Backup quarterback Daniel Barton threw four touchdowns as Byrnes beat Irmo 35-7 to win its third straight Class 4A Division II state championship on Friday night.

The Rebels (13-1) have won 41 of 43 games and became the first team in Division Two to win three state crowns.

The Yellow Jackets (10-5), whose defense had carried them to the state finals, were never seriously in the game.

After the opening kickoff, the Rebels took the ball 83 yards in nine plays, with Will Korn connecting with Prince Miller on a 23-yard pass to score.

Korn, who suffered a slight injury early in the game, was replaced by Barton, who threw four scoring passes as the Rebels took a 35-0 lead.

Barton connected with Reynaldo Hunter on a 20-yard touchdown pass, then hit Matt Quinn and Freddie Brown in the second quarter. For Byrnes’ final score, Barton connected with Brown on a 15-yard pass with 9:01 left.

Korn and Barton completed 18-of-25 passes for 245 yards in the first two periods.

Irmo did not penetrate the Rebels’ 25-yard line until late in the fourth quarter when Curtis Dowling threw a 21-yard scoring pass to Justin Greene with 5:30 left to play.

Bearcats bury

Stratford, 21-7

Rock Hill running back Travis Neely rushed for 179 yards and a touchdown as the Bearcats beat Stratford 21-7 Saturday at Williams-Brice Stadium to win the Class 4A Division I state football championship.

The victory gave Rock Hill (13-1) its second state title in three years.

Rock Hill’s defense led the way, turning two interceptions thrown by Stratford quarterback Devon Greene into touchdowns.

Tristan Armstrong returned one for a 5-yard touchdown in the first quarter. In the third quarter, Ladarious Moore returned a pick-off 54 yards to put the Bearcats up 21-0.

Rock Hill’s second touchdown came after Stratford (13-2) fumbled late in the first half, and Neely scored on a 14-yard run.

Stratford scored on a 6-yard pass from Greene to Josh Johnson that capped a 60-yard drive in the late part of the third period.

The Knights managed 42 yards rushing on 26 attempts against the Rock Hill defense and completed 7-of-21 passes with three interceptions.

The Bearcats’ conservative offense threw only three passes. One was intercepted and returned for 53 yards, but the play came to nothing the Rock Hill defense proved up to the task.

Lamar blanks

Calhoun Falls

Desmond Benjamin scored three touchdowns to give unbeaten Lamar a 26-0 victory over Calhoun Falls for the state Class A football championship on Saturday.

Lamar won its third straight Class A championship, becoming the first team among the state’s smallest schools to do so since Epworth Orphanage in the mid-1930s.

Benjamin ended up with 126 yards on 13 carries, including a 75-yard touchdown run in the final period for the Silver Foxes (15-0).

The senior running back caught a 28-yard touchdown pass from Markee Hamlin for the game’s first touchdown and had a 3-yard scoring run in the third quarter.

The game’s only other touchdown came on a 48-yard punt return by Latron Jackson with five seconds left in the first half to give Lamar a 14-0 advantage at halftime.

Calhoun Falls (14-1) came into the game averaging 46 points a game. But they threatened only once on Saturday, driving to a first and goal at the Lamar three. The Silver Foxes stiffened and, on three consecutive plays, dropped Calhoun Falls’ quarterback Dennis Roundtree for losses to take over on downs.

The shutout victory was the ninth in 15 games for Lamar. Its defense only allowed 130 yards total offense to the Blue Flashes’ possessions attack.