WEEK 5 (2011) GAFFNEY @ GREENVILLE

The Tribe won a very big football game last Friday night at Byrnes. They put the Rebels away 35 to 13. It was Gaffney's first win at Nixon Field since 1999. So far this season the Tribe has beaten the 4A Division 1 State Champs, from last season, Byrnes the Division 1 State Runner-up Dorman and the 4A Division 2 Runner-up Greenwood. Two of the three on the road. The 4A Division 2 State Champs Northwestern come to The Reservation October 28th. They are a lot of football between now and then. The Tribe plays at Greenville this week in their final non-region game. After this week they get an open date on the schedule. Let's look at the game with Greenville.

Gaffney @ Greenville

Over the last five seasons, no game on Gaffney's schedule has been more exciting than the match-up with Greenville. All have been decided by 7 points or less. Two years ago they trailed Greenville 29 to 7, early in the 3rd quarter, before scoring 32 2nd half points to win the game. Last season, at The Reservation, the Tribe had to rally from an early 14 to 0 deficit to win another nail bitter. The point I am making is Greenville always plays their best against Gaffney.
This season Gaffney comes into this game 5 and 0 ranked NO.1 in South Carolina and as high as NO. 3 in the National polls. Greenville comes into this game 0 and 4 and a struggling football team. On paper this should be an ugly outcome for the Red Raiders. The game is not played on paper, just ask the Gaffney boys basketball team about losing in the playoffs to a bad Byrnes team that they had blown out twice during the regular season. If you aren't focused anything can happen.

The Greenville offense returns their QB, but lost their receiving corps. They have struggled to find consistent play makers. They have had turnover problems as well. Through their first four games they have scored 56 points for an average of 14.0 per game.

The Red Raiders defense has even been worse. They have had to replace 9 of their 11 starters from last season. They have given up 162 points for an average of 40.5 per game. What can a team do to turn a win less season around? Beat the NO. 1 team in the state. I expect the Red Raiders to play their best game of the season.

The Gaffney offense did not bring their "A" game last week at Byrnes, but they still scored 35 points. They did have three turnovers that kept the Rebels in the game until the 4th quarter. A big part of Gaffney's success on offense this season has been sustaining drives. For the season they have converted 54% of their 3rd down conversions. They have scored 226 points for an average of 45.2 points per game. Quinshad Davis has 35 catches and 8 TDs and is averaging 135 yards a game receiving. Joey Copeland has completed almost 70% of his passes for 14 passing TDs and only 4 interceptions. He has also scored 10 TDs.

The Gaffney defense played very well last week against Byrnes. They continue to make plays and they are forcing key turnovers. One thing they have really done well this season is keeping teams from converting 3rd downs. They have allowed only a 24% conversion rate. They have given up only 58 points for an average of 11.6 points per game.

Keys To The Game For Greenville..... (1) The Red Raiders have to control the clock with their offense. They have to sustain drives and score points. (2) They have to force some turnovers. (3) They have to get off to a good start. The longer they can stay in the game the more confidence they will get and the more pressure will build on Gaffney.

Keys To The Game For Gaffney..... (1) Mental preparation for this game is imperative for Gaffney. Again ask the basketball team about not being mentally prepared to play an inferior opponent. (2) Jump on them early and often to get them out of the game. The longer they hang around the more confident they will have that they can beat Gaffney. (3) Correct the turnovers that they had last week that kept Byrnes in the game.

Game Prediction..... I feel like this Gaffney team will win this game going away. I feel like they will be ready and build off the momentum from beating Byrnes last week. It could get ugly..... Gaffney 56 Greenville 13

TRIBE FACTS..... In 18 meetings between Gaffney and Greenville since 1960, the Tribe holds a 12 and 5 and 1 record.

You can check out my Gaffney @ Greenville Recap on Saturday.

Until Next Time.