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.

DORMAN @ GAFFNEY GAME RECAP

It was Christmas in August last night at The Reservation and the Gaffney Indians were in the giving spirit as they handed the Dorman Cavaliers two first quarter gifts and a 14 to 0 lead. The Indians fumbled the ball on two consecutive plays, once inside their 35 yard line and on their next possession at their 20 yard line. The Cavaliers took advantage of their two gifts with two short TD drives with the first one ending with a short TD pass and the second from a short TD run from the Wildcat formation By A.J. Booker. The Indians were able to move the football pretty well in the first half as they had a pass intercepted on their first drive of the game in Dorman territory. The Tribe also had their red zone woes from a week ago show up again last night as they were stopped on downs deep in Cavaliers territory in the first quarter as well. The Gaffney defense played pretty well in the first half as the Cavaliers only put together one sustained drive and they were able keep them out of the end zone and force a field goal attempt. Gaffney's Soph DE Jaylin Miller blocked the field goal attempt to keep the game at 14 to 0. On the Tribe's last possession of the 1st half they drove into Dorman territory yet again only to be stopped on downs. The Indians did not punt in the first half.

The second half started with the Gaffney defense getting a three and out on the Dorman offense forcing a punt. The Gaffney offense finally responded with a drive that put points on the scoreboard, as they put together a 71 yard drive that ended when QB DeEdward Burris found WR Ryan Frock at the Dorman 10 yard line and he made the defender miss as he dove into the end zone for his first varsity TD. The Tribe's kicking woes showed up with a missed PAT. The score was 14 to 6. Dorman's offense would respond on their next possession as they would put together their best drive of the night driving deep into Gaffney territory and then turning it over to their Wildcat formation and A.J. Booker as he scored his second short TD of the game for a 21 to 6 lead. The Gaffney offense was still clicking on their next possession as they responded to get right back in the game with a 79 yard drive and a TD pass from Burris to Quinshad Davis. The Tribe would miss the PAT and they trailed 21 to 12. Dorman responded driving into Gaffney territory once again behind the running of Raymond Smith. The drive stalled on downs and Gaffney took over and was moving when Burris had to leave the game with cramps. The Gaffney drive would stall and they were forced to punt for the first and only time of the game. Gaffney finally got a gift from Dorman as Adam Humphries fumbled the punt giving Gaffney the ball on the Dorman 30 yard line. Burris was still out of the game on first and second down and Back-up Joey Copeland could not move the offense. Burris came limping into the game with a 3rd and long, but the Tribe would turn it over on downs. The game was pretty much over at this point as time was running out and Gaffney had to have two scores. Dorman would keep the ball for the remainder of the game as they drove deep into Indian territory and the game ended 21 to 12 in favor of Dorman. The Tribe falls to 1 and 1 on the season and they travel to Greenwood next Friday night.

My View From The Stands

I saw a lot of positives from Gaffney to build on, but I also saw some things that are going to have to be corrected if they are going to be a factor in the 4A Championship race. (1) They have to find a kicker that they can depend on to make PAT's. (2) They have to decide what kind of red zone offense they are going to have and improve on red zone production. (3) They have to take better care of the football and the defense has to start forcing some turnovers. The Tribe is -4 in the take away give away department after three games. (4) I see a ton of potential with this team they just have to improve on execution. The mistakes that they are making are correctable.

Until Next Time.