WEEK 1 (2011) GAFFNEY @ DORMAN

The Tribe had a very impressive opening game victory over Boiling Springs on Friday night, by a score of 47 to 0. The offense, defense and special teams played very well. The competition gets much stronger this week, as they travel to play the Dorman Cavaliers. It will be the opening game for the Cavaliers, after a strong jamboree effort against Chesnee last week. The Indians will be trying to halt a four game losing streak to the Cavaliers. Gaffney has not beaten Dorman since the 2006 State Championship season. Lets look at this huge early season match-up of South Carolina High School Football heavyweights.

Gaffney @ Dorman

The Cavaliers come into this game after winning 28 of 30 games the past two seasons. They have played for the 4A Division 1 Title the past two seasons as well. They won the Title in 2009 and lost it last season. This will be their 2011 season opener.

The Dorman offense will be led by their strong and talented offensive line. The O-line is led by Clemson commitment Patrick Destefano. SR. Tailback Raymond Smith returns after a very impressive season a year ago. The Cavaliers offense will be starting a new QB this season in JR. Trey Robinson. The Cavalier's offense lost some very talented playmakers from last years team in WR Charone Peake, WR Adam Humphries and Indians killer A.J. Booker. They have a very talented playmaker returning at WR in Casey Cohen. I expect early in the season for Dorman to rely on the running of Raymond Smith behind their strong offensive line.

The Dorman defense appears to be their typical quick and attacking defense, as has been their style under their defensive coordinator Phil Smith. The defensive front has more size than last year and the linebackers and secondary still has very good speed.

The Gaffney offense came out smoking last week and scored 47 points. They had an outstanding performance from QB Joey Copeland whom was making his first varsity start. They also showed that they have several playmakers, as seven different players caught passes. The Tribe's offense will really get a test from the quick attacking Dorman defense this week.

The Gaffney defense will really get a tough test this week against the strong and talented Dorman offensive line. It should be strength against strength, the Dorman O-line against Gaffney's strong and fast D-line.

Keys To The Game For Dorman..... (1) Establish their potent running game to keep Indians offense off the field. (2) Force some turnovers on defense. Forcing Gaffney turnovers was the main key to their win last year. (3) Limit their first game mistakes.

Keys To The Game For Gaffney..... (1) Do what they did last week on offense, spread the ball around to their many playmakers. (2) Take care of the football. Turnovers killed the Indians last season in this match-up. (3) Stop the Dorman running game and make their young QB beat them with the pass.

Game Prediction..... This is really a huge early season test for both teams. The extra half of point for the victor will be huge come playoff time. Dorman is at home and Gaffney has a game under their belts. Those two factors should cancel each other out. I see Gaffney as the more talented football team this year and the better football team as well..... Gaffney 24 Dorman 14

You can catch my Gaffney @ Dorman Recap on Saturday.

Until Next Time.