DORMAN @ GAFFNEY GAME RECAP

It was Christmas in August last night at The Reservation and the Gaffney Indians were in the giving spirit as they handed the Dorman Cavaliers two first quarter gifts and a 14 to 0 lead. The Indians fumbled the ball on two consecutive plays, once inside their 35 yard line and on their next possession at their 20 yard line. The Cavaliers took advantage of their two gifts with two short TD drives with the first one ending with a short TD pass and the second from a short TD run from the Wildcat formation By A.J. Booker. The Indians were able to move the football pretty well in the first half as they had a pass intercepted on their first drive of the game in Dorman territory. The Tribe also had their red zone woes from a week ago show up again last night as they were stopped on downs deep in Cavaliers territory in the first quarter as well. The Gaffney defense played pretty well in the first half as the Cavaliers only put together one sustained drive and they were able keep them out of the end zone and force a field goal attempt. Gaffney's Soph DE Jaylin Miller blocked the field goal attempt to keep the game at 14 to 0. On the Tribe's last possession of the 1st half they drove into Dorman territory yet again only to be stopped on downs. The Indians did not punt in the first half.

The second half started with the Gaffney defense getting a three and out on the Dorman offense forcing a punt. The Gaffney offense finally responded with a drive that put points on the scoreboard, as they put together a 71 yard drive that ended when QB DeEdward Burris found WR Ryan Frock at the Dorman 10 yard line and he made the defender miss as he dove into the end zone for his first varsity TD. The Tribe's kicking woes showed up with a missed PAT. The score was 14 to 6. Dorman's offense would respond on their next possession as they would put together their best drive of the night driving deep into Gaffney territory and then turning it over to their Wildcat formation and A.J. Booker as he scored his second short TD of the game for a 21 to 6 lead. The Gaffney offense was still clicking on their next possession as they responded to get right back in the game with a 79 yard drive and a TD pass from Burris to Quinshad Davis. The Tribe would miss the PAT and they trailed 21 to 12. Dorman responded driving into Gaffney territory once again behind the running of Raymond Smith. The drive stalled on downs and Gaffney took over and was moving when Burris had to leave the game with cramps. The Gaffney drive would stall and they were forced to punt for the first and only time of the game. Gaffney finally got a gift from Dorman as Adam Humphries fumbled the punt giving Gaffney the ball on the Dorman 30 yard line. Burris was still out of the game on first and second down and Back-up Joey Copeland could not move the offense. Burris came limping into the game with a 3rd and long, but the Tribe would turn it over on downs. The game was pretty much over at this point as time was running out and Gaffney had to have two scores. Dorman would keep the ball for the remainder of the game as they drove deep into Indian territory and the game ended 21 to 12 in favor of Dorman. The Tribe falls to 1 and 1 on the season and they travel to Greenwood next Friday night.

My View From The Stands

I saw a lot of positives from Gaffney to build on, but I also saw some things that are going to have to be corrected if they are going to be a factor in the 4A Championship race. (1) They have to find a kicker that they can depend on to make PAT's. (2) They have to decide what kind of red zone offense they are going to have and improve on red zone production. (3) They have to take better care of the football and the defense has to start forcing some turnovers. The Tribe is -4 in the take away give away department after three games. (4) I see a ton of potential with this team they just have to improve on execution. The mistakes that they are making are correctable.

Until Next Time.

WEEK 1 DORMAN @ GAFFNEY PREVIEW

We have made it to Week 1 of the High School football season and we have the biggest game in the state at The Reservation on Friday night as the defending Division 1 4A Champions the Dorman Cavaliers are coming to take on the Tribe. The Indians are fresh off of their Week 0 victory over the Boiling Springs Bulldogs by a score of 21 to 14. The Cavaliers played in a jamboree last week and this is their season opener. There are a lot of coaches out there that says that a team improves more from game one to game two than at any other time during the season. The Tribe needs to make major strides this week to play with the Cavaliers and have a chance to defeat them. So lets look at the game and see what the keys will be for Gaffney to pull off the upset.

Dorman @ Gaffney..... The Cavaliers have won the last three meetings in this series including two games last season. The Cavaliers have a potentially lethal offense with arguably the top wide receiving tandem in the state led by Sr. Charone Peake who is 6'4" 194 lbs. and is rated as the No. 12 prospect on the ESPNU 150 list and a 5 star rating. The Cavaliers have suffered some injuries during the preseason especially at the QB position where they have had to rotate some guys in. Reports have said this week that starting QB Nelson Hughes might play some Friday night. Defensively the Cavaliers return only three starters from their dominating defense that led them to the State Championship last season. The Cavaliers defense is very fast and swarm to the ball very well, but they are smaller than they were last season.

The Indians have probably the most elusive QB in the state in Sr. DeEdward Burris. The Indians also have a very talented wide receiving tandem of their own in Jr. Quinshad Davis and Sr. Khris Brown. Like the Cavaliers the Indians have been plagued by injuries during the preseason, most notably on the defensive side of the ball. The Tribe was without four starters last week against Boiling Springs and had some players banged up and several players suffered from cramps. The Indians are extremely young on defense as they could start as many as seven sophomores. Some good news for Gaffney is they should get Jr. DL Edward Bigby and their top CB Jr. Snoop Byers back to play some this week. That should help with depth.

Keys to the Game for Dorman.....(1) Find a QB to get the ball to their talented wide receivers. (2) Keep there opening game mistakes to a minimum. (3) Put the ball in Charone Peake's hands as much as possible. (4) The Cavaliers defense needs to keep DeEdward Burris in the pocket to keep him from making big plays off of the scramble.

Keys to the Game for Gaffney..... (1) The Tribe's defensive front must put pressure on which ever Dorman QB in in the game. (2) The Tribe must keep their key players on the field, no more cramps. (3) They have to do a better job against the Wildcat formation which has killed them the last two seasons against Dorman. (4) They are not going to stop Charone Peake but they need to contain him and not let him take the game over. (5) The offense needs to put some points on the board early to gain some confidence against these guys, as they have been shut out two of the last games against them. (6)They must take care of the football and not give Dorman a short field.

Game Prediction..... The Indians will play well but come up a little short..... Dorman 17 Gaffney 13

GO INDIANS BEAT THE CAVALIERS!!!!

Until Next Time.

GAFFNEY @ BOILING SPRINGS GAME RECAP

I was on my way down I-85 toward Boiling Springs Friday evening and it hit me like a ton of bricks, I am on my way to the first Gaffney game of the season. HARD TO BELIEVE! It was a great atmosphere for a High School football game. I have been to Boiling Springs to football games in the past and last night was the best atmosphere I have ever seen there. It turned out to be a very good High School football game. Gaffney won the game 21 to 14. Lets recap the game.

Gaffney @ Boiling Springs..... The game started with the Indians defense dominating the Boiling Springs offense. The defense was very physical and quick to the ball. On the Tribe's second possession of the game they moved the ball down the field and were stopped on forth down at the Boiling Springs 3 yard line. Missed scoring opportunity number one for the Tribe. The Gaffney defense continued it's dominance and the offense finally got on the scoreboard as QB DeEdward Burris found WR Quinshad Davis for a 39 yard TD down the sideline. That made the score 7 to 0 Indians with 10:45 left in the 2nd quarter. Later in the quarter Burris hit Khris Brown with another 39 yard pass down to the Bulldogs 18 yard line which would a few plays later lead to a 2 yard TD run by RB C.J. Miller and a 14 to 0 lead at halftime. The Tribe had very good field position in the 1st half, set up by their defensive dominance, but could only score twice. The defense held the Bulldogs to two first downs in the first half.

The second half started with Gaffney's offense looking very impressive as they moved down the field deep into Bulldog territory but a lost fumble after a run from Burris gave the possession back to Boiling Springs. Missed scoring opportunity number two for the Tribe. The Gaffney defense came up big one more time as they stopped the Bulldogs on a 4th and one at the Boiling Springs 39 yard line to set the offense up in great field position. Gaffney would make the Bulldogs pay as they would drive down the field and score on a 7 yard TD pass from Burris to Quinshad Davis. The score was 21 to o in favor of the Indians and some of the Bulldog non faithful started heading for the exits. This is the point in the game when the game started to turn. A lot of the Boiling Springs fans thought the game was over, a lot of the Gaffney fans thought the game was over and it looked as if the Gaffney players thought the game was over. Up until this point in the game the Gaffney defense had been dominating the Bulldogs offense as they had not even crossed midfield. The only ones in the stadium that thought the game was not over was the Bulldog's coaches and players as they got the ball on their next possession and drove it 16 plays and 76 yards for a 2 yard TD run by Hunter Cummins. That made the score 21 to 6 as the PAT was blocked. Then the play that really got the Bulldogs back in the game happened 9 seconds later as Cummins struck again when he intercepted a Burris pass and returned it 24 yards for a TD. With the two point conversion run by Tyler Leach the score was all of a sudden 21 to 14 with most of the 4th quarter left. The Indians would respond behind there Houdini like QB DeEdward Burris as he led the Tribe down the field with a couple of 1st downs and into Bulldogs territory. Burris would escape several potential tacklers on the drive, but the drive would stall after an intentional grounding call pushed the Tribe back across midfield. Gaffney punted the ball and the Bulldogs got it around their 33 yard line. Boiling Springs still had the momentum on their side and started driving down the field and into Indians territory. The Bulldogs would convert on two 4th down conversions to keep the drive alive and would drive all the way down to another 4th and goal at the Gaffney two yard line with 33 seconds left in the game. With 4th and goal and the game on the line Gaffney's Soph defensive lineman Tyquille Byars made the play of the game for the Gaffney defense as he stopped Bulldog's RB Tyler Leach a yard away from the endzone to preserve the Indians 21 to 14 victory. The win was the first of Head Coach Dan Jones' career. I am sure he will remember it from now on.

In a game that Gaffney dominated for three quarters and looked as if they were going to get an opening game blowout, the Indians survived and left Boiling Springs after a 21 to 14 victory and a 1 and 0 record to start the 2010 season. I saw a lot of potential for this years version of the Gaffney Indians but I also saw a lot of things that need to be improved upon. A win is a win whether it be pretty or ugly and I feel better this morning being 1 and 0 rather than 0 and 1. Lets bring on the next one on the schedule and see what happens.

Until next time when we preview game 2 against Dorman.

WEEK 0 GAFFNEY @ BOILING SPRINGS PREVIEW

Here we are in the third week of August and we are very much looking forward to the opening game of the season for the Gaffney High School Indians. Normally we are getting ready for the Jamboree at The Reservation on the third Friday of August, but this year we are getting ready for the first regular season game of the 2010 High School football season. The Indians open with a Week 0 match-up against the Boiling Springs Bulldogs in Boiling Springs. I am ready for the season, the players are ready for the season and the many Gaffney fans are ready for the season to get underway. It will be very interesting to see how the coaching changes at Offensive Coordinator, Defensive Coordinator and at the top with Head Coach Dan Jones will effect the Tribe this season. One thing is for sure, the Tribe is loaded with talent and it should be very exciting. So lets take a closer look at Fridays season opener with the Bulldogs.

Week 0 Gaffney @ Boiling Springs..... The Indians were 10 and 4 last season and advanced to the Upperstate Championship before losing to eventual State Champion Dorman. The Tribe returns 6 offensive starters and 5 defensive starters from last years team. The strengths for Gaffney will be the return of all everything Sr. QB DeEdward Burris and a strong and talented defensive line led by Soph. DE Jaylen Miller. The weaknesses for the Indians will be the youth at certain positions on defense and the kicking game. The Indians will be missing four key defensive starters for the game because of injuries. The Indians will be without their top Cornerback Jr. Snoop Byers, two off of their talented defensive line Jr. Edward Bigby, Soph Rod Ogelsby and Soph. LB Quan Weeks.

The Boiling Springs Bulldogs were 8 and 3 last season but were ineligible for the playoffs. The Dogs return 5 offensive starters and 6 defensive starters from last years team. The strengths for Boiling Springs are their offensive line with 4 starters returning and their defense. The weaknesses for the Dogs will be the inexperience at the skill positions on offense especially at QB where they have to replace Shrine Bowler Dylan Thompson who is at the University of South Carolina. Top players for Boiling Springs this season are Sr. DE Taylor Anderson, Sr. CB Kody Nelson and Sr. RB Tyler Leach.

The Indians and Bulldogs have not played since the 2007 season. The last five meetings between the two teams the Indians have won big. Past history has shown that the Bulldogs usually get up for Gaffney and play them tough. With the season starting early for both teams I see the mistakes being more than usual for both teams. The defenses will be ahead of the offenses and mistakes will lead to some scoring opportunities. I see the Indians QB DeEdward Burris being the difference as Gaffney finds away to win the game..... Gaffney 19 Boiling Springs 10

GO INDIANS!!!

Until Next Time.

WHAT IS THAT SMELL IN THE AIR?

I have been enjoying life and trying to stay cool during this hot and humid summer.. We just got back from a vacation to Pennsylvania a couple of weeks ago. Every since we got back to Gaffney, I have been smelling something in the air and I have been trying to figure out what it is. It finally hit me that it is the smell of GAFFNEY INDIANS FOOTBALL! Yes it is that time of the year again, FOOTBALL TIME! Yesterday I went to Gaffney High School and purchased my season tickets and you could really smell football in the air. Yesterday morning was the first day of full contact drills for this years edition of the Gaffney Indians. I stayed and watched the morning workout and it made my blood start pumping. IT MADE ME PRETTY DANG EXCITED! What I would like to do on Tribe Blitz today is share a poem that I wrote a few years back that should get your blood to pumping and get you PRETTY DANG EXCITED about the start of football season.

FOOTBALL IS KING

There is a small southern town
that lives for the season of fall,
it means one thing to them
it's time for their beloved football.

The pride and tradition of their
mighty team is second to none, the hard work and desire of the
players and coaches makes the game fun.

The town is so proud of the many
championships the team has won,
and you can be assured they will
give it another good run.

On football Friday nights loud
and loyal fans fill up the seats,
to cheer for their gallant team
in victory or defeat.

As you hear the teams fight song
that the many fans will sing,
this can only be Gaffney
the town where football is king.


GO INDIANS!!!!!!

Until Next Time.