Saturday, 7PM, Memorial Stadium, Columbia
Irmo Yellow Jackets (24-0) v. Wando Warriors (25-4)
This has always been a Great Rivalry. Irmo is making their 3rd straight trip to the Championship.....Wando's first trip since 2002.
Looking back since 2000:
Wando's last State Championship was 2002....a (Controversial) 3-2 OT victory over Irmo. Irmo won in 2000 (Over Ridge View), and Back to Back in 2003 and 2004 (Over Northwestern).
Irmo has ended Wando's Season 2003, 2005, 2009, 2010.
Wando ended Irmo's Season in 2002 and 2006.
Common Opponents in 2011:
Cardinal Newman:
3-5: Irmo 4 CN 1
4-20: CN 3 Wando 2
Ridge View
3-11: Irmo 5 RV 0
4-11: Irmo 2 RV 1
5-10: Wando 5 RV 0
Lexington
2-26: Wando 5 Lex 2
3-15: Irmo 3 Lex 1
4-8: Irmo 2 Lex 1
Is everyone else as excited as I am about this one? In my opinion this is the PREMIER rivalry in SC boy's high school soccer. These two teams love to hate one another with every game always seem to be carrying massive stakes. Last time these too met up in a state championship the scene was eerily similar in 2002 with Irmo undefeated and possessing the #1 ranking in the country. Wando pulled the win in the infamous "too much stoppage time", winning an extra-time thriller. Really think this one could go either way. Irmo is probably the favorite going in, buuut Wando proved back in '02 that anything is possible in the final. Irmo and Wando have generated soo many classic games, can't wait to see how things happen on Saturday. Midweek prediction...
Irmo 3
Wando 2
A great rivalry, no doubt. But "love to hate?"
Check out Facebook. Most of these kids are friends and teammates from club/Academy/ODP/etc.
I'm sure they'll go at it hammers and tongs ... as they should. Bu really, only the parents are ignorant enough to hold a grudge.
On a personal level, off the field, these guys probably don't have a problem with each other as they shouldn't. But when the jersey's are on and the players step on the pitch, Irmo/Wando is about as intense of a match up as you'll find. So I don't mean hate in that they take it personally, but Wando and Irmo most definitely do not like each other when playing against each other. If there's one team I know Irmo does not ever want to lose to as far as the fans, alumni, players and coaches....it's Wando.
The word you're groping for is RESPECT. Mutual, I might add.
Yes each program has a great level of respect for one another but you're joking yourself if you don't think this rivalry possesses an extremely high level of dislike for one another.
OK, OK, I'll go with dislike.
Like I said, they'll go at it hard, AS THEY SHOULD. It's for a state championship. I'm sure there will be fouls, agitation, etc. I don't expect a sing-along at halftime. But let's not play this up as a Holy War. Let's play it up as a showcase event for 2 of the top programs in the state, NEITHER of which has won a state championship in some time.
I'm really looking forward to it.
The 2002 game had remarkable similarities as this game sets up for Saturday. I am almost positive Irmo entered the game unbeaten and ranked #1 nationally while Wando had 3 or 4 losses(one of them to us at Fort D-one of our biggest wins ever).
About 10 mins into the second half,Irmo went up 2-0 as the Wando keeper(long blonde hair) slipped trying to react to a nice shot from range which did find the net. Wando got one back about 15 mins from time, but with about 6 or 7 mins left, Irmo started to launch balls out of bounds--several left Memorial Stadium. The last few mins the center ref pointed to his watch reacting to coaches asking for time (as if to say to the Irmo bench, time was being added). It was rather heated the last couple of mins and Wando tied the game and still a minute or so was played on the re-start.
The first two overtimes were very even, but many players and Irmo fans(in my opinion) were too concerned that the game was in overtime.
During the first(I believe) sudden death 5 min OT,Wando scored from a nice header delivered from a corner, and so ended one of the most exciting high school matches I have ever seen.
The programs and schools may have an intense rivalry that I hope we'll see on the field Saturday night. But when the game is over I know that we'll also see the respect and friendship that exists between many of the players, including two of the team captains.
Mr.Pelton,
I located my post back in 06 that referenced another post by J Wilson after the 02 Irmo/Wando match, in which Irmo team reacted after the loss. Lets hope we have a great match on Sat., and win or lose, I hope the leaders of these two great teams display a total respect for each other and'the beautiful game' -
#31563 - 01/09/06 11:27 AM
Revisiting the Irmo situation in 2002 v. Wando will just stir up too much meaningless debate and discussion about a game that is now almost 4 years old. This poster back in May 2002 best sums it up:
J.Wilson
Registered Member
Member # 673 posted May 15, 2002 10:37 PM
As a coach, I can only say that the coach's attitude rolls downhill. I find that when I am critical of the refs, all of the players follow suit, and then their parents join in. Pretty soon, we resemble the crowd at Chapin (just kidding).
Seriously though, any negative attitude portrayed by the coach is often directly and immediately reflected in the attitudes of the players. In a nutshell, it's a perfect example of leadership gone sour.
In my mind, the great thing about soccer is that it teaches you some great truths in life like:
1. The team is stronger than the individual.
2. The best team usually wins, but the best individuals often lose.
3. Life is never as just as you'd like it to be.
4. Sometimes you lose, when you shouldn't have, and vice versa.
5. How to win with grace.
6. How to lose with dignity.
7. How to value your team's effort over the result (because winning is often out of your control).
My hunch is that few Irmo players learned any of these valuable lessons on Saturday.
Gripe or no gripe, the Irmo's coaching staff's method of handling the complaint against the referee was not reflective of proper way to handle such a complaint. A protest should have been made in writing to the high school leaque office, not a display of rage on the field.
Finally, refusing to accept the award of 2nd place was classless at every level. Kudos to the kids that went against the grain and did the right thing.
Win or Lose, both of these teams have the leadership and maturity to do the right thing. Looking forward to the contest!
USA,
I certainly tried to stay away from any negativity from the game in my previous post. The game ended up being a great game and I am sure there are many regrets from the Irmo side about the way post game events were handled.
In the waning moments of tight games with huge stakes we all have done and would have done what Irmo did as relates to eating as much clock as possible.
They probably went to it a little early and were a little to obvious or they would have finished Wando off in regulation.
Both of these programs(from players to coaches and even fan base) are passionate and pretty classy.
Let's forget about the 02 matchup and look forward to what promises to be a classic.
2002: 9 years ago....even in the South Carolina Public School System.....no one from either team is playing in Both!
I concur. I know we will see great skill, teamwork and excellent determination between these two fine programs during the game. Fans will be fans, so that element cannot be controlled. And to a degree, it is not possible to control reactions of the subsequent teenage winners/losers. When you train hard all season for the ultimate goal and fall short, its hard to keep those still-developing emotions under control. But, I agree that the 02 matchup is a distant incident, and its time once again for the state finalists in soccer to come together in Columbia for one of the most exciting sports events each year.
The national eye of ESPN will be on the game so it's paramount that all players, fans and coaches act with respect win or lose.
Yes, remember IRMO!!@!#!@$! if you happen to lose this game don't toss your medals to the ground/trash can/stands/etc again.
as ron burgundy suggested, keep it classy south carolina
Will that crass ESPN Soccernet Broadcaster be there again? He was unreal a couple of years ago.
Congratulation to WANDO on a great win on the day over a very capable 2011 IRMO squad in front of an amazing crowd. Both teams should be commended on their behavior. There was absolutely no drama over calls on either side of the ball. Both teams went out and played the game, left everything on the field and we lost. Decisions were made, opportunities were squandered and time ran out. That's the game and that's life.
Our boys will lick their wounds and go right back to producing a product thousands of people enjoy watching every year as they consistently make the Big Dance. WANDO can rejoice in elevating the rivalry with IRMO to a new level. IRMO will be back with the same passion and desire every year, if for no other reason than the fact that I've seen the passion is in the eyes of the youngsters who dream of wearing an IRMO uniform. To me, that's where the real magic of IRMO Soccer lives.
Great job on the season boys!!