GAFFNEY @ NORTHWESTERN RECAP

Two nights before Halloween, District 3 Stadium in Rock Hill, was again a House of Horrors for the Gaffney Indians. The Indians could not slow down the state's top passer Justin Worley, as he was 37 for 48 for 424 yards and 5 TD passes. The Indians had 5 turnovers, three of which were inside the Northwestern 10-yard line. Gaffney QB DeEdward Burris, was banged up in the 1st quarter and missed most of the 2nd quarter, with a shoulder injury. Then, there were two very questionable TD receptions by Northwestern receivers, that looked like the catch was made out-of-bounds, in the back of the end zone. Just another night in the House of Horrors known as District 3 Stadium, by the Gaffney Indians. Lets look at the game by quarters.

FIRST QUARTER

I guess you could say it was an omen, as on Gaffney's first play from scrimmage, after receiving the opening kickoff, Burris over threw a pass over the middle, that was intercepted by the Trojans. Justin Worley made them pay, as he would throw his first of 5 TD passes on the night, a 13-yard strike to Robert Joseph. The Indians would respond on their next two possessions, driving down the field and scoring first on a 7-yard run by Burris and then on a 4-yard run by C.J. Miller. A couple of plays before Miller's TD run, DeEdward Burris would have to leave the game with a shoulder injury. It looked like the injury sucked the life out of the Gaffney defense, as Northwestern moved quickly down the field, with very little resistance, and answered the two Gaffney scores with another Worley TD pass of 24-yards to Brandon Lewis. The 1st quarter ended with the score tied at 14 to 14.

SECOND QUARTER

The 2nd quarter started with Gaffney driving down the field in impressive fashion, with back-up QB Joey Copeland playing for the injured DeEdward Burris. It looked like the Tribe was going to take the lead again, but Copeland would fumble the ball over to the Trojans inside the Northwestern 5-yard line. Copeland was fighting for extra yardage and the ball was knocked loose. You can't fault the effort, but you have to take care of the football in a big game like this one. The teams would exchange punts and Gaffney got the ball back late in the quarter. DeEdward Burris would come back into the game with 4:26 to play in the 1st half. He would lead the Indians on a 56-yard scoring drive, which back-up QB Joey Copeland would score on a 1-yard run with 1:00 left in the 1st half. It looked like the Tribe was going to go in at halftime with a 21 to 14 lead. Justin Worley had another plan, as he drove the Trojans down the field and found Rontavious McClure with a 15-yard fade to the back corner of the end zone with 3.7 seconds left in the half. This was the first of the questionable TD catches in the game. It looked like he was clearly out-of-bounds. The 1st half ended with the score tied 21 to 21.

THIRD QUARTER

The 3rd quarter started with the Trojans driving the ball into Gaffney territory. The Gaffney defense would force a punt and the Indians would get it back. The Indians would start on an impressive drive that was stopped with an interception by Northwestern's Josh Shelton at the 6-yard line. Turnover number two inside the 10-yard line by the Tribe. The Trojans marched 94-yards on 12 plays to regain the lead, as Worley scored on a 7-yard run on forth-and-1. The 3rd quarter ended with Northwestern ahead 28 to 21.

FORTH QUARTER

The 4th quarter started with Gaffney on the move. They moved the ball down the field and tied the score, on a 2-yard run by Joey Copeland, from the Wild Indian formation. With 10:16 left in the game, we had a 28 to 28 score. Northwestern's next scoring drive was set up by an interception in Gaffney territory by Montrece Kennedy, his second of the game. Worley would hit B.J. Boyd with a 10-yard TD pass giving the Trojans a 35 to 28 lead with 8:57 left in the game. Northwestern would force a Gaffney punt on their next possession and they would drive down and score on a 10-yard pass from Worley to McClure. This was questionable TD catch number two, It looked like he was clearly out of the back of the end zone. The score made it 42 to 28 late. Gaffney was not done, as they would hit a big pass play to Quinshad Davis, to get the ball down in the red zone. Montrece Kennedy would ice the game for the Trojans, with his third interception of the game, this one in the end zone. Turnover number three inside the Northwestern 10-yard line for the Tribe. The game ended with Northwestern winning 42 to 28. The Northwestern Trojans are the 2010 Region 3 4A Champions. The Gaffney Indians are left wondering, what if.

My View From The Stands..... (1) Gaffney fans out numbered Northwestern fans by a large amount. (2) I saw Quinshad Davis have a monster game, as he had 13 catches for 258 yards.
(3) Northwestern QB Justin Worley is the real deal. Tennessee is getting their QB of the future. (4) I saw another strange game for the Gaffney Indians at District 3 Stadium, better known by Indians fans as the House of Horrors.

Until Next Time.