesn’t take away the accomplishments of the season or the past three years, Brand said. Irmo has won 37 games over the past three season , most in a three-year span in school history.

Irmo quarterback Dre’Von Dopson threw for 124 yards and a touchdown Friday, and running back Amire White rushed for 102 yards.

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter

N - Means 3 run (Bendt kick), 9:11

N - Means 2 run (Bendt kick), 6:14

I - M. Miller 3 run (kick failed), 1:16

2nd Quarter

N - Means 8 run (Bendt kick), 8:58

N - Flood 16 pass from Means (Bendt kick), 6:13

N - Watkins 39 INT return (Bendt kick), 5:35

N - Vance 12 fumble return (Bendt kick), 3:48

N - Means 1 run (Bendt kick), 0:37

3rd Quarter

N - Vance 10 pass from Means (kick failed), 1:20

4th Quarter

I - Singletary 12 pass from Dopson (Williams kick), 9:38

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

PASSING - I: Dopson 12-26-2 124, Davis 0-1-0 0. N: Means 14-17-0 188, Davis 1-1-0 9. Burgess 0-1-0 0

RUSHING - I: 14-102, Dopson 6-35, M. Miller 3-8. N: Smith 13-104, Means 10-60, Reid 1-5, Vance 2-3

RECEIVING - I: M. Miller 6-64, C. Miller 2-10, Arrington 1-31, Singletary 1-12, White 1-7, Eady 1-0. N: Flood 6-92, Vance 5-67, Spurgeon 1-16, Harrison 1-10, May 1-9, Vining 1-3.

Berkeley High School’s football team made its first appearance in the state semifinal round for the first time since 2017 but dreams of more were squashed on the road in a harsh manner at Irmo High School Friday, Nov. 28, in the Class 5A Div. II playoffs.

The home team rolled to a 44-6 victory that ended the careers for 23 Berkeley seniors.

The Stags made great progress, though, this fall and finished up 10-3 in their third season under coach Eric Lodge. Lodge's first two teams both went 6-6.

Berkeley's last state football title came in 2009.

Irmo’s decisive victory sets up a rematch with Northwestern High School (12-1) for the Class 5A Div. II state title Friday, Dec. 5, at 7:30 p.m., on the campus of South Carolina State. In 2024, the Trojans edged the Yellow Jackets, 34-31, in the finale.

The Stags got off to a solid start but couldn’t capitalize on a pair of trips inside Irmo’s red zone during the opening quarter. The Stags’ first drive reached Irmo’s 18-yard line but a pair of penalties backed it up to the 35 and Berkeley punted to Irmo’s 11.

The Yellow Jackets (12-1) moved the chains twice on their opening drive but coughed it up at their own 29. Berkeley moved inside Irmo’s 10 on its second possession. However, the Stags turned it over on downs by failing to convert on fourth and inches.

Following an exchange of punts, Irmo got its stellar performance on track with a 65-yard scoring drive in the second quarter. Junior running back Amire White reached paydirt on a 24-yard run with 7:46 left in the first half.

Irmo added to its lead three minutes later after another Berkeley punt, going up 13-0 on a 2-yard touchdown run by junior Maleek Miller. The extra point was off the mark.

The Yellow Jackets’ defense broke it open less than a minute later with a 26-yard fumble return for a tally. The extra point upped Irmo’s advantage to 20-0 with less than three minutes remaining in the first half.

Irmo was looking for more following Berkeley’s third straight punt, but the Stags snagged an interception and turned it into a 15-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Henry Rivers to junior receiver Malik Callen with 32.2 seconds left in the second quarter to inject some life into the visiting sideline. A 2-point conversion was no good and Irmo led 20-6 at the break.

The Yellow Jackets opened the third quarter with a long drive to Berkeley’s 9 and senior kicker Tucker Williams was true on a 26-yard field goal to cap the five-minute drive and make the score 23-6.

Berkeley cracked Irmo’s 30-yard line on its ensuing drive but was unable to convert a fourth-and-4 on an incomplete pass and Irmo put the Stags’ chances on life support with White’s 26-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter to make it 30-6.

The following sequence iced it for the Yellow Jackets for sure. Berkeley coughed up the ensuing kickoff and Irmo turned it into White’s 29-yard touchdown run with under 10 minutes remaining in the game.

A 70-yard punt return by Irmo's Miller a few minutes later put the finishing touches on the rout.