INDIANS MID-SEASON REPORT CARD

We are through six games of the Gaffney Indians 2010 football season. The Indians go into their open date this week with a 4 and 2 record. Since we don't have a game to preview this week, I would like to look back at the first half of this season and give the Indians a grade on their first half performance.

OFFENSE

The Offensive Line..... has been inconsistent during the first half of the season. At times they have had problems picking up blitzes and opening up holes for the running game. The line has definitely had problems in the red zone. At times their pass protection and run blocking has been good. The line has a chance to be very good, if they can develop more consistency.
GRADE..... C

The Running Backs..... The Indians have not had a running back gain a 100 yards or more this season. C.J. Miller came the closest against Greenville with 97 yards. Wookie Littlejohn has seen some action the last three games at running back, and has a chance to add some power and play making ability to the position. The backs have fumbled the ball away a few times. GRADE.....C-

The Wide Receivers..... have been very good this season. Quinshad Davis has led this group with 47 receptions and 9 TD's. Khris Brown is another big play receiver, who had his best game of the season against Greenville last week. Ryan Frock has been a pleasant surprise, as he has made some big catches to keep drives alive. Mike Wood and Wookie Littlejohn have played well at receiver as well. This group has a chance to be one of the best receiving corps in the state, as they continue to get better as the season goes along.
GRADE..... A

The Quarterback..... position has been very productive this season. Led by Sr. DeEdward Burris, who has thrown for 1,324 yards and 14 TD's with only 3 interceptions. He has also been the teams leading rusher and has scored a couple of rushing TD's. This has been Burris' best season, as he has done a much better job of spreading the ball around to different play makers. Back-up QB Joey Copeland has played pretty well when he has had to play. The QB needs to execute the offense better when in the red zone and protect the ball better. GRADE..... B+

The Offense as A Whole..... The story of the first half of the season for the Gaffney offense has been, the first three games turnovers and missed opportunities kept the production down, as they averaged only 13.3 points per game. The last three games they have turned it over only three times and they have averaged 35.6 points per game. The Tribe has scored 147 points for an average of 24.5 per game for the season. The offense has struggled at times in the red zone, they have turned the ball over 11 times and they have gotten off to slow starts. The offense has improved as the season has progressed and I expect them to get even better.
GRADE..... B-

DEFENSE

The Defensive Line..... has played very well at times and not so good at other times. They have had a lot of injuries that has hurt their production. They are very young and they have potential to be very dominant. They must produce more sacks during the season's second half.
GRADE..... C+

The Linebackers..... have played pretty well as they are making a lot of tackles. The injury bug has hit this unit as well. Savon Dukes and Jaquan Barnes have made big plays and have been the leaders of this unit.
GRADE..... B

The Secondary..... is very young and they have had injuries to deal with. Their best DB Snoop Byers has missed a lot of playing time. They have been up and down so far during the season. They should get better as they get healthy.
GRADE..... C

The Defense as a Whole..... has played pretty well considering the offense has put them in bad field position with all of the turnovers. They got off to a slow start forcing turnovers, but the last three games they have forced 9. They need to play better up the middle, as teams have had success running right at the defense. I see this unit getting better as the season goes along and they get healthy.
GRADE..... C+

THE SPECIAL TEAMS

Kickers..... The Kicking game has been very very bad. I can't remember the Gaffney kicking game being this bad. A school this size should be able to find someone that can consistently kick a PAT. It is very embarrassing.
GRADE..... F

Punting..... has been better than the kicking game, but it is still below average for a high school program like Gaffney.
GRADE..... D+

Kick Return Game..... has not been very productive this season. The punt return game has been better than the kick off return game. These teams must get more productive the second half of the season.
GRADE..... C-

Kick Coverage Team..... has been the strength of the special teams. Kick off coverage has been pretty good as has the punt coverage team. They did give up a punt return for a TD against Greenville.
GRADE..... B

Special Teams As A Whole..... They have to get better in the kicking game, they have to get better in the return game and they have to get better in the coverage game. The Tribe did block a field goal against Greenville that proved to be a big play in that game.
GRADE..... C-

The Tribe's 4 and 2 record is pretty good, but it could have been better and it could have been worse. The bottom line is, this team has potential to be very good if they can improve their grade in all areas of their team. I believe that they will. It should be a very exciting second half of the season.

Until Next Time.

GREENVILLE @ GAFFNEY RECAP

HEART STOPPER AT THE RESERVATION!! The Gaffney Indians were emotionally flat, lost a fumble inside the 1- yard line trying to score, roughed the punter twice, had a punt returned against them for a TD, had a long TD pass called back on a penalty and missed three PATs, but they still found a way to beat Greenville Friday night. These were the negative things that happened to them. The positive things that happened was they finally got their offense going and rolled up over 500-yards and five TDs. The defense played pretty much lights out in the 2nd half, that allowed the offense to finally get the lead and then hold on at the end. Lets recap the game.

FIRST QUARTER

The Indians came out flat and the Red Raiders came out on fire, as they jumped on the Indians 14 to 0 after their first two possessions. The Red Raiders looked unstoppable and the Indians looked lifeless. The Tribe's offense finally started showing a little life late in the 1st quarter, as they drove down and scored on a 6-yard TD pass from DeEdward Burris to Quinshad Davis, to cut the lead to 14 to 7 after the first quarter.

SECOND QUARTER

The Gaffney defense finally started showing signs of life, as they stopped the Red Raiders to give the ball back to their offense. The momentum of the game had swung over to Gaffney, as their offense moved down the field and had a first and goal inside the 5-yard line. The Tribe's DeEdward Burris would fumble the ball away inside the 1-yard line, as he tried to score on a quarterback sneak. The Gaffney defense would hold the Red Raiders to a three and out to force a punt from deep in the end zone. The Indians would rough the punter, but the Red Raiders had a motion penalty that offset the roughing the punter penalty. The Red Raiders had to punt the ball again and Gaffney roughed the punter again to give the Greenville offense a first down. This completely changed momentum back to Greenville, as Gaffney had returned the punt inside the Greenville 20-yard line. The Greenville offense would respond, as they drove down with help from a Gaffney unsportsman like conduct penalty, to kick a 32-yard field goal for a 17 to 7 lead.
The Gaffney offense was out of sink on their next possession and punted the ball back to Greenville. The short Gaffney punt was returned 34-yards for a TD by the Red Raiders and the lead was extended to 24 to 7 late in the first half. The Indians' offense would respond with a drive that ended with a critical TD seconds before halftime, as Burris hit Khris Brown with a 15-yard scoring pass to cut the lead to 24 to 13 at the half.

THIRD QUARTER

The Gaffney offense moved the football with their first couple of possessions of the quarter, but they stalled. Greenville would move the ball down into Gaffney territory, but were forced to try another field goal that was blocked by the Indians which would prove to be huge late in the game. The Gaffney offense would move the ball down the field and score on a 12-yard TD pass from Burris to Quinshad Davis. The PAT was missed, so the Tribe trailed 24 to 19 at the end of the quarter.

FORTH QUARTER

The Gaffney defense would come up with an interception on Greenville's next offensive possession and their offense moved the ball down the field and scored on a 1-yard TD run by DeEdward Burris. The Indians would score the two point conversion on a pass from Burris to Khris Brown to put the Indians on top for the first time in the game 27 to 24. The crowd was into the game and Gaffney had all of the momentum on their side. On Greenville's next possession the Gaffney defense came up big again, as they hauled in another interception. The first play after the interception Burris hit Khris Brown with a 63-yard TD pass to extend the Gaffney lead to 33 to 24. The Indians would miss their third PAT of the game. The Indians would force the Red Raiders to punt on their next possession and the Indians would hit another big play, as the scrambling DeEdward Burris hit Ryan Frock with a long TD bomb that had The Reservation rocking. The only problem was the Indians were flagged for holding. Greenville would then force a punt and they drove the ball down the field and scored on a 12-yard TD pass to cut the Gaffney lead to 33 to 31 with about 4:00 left in the game. The Gaffney offense responded with a drive that carried into Greenville territory that ate up most of the clock. On a third and long play the Greenville defense came up with a big play, as they would intercept a tipped pass at their 30-yard line with about 1:20 left in the game. Greenville had their chance. Because of the missed PATs by Gaffney, all the Red Raiders had to do was get into field goal range to have a chance to win the game. They would move the ball inside the Gaffney 35-yard line needing about ten more yards for an attempt at a game winning field goal. The Gaffney defense came up with a huge sack on third down that pushed them back. The Red Raiders would be flagged for delay-of-the-game and pushed back five more yards on 4th down. On 4th down, the Red Raiders threw a pass down inside the Gaffney 15-yard line that was intercepted by Khris Brown, with 12 seconds left in the game, to preserve a heart stopping win for the Gaffney Indians 33 to 31. What a wild game it was. The Indians improve to 4 and 2 on the season and have an open date next week.

My View From The Stands..... (1) The Indians were emotionally flat for most of the first half coming off of their big win over Byrnes. (2) The Indians probably have the best one two punch at WR in the state in Quinshad Davis and Khris Brown. (3) The Gaffney coaching staff did a great job with their halftime adjustments that seem to put life back into the Indians defense. (4) DeEdward Burris is getting better and better as a QB. He was 22 for 37 for 339 yards and 4 TD passes. He also had a TD run.

Until Next Time.

CONGRATULATIONS INDIANS ON ANOTHER BIG WIN!!!!!

WEEK 5 GREENVILLE @ GAFFNEY PREVIEW

It was an awesome sight, last Friday night at The Reservation, watching the Indians come on to the field walking together and seeing DeEdward Burris throw the spear into the ground at midfield. The Indians made the night even more awesome with their performance on the field, as they defeated the Byrnes Rebels 26 to 16. It felt really good to beat those class less Rebels and to watch as the visitors side became almost empty halfway through the 4th quarter. It was no doubt the biggest win for the Tribe at The New Reservation. The Indians have to get back to business this week and get ready for the unbeaten Greenville Red Raiders who invade The Reservation on Friday night. Lets take a closer look at this week's match-up.

Greenville @ Gaffney

The Greenville vs Gaffney games have been very close and exciting the past few years. The last four meetings have been decided by 10 points or less with Gaffney winning three of the four games. Last season, the Tribe trailed 29 to 7 in the 3rd quarter before rallying for a 39 to 35 victory. The 2008 game was played at The New Reservation and the Tribe won 23 to 13. The 2007 game was won by Greenville 21 to 14. The 2006 game was won by Gaffney 38 to 35. As we Indian fans know, the 2006 Gaffney team went 15 and 0 and won the State Championship. The bottom line is, Greenville is very good and they play Gaffney tough.

The Greenville Red Raiders are 4 and 0 with wins over Woodruff, Daniel, J.L.Mann and Greer. The Red Raiders offense is very much like the Byrnes offense that Gaffney saw last week. Some people have called them Byrnes West. They are averaging 27.5 points per game out of their spread offense. They have talented receivers with a lot of speed. They have a young but talented QB who is getting better and better.

The most impressive thing about the Red Raiders is their defense. They have given up only 30 points through their first four games. The Greenville team lost a lot off of last years defense and this year was supposed to be a rebuilding year, for that side of the ball. They have played very good against some good offenses. They are strong at LB and in the secondary.

The Gaffney Indians played very well last week against Byrnes on both sides of the ball. The offense was led by QB DeEdward Burris who completed 21-of-32 for 212 yards and 3 TDs. He also added 56 yards rushing. The Gaffney offense was a ball control machine, as they controlled the time of possession 35:00 to 13:00. The Indians did not turn the football over on offense for the first time all season. Gaffney WR Quinshad Davis had another big game as he caught 8 passes for 101 yards and 2 TDs.

The Gaffney defense played very well last week against Byrnes. They had an interception which set up the Tribe's first TD. They put a lot of pressure on the Byrnes QB, which knocked their timing off. They were strong against the run as well. The reason I am telling you what they did to Byrnes is because they should have the same game plan against Greenville. Greenville and Byrnes are very similar, especially on offense.

Keys to the game for Greenville..... (1) Get off to a good start so they can take the Gaffney fans out of the game early. (2) Force some turnovers. (3) Make Gaffney's offense one dimensional. (4) Hit some big plays.

Keys to the game for Gaffney..... (1) Go into the game with the right attitude. Build on the big win over Byrnes. (2) NO TURNOVERS! (3) Win the time of possession battle, to keep their offense off the field. (4) Play Gaffney Indians football.

Check out the Greenville @ Gaffney Recap on Saturday.

Until Next Time.

GO INDIANS!!! DEFEND OUR HOUSE!!! BEAT GREENVILLE!!!

BYRNES @ GAFFNEY RECAP

THE SWAGGER IS BACK AT THE RESERVATION!! The Gaffney Indians pulled off their biggest win of the season and the biggest win in the history of The New Reservation, as they defeated the Byrnes Rebels 26 to 16 in front of a packed house. The score of the game was closer than the game actually was, as Gaffney took control in the second quarter. This is the first victory by the Indians over the Rebels since 2006, when they defeated them twice. This was also the biggest win for Head Coach Dan Jones, in his short time as The Commander-In-Chief of the Indians football program.

The game started with Gaffney holding the Rebels to a three and out on their first offensive possession of the game. The Indians would take possession after the Byrnes punt and we would soon see what the offensive game plan would be for the night. The Indians moved the ball down the field with a ball control short passing and running game eating up time of possession. The Indians would move into the Rebels redzone, but they would turn the ball over on downs. The Byrnes offense put together their best drive of the game, as they drove down deep into Indians territory. The Indians came up big on defense and forced the Rebels to settle for a 32-yard field goal and a 3 to 0 lead to end the first quarter.

In the second quarter the game started to change in favor of the Tribe, as Gaffney's Snoop Byers would intercept a Zach Blair pass at the Rebels 35 yard line. The Gaffney offense, which had moved the ball very well with no points to show for their effort, would finally cash in as QB DeEdward Burris found WR Quinshad Davis, with the first of his two TD receptions, from three yards out and a 7 to 3 Gaffney lead with 5:50 left in the first half. Burris would hit Davis for another TD from five yards with 15.6 seconds left in the half and a 13 to 3 halftime lead.

The Indians received the second half kickoff and continued their ball control attack, as they drove the ball inside the Byrnes thirty yard line. Burris would then throw one toward the end zone to WR Khris Brown which he caught for a 29-yard TD that would extend the Tribe's lead to 20 to 3. Later in the third quarter, the Byrnes offense would get the ball inside the Gaffney 30-yard line after a Gaffney punt and they drove down to the Indians 6-yard line and faced a forth-and 2. The Gaffney defense came up big once again as a pass to the end zone was knocked away. The Indians led 20 to 3 after three quarters of play.

The Rebels would get the ball back in Gaffney territory, after another short punt, and they would finally cash in for points. With 10:08 remaining in the game Rebels RB Shakeem Wharton scored from 3-yards out to cut the Gaffney lead to 20 to 10. The Gaffney offense would respond on their next possession with a 76-yard drive, capped by a 1-yard TD run by Burris for a 26 to 10 advantage. The Indians got two huge plays on the drive, one by WR Ryan Frock on a third-and-8 for a first down and a 36-yard pass to Quinshad Davis down to the Byrnes' 1-yard line to set up the score. The Rebels would add another TD with 2:41 left in the game, which was set up when the Gaffney punter fumbled the snap and had to fall on the ball in Gaffney territory. Byrnes QB Zach Blair would hit WR Akia Booker with a 21-yard TD pass to make the score 26 to 16. The two point conversion failed and the Rebels could get no closer. The Game ends with the Gaffney Indians winning 26 to 16.

My View From The Stands..... (1) I saw a Gaffney Indians team come out and establish the tempo of the game in the first quarter and gain more and more confidence as the game went along. (2) I saw a Gaffney team that had a very good game plan on both sides of the ball and were able to execute that plan. (3) I saw the best Jr. WR in the state in Gaffney's Quinshad Davis have another great game. He had his forth 100-yard receiving game of the season and two more TD's. (4) I saw QB DeEdward Burris continue to get better and better and he is developing into one of the best QB's in the state.

CONGRATULATIONS INDIANS ON A BIG WIN!!

Until Next Time.

WEEK 4 BYRNES @ GAFFNEY PREVIEW

The Gaffney Indians showed last Friday night what they are capable of when they don't turn the football over on offense and they force turnovers on defense. The Tribe was +4 in the giveaway takeaway category against Union County. The Gaffney defense forced five Yellow Jacket turnovers and their offense turned it over once. The Tribe put together their best game of the season to date, as they defeated the Union County Yellow Jackets 48 to 14. The competition gets even stronger this week as the hated rival Byrnes Rebels come to The Reservation. Lets preview this monster match-up.

Byrnes @ Gaffney

The Byrnes vs Gaffney rivalry has really heated up in the last eight years. It has become one of the most anticipated games of the High School football season. The game reached national interest in 2006 as the game was nationally televised by Fox Sports Net. The game in 2006 featured Byrnes' highly regarded QB Willy Korn and Gaffney's QB Malcolm Long. The Indians won the game 28 t0 15. The Tribe also won a second round playoff meeting with the Rebels, in 2006, by a score of 16 to 13. Both games were played at The Old Reservation. The Indians would go on to finish 15 and 0 and win their 16th State Championship. The last three meetings in the series has been all Byrnes, as they have outscored Gaffney 151 to 35.

This Friday night's game with Byrnes should be a dandy. The Rebels lost a lot of talented players off of last years team, but they are still a very good football team. The Rebels have six starters returning on offense including four on the offensive line. They are led on offense by their Sr. QB Zach Blair and a very good Jr. RB Shakeem Wharton. The Rebels always have an abundance of receivers to throw the ball to and this year is no exception. Their top pass catcher is Soph. Akia Booker.

The Byrnes defense returns three starters, but they are still extremely fast and aggressive. The defense is led by Sr. LB Andre Brewton and Jr. DB Davon Terry. The Rebels are always strong in the kicking game.

The Gaffney Indians regained some confidence last week with their blowout win over Union County. The Indians were able to improve their running game, their defensive aggressiveness and their giveaway takeaway statistic. The addition of Wookie Littlejohn at RB gives the Tribe another offensive weapon. Indians QB DeEdward Burris had another strong game as did back-up QB Joey Copeland.

The Gaffney defense intercepted three passes and LB Jaquan Barnes returned one for a TD. The Indians are very excited about the game with Byrnes and they have worked very hard to get ready. The Tribe owes the Rebels after the way they ran the score up last season.

Keys to the game for Byrnes..... (1) Jump out front early and take the Gaffney fans out of the game. (2) Intimidate the young Indians into making mistakes. (3) Put pressure on Gaffney's young secondary and make them make plays. (4) Make Gaffney's offense one dimensional.

Keys to the game for Gaffney..... (1) Go into the game believing they can win the game. (2)
Do not let Byrnes intimidate them. Remember they put their pants on just like we do, one leg at a time. (3) DO NOT TURN THE FOOTBALL OVER!! (4) Make the tackle on defense. (5) Disrupt their timing on offense.

Game Prediction..... I see the young Indians getting off to a good start and their confidence building as the game progresses. Gaffney forces a couple of turnovers and they make enough plays to get it done. The Tribe gets their swagger back..... Gaffney 20 Byrnes 17

Tribe Facts..... The Gaffney Indians lead the overall series with Byrnes 11 to 10.

Former Indian Update..... Gaffney's Joe Craig, a Freshman at Clemson, is going to red shirt this football season.

Check out the Byrnes @ Gaffney Recap on Saturday.

Until Next Time.

GO INDIANS BEAT THOSE REBELS!!!!!!

GAFFNEY @ UNION COUNTY RECAP

What a difference it can make in the results of winning or losing a football game when you don't turn the ball over on offense and you force turnovers on defense. The Gaffney Indians did just that last night in front of a packed house at Union County Stadium. The Indians did not turn the football over and their defense forced five Union County turnovers that led to the Tribe blowing out the Yellow Jackets 48 to 14.

The Indians led 7 to 0 at the end of the first quarter with dominating defense and a six yard TD run by QB DeEdward Burris. The Gaffney defense did not allow the Jackets offense to record a first down through the first quarter of action.

The Indians pretty much put the game away in the second quarter as they scored 28 points led by TD passes from Burris to Quinshad Davis of 52 and 18 yards, a 10 yard TD run by Wookie Littlejohn and an interception return of 21 yards for a TD by Jaquan Barnes. The Yellow Jackets lone score of the first half occured when the Gaffney secondary had blown coverage and Union County QB Keiston Smith hit a wide open Victor Ruth for a 74 yard TD pass. The Gaffney defense forced four Yellow Jacket turnovers and held them to one first down as the Tribe led 35 to 7 at the half.

The second half would be more of the same, as the Indians forced a fumble on the second half kick-off, which set up the Gaffney offense with a short field. The Tribe would score a few plays later on a 14 yard run by RB C.J. Miller. The Indians led 41 to 7 after three quarters.

The forth quarter started with Gaffney in the middle of a 98 yard drive that would take a total of 10:00 off of the clock. The impressive thing about this drive was Gaffney had their second string offense in the game. The drive started in the 3rd quarter and ate up most of the 4th quarter before back-up QB Joey Copeland would end Gaffney's scoring with a 6 yard TD run. Union County would put together a late scoring drive, against the Gaffney reserves, scoring on a 28 yard pass with less than a minute to go in the game. The final score of the game was Gaffney 48 Union County 14.

My View From The Stands..... (1) I saw a very focused Gaffney football team that was determined to turn their season around. (2) I saw a Gaffney offense that has a lot of weapons and can be very potent, if they cut out the turnovers and mistakes that plagued them the first three games. (3) I saw a defense that was very dominant, as they held Union County to 4 first downs and 12 yards rushing. (4) I saw a young Gaffney football team that has a ton of potential and will only get better and better as the season goes along.

Until Next Time.

WEEK 3 GAFFNEY @ UNION COUNTY PREVIEW

After Week 2 of the High School football season the Gaffney Indians have one win against other schools and two wins against themselves as they beat themselves with turnovers for a second consecutive week. The Tribe fell to Greenwood 10 to 7 to fall to 1 and 2 on the season. (The High School league won't let them count the two games they beat themselves in the win column). So we are to game 4 of the season for the Tribe as they travel down to Union County to face the old rival Yellow Jackets. Lets look at this weeks game.

Gaffney @ Union County

The Union County Yellow Jackets have been a little snake bit so far this season, as they lost a close game against Spartanburg in Week 1, as the Vikings had a late goal line stand to preserve a 27 to 19 win. Then in Week 2 the Jackets came out a little flat against Broome and dropped another close game 20 to 13. Which Yellow Jackets team will show up this week?

The Jackets have five starters returning on offense and seven returning on defense from last season when they finished strong and won their Region Title. They lost most of their offensive fire power from last season and they have changed their offense to the spread to try to capitalize on their team speed and athleticism. They have some young receivers that can really run and they have a QB Keiston Smith who can run it or throw it. The offensive line has pretty good size, but they are young. Their offense as a whole is very young.

The Union County defense should be their strength as they are led by Division 1 prospect DE Desmond Floyd. They also have an outstanding LB named Jordan Sims. So far through the first two games the defense has been a little inconsistent. The Jackets are a team like Gaffney that gets better as the season goes along.

The things that the Gaffney Indians need to do this week are NO TURNOVERS ON OFFENSE AND FORCE SOME TURNOVERS ON DEFENSE!! The Gaffney offense moved the ball very good last week against Greenwood as they put up almost 400 yards. Turnovers, penalties and bad clock management at the end of the first half cost them points. The QB DeEdward Burris was very sharp, as he completed passes to six different receivers and passed for 306 yards. They need to continue distributing the ball around to different players and try to improve the running game.

The Tribe's defense has played pretty well this season, considering the position the offense has put them in with the turnovers and the injuries that they have had, but they do need to tackle a little better and tighten up against the run. They have had a bend but not break mentality so far this season. They need to be more aggressive an try to force some turnovers. They still have some starters out on defense as DL Edward Bigbe is still out as is DB Snoop Byers.

Keys to the game for Union County..... (1) Come out with a lot of intensity and get their crowd in the game. (2) Score early to give their young offense some confidence. (3) Force the Gaffney offense to turn the ball over.

Keys to the game for Gaffney..... (1) DO NOT TURN THE BALL OVER! (2) FORCE SOME TURNOVERS ON DEFENSE! (3) Tackle better on defense.

Game Prediction..... I see the Indians going on the road and playing their best game of the young season. Gaffney will come home with a much needed confidence building victory..... Gaffney 26 Union County 17

GO INDIANS!!!!!

Check out the Gaffney @ Union County Recap on Saturday.

Until Next Time.

GAFFNEY @ GREENWOOD GAME RECAP

I went to Greenwood Friday night expecting to watch the Gaffney Indians improve their play and to get a victory over the Eagles. What I saw was TURNOVERS, MISTAKES and BAD CLOCK MANAGEMENT that would ultimately cost the Tribe a win. This loss definitely made it a long trip back down highways 72, I-26 and I-85 to Gaffney late Friday night. The Tribe had just given another game away. The score was Greenwood 1o and Gaffney 7.

The game started with the Tribe moving the ball down the field with a short crisp passing game. With QB DeEdward Burris spreading the ball around to different receivers, Gaffney quickly moved into Greenwood territory and looked as if they were going to get an early lead. Then, their first mistake of the game showed its ugly self, a holding penalty that was a drive killer. The Indians would punt the ball to the Eagles and the defense stifled them with a quick 3 and out. Gaffney would get the ball back after a Greenwood punt and on the first play the Indians fumbled the ball back to the Eagles. TURNOVER NUMBER ONE set Greenwood up inside the Gaffney 35 yard line. Greenwood would take advantage, as they drove the ball down and scored to make it 7 to 0 late in the first quarter.

On Gaffney's next possession, their offense would respond with another impressive drive deep into Greenwood territory, only to have TURNOVER NUMBER TWO stop another potential scoring drive. Greenwood would slowly move down the field with one of their two sustained drives of the game and finally had to settle for a field goal and a 10 to o lead. The Tribe would get the ball back with less than 3 minutes left in the half and they would put together another impressive drive as they drove the ball to the Greenwood 13 yard line with 13 seconds left in the half. The problem here was they had eaten up two much time between a couple of plays before calling timeouts. They had lost about 15 seconds. Those 15 seconds would prove to be very costly. So Gaffney was on the 13 yard line, with 13 seconds left before half time and no timeouts left. With time to throw two passes to the endzone to try to get a very important score right before the half, the Indians complete a pass to the one yard line and the clock runs out before they can get back to the line of scrimmage to stop the clock. BAD CLOCK MANAGEMENT cost Gaffney another TD! So a first half filled with missed opportunities and turnovers for Gaffney ends with them on the Greenwood one yard line and trailing 10 to 0.

The third quarter started with the Eagles putting together their second sustained drive of the game as they were able to eat up almost 7:30 off of the clock. The Indian's defense bent but did not break as they made the Eagles turn the ball over on downs in side of the Gaffney twenty yard line. The Indian's offense could not move the ball and they were forced to punt. The Gaffney defense would then force a three and out and Greenwood punted. The Gaffney offense would then start another impressive drive moving the ball deep into Greenwood territory before TURNOVER NUMBER THREE stopped them again. The third quarter ended with Greenwood ahead 10 to 0.

The forth quarter started with the Eagles and Indians exchanging punts until about the 6 minute mark of the forth quarter when the Indians finally put together a drive that would produce points. The Tribe's QB DeEdward Burris would hit WR Wookie Littlejohn with a 24 yard TD pass to cut the Greenwood lead to 10 to 7 with about 3:40 left in the game. Needing a stop to get the ball back to have a chance to win the game, the Gaffney defense came up with a big play stopping the Eagles on a forth and inches at the Gaffney 39 yard line with 1:59 left to play. The Indians would start a drive and eventually move down to the Greenwood 19 yard line converting two long third down conversions in the process. The Tribe also lost QB Burris to an injury during the drive forcing back-up QB Joey Copeland into the game. After throwing a couple of incomplete passes on first and second down the Greenwood defense would come up with a couple of sacks on third and forth down to preserve the win for the Eagles. Greenwood won the game on the scoreboard 10 to 7, but the Indians beat themselves on the field.

My View From The Stands

As I watched this game from the stands at J.W. Babb Stadium I saw these things I would like to comment on. (1) Gaffney's Jr. WR Quinshad Davis is a super stud receiver and one of the best in the state. He reminds me of another great Gaffney receiver named Sidney Rice. (2) The reason the Indians are 1 and 2 on the season is because of turnovers. The Tribe has turned the ball over eight times in three games and they have forced one. The Indians are -7 in the give away take away category so far this season. This has to get better. (3) The Tribe's kicking game as a whole has to improve as they are not only struggling kicking PAT's', teams don't have to worry about them attempting a field goal and they are not getting good returns from their kick off return team.

Until Next Time.

WEEK 2 GAFFNEY @ GREENWOOD PREVIEW

The Gaffney Indians are back on the road this week after dropping their home opener 21 to 12 to top ranked Dorman this past Friday night. The Indians travel down to the Emerald City of Greenwood, SC to renew an old rivalry with the Greenwood Eagles. After scrimmaging the Eagles for several years at Presbyterian College, this will be the first regular season meeting with the Eagles since the 1990's. Greenwood High School football has a storied tradition in South Carolina High School history and this is a highly anticipated match-up with the storied Gaffney Indians. Lets preview this game and look at the keys to victory for each team.

Gaffney @ Greenwood

The Greenwood Eagles opened their 2010 season with a 17 to 8 victory over the Boiling Springs Bulldogs. The Eagles turned the football over six times against the Bulldogs, but found away to win the game. The Eagles defense played very well last week as they led the way to victory.

The Greenwood Eagles are a very talented triple-option offensive football team. Their offense is very similar to Georgia Tech and Wofford. They also like to use a play-action passing game that is very effective at producing a big play. The offense is led by a very athletic QB D.J. Dunlap and a big fullback D.J. Goodman. They like to run a lot of option-dive with Goodman behind their physical offensive line. On the defensive side of the ball the Eagles are big and physical on the line and they have a lot of speed in the secondary.

The Gaffney Indians need to put the Dorman game behind them and focus on Greenwood. The Indians need to protect the football and continue to expand their offense to be successful this week against the Eagles. The offense needs to capitalize when they get into the redzone, as they had redzone issues again last week against Dorman. They also MUST IMPROVE THE KICKING GAME! The Indian's defense must play disciplined football and stay with their responsibilities or they will give up big plays. The secondary for Gaffney can not fall asleep and get burned by Greenwood's play action game. On the injury front for Gaffney, Jr. DT Edward Bigby is questionable for the game, but Soph LB Quan Weeks should play.

Keys to the game for Greenwood..... (1) They can't turn the football over six times against Gaffney and expect to win. (2) Score a couple of times on big plays. (3) Make Gaffney's offense one dimensional. (4) Contain QB DeEdward Burris and WR Quinshad Davis and make someone else beat them.

Keys to the game for Gaffney..... (1) Do not turn the football over. Turnovers have killed the Indians the first two games. (2) Stay balanced on offense. Get more players involved. (3) Play disciplined assignment football on defense against their option attack. They can't be over aggressive on defense or they will get burned. (4) IMPROVE IN THE KICKING GAME! Gaffney can't continue to give their opposition the football at the 40 yard line on kickoffs. Make their PAT's. Being forced to make two point conversions can and will cost them a game or two with the schedule that they play. (5) Gaffney fans to pack the visitors side at Pinky Babb Stadium.

Game Prediction..... I see the Indians going on the road and getting a hard fought victory over a very good Greenwood team..... Gaffney 20 Greenwood 14

GO INDIANS BEAT THOSE GREENWOOD EAGLES!!!!

Check out the Gaffney @ Greenwood Recap blog on Saturday.

Until Next Time.