WEEK 12 (2011) WEST ASHLEY @ GAFFNEY

It's hard to believe, but we are done with the regular season of High School football. It's time for the playoffs. The Tribe wrapped up their regular season with a 42 to 0 victory over Spartanburg. The win over the Vikings gave the Indians the Region 3 4A Championship and a perfect 11 and 0 record. The Tribe also goes into the Division 1 4A playoffs as the Number 1 seed and with home field advantage until the finals. Let's look at Gaffney's 1st Round Playoff Game against West Ashley.

West Ashley @ Gaffney

The West Ashley Wildcats come into this 1st Round Playoff Game with a 6 and 5 record. They opened their school in the year 2000. They are located in Charleston, South Carolina and this years team is the schools first with a winning record. This will be the second meeting between the Wildcats and the Indians. They met at The Old Reservation in the 1st Round of the 2003 playoffs, a game Gaffney won 49 to 13 on their way to a 14 and 1 season and a State Championship.

The West Ashley offense is led by QB Thomas Woodhead, who has over 1000 yards rushing on the season. They do alternate QBs depending on what offensive package they are going to run. They use Woodhead the most, as they run the football more than they pass it. They have some big kids, but not a lot of team speed. They have scored 188 points this season for an average of 17.1 per game.

Defensively they run a 3-5-3 defense with a lot of quarters coverage. They try to keep you from going deep by keeping every thing in front of them. Defense has been their teams strength this season, as they have given up 172 points for an average of 15.6 per game. They have a lot of size, but not a lot of team speed on defense. The West Ashley team is very experienced, as they have 40 seniors on their roster.

The Gaffney offense just needs to do what they have been doing all season, spreading the ball around and taking what the defense is giving them. The Tribe has scored 566 points for an average of 51.5 per game. They should be okay as long as they focus on doing what Gaffney does, execute on offense.

The Gaffney defense should be able to dominate with their team speed. They have kicked it up a couple of notches the last couple of weeks. They have given up a total of 101 points for an average of 9.2 per game. If they focus on playing Gaffney defensive football, they should have another shut out on their resume.

Keys To The Game For West Ashley..... (1) Hope that Gaffney is not focused on playing them. (2) They have to force several turnovers and turn them into points. (3) They have to leave it all on the field. Try anything that they can to stay in the football game. (4) play a perfect football game.

Keys To The Game For Gaffney..... (1) Be focused to play football and not looking past the Wildcats. (2) Do not turn the ball over. (3) Just play Gaffney football and execute.

Game Prediction..... The West Ashley team comes all the way from Charleston to try and do something no one else has done this season. They are going to try and beat the Indians. They will leave Gaffney impressed with the Peachoid, The Reservation and the Gaffney Indians football team. THE TRIBE ROLLS TO THE NEXT ROUND..... Gaffney 49 West Ashley 0

TRIBE FACTS..... The last team to beat Gaffney at home in the playoffs was Orangeburg-Wilkinson in 1984.

TRIBE FACTS..... The last time Gaffney lost a 1st round playoff game was in 2002 at Summerville 37 to 27.

You can check out my West Ashley @ Gaffney 1st Round Playoff Recap on Saturday.

Until Next Time.