HEAD COACH POSSIBILITIES

Here we are a little more than two weeks after the shocking resignation of Gaffney Head Coach Phil Strickland. There are numerous names floating around about who will be the new commander-in-chief of the most storied high school football program in the state of South Carolina. The hiring of the Head Football Coach in Gaffney is a very big deal. To most people, in Gaffney, it probably means more who the Head Football Coach is rather than who the Mayor is. There will be a lot of interest in the Indians Head Coaching position, as they have already received as many as a dozen or so resumes and the job has just officially been posted as open by the School District. I would like to look at some names that I think the search committee should look at and at least contact to see how much interest there might be by both parties.

1) Doc Davis..... the longtime Head Coach at Spartanburg High School where he won five State Championships in 18 years. He has been the Head Coach at the new Ashley Ridge High School near Summerville the past two seasons. Davis recently announced his retirement a couple of months back, but has said that the Gaffney job is one of the very few that he might come out of retirement for. He would never say it, but you know he would like to have the opportunity to beat Spartanburg, after they gave him the shaft three years ago that led to his resignation. I say talk to him and see if there is a fit for him in Gaffney.

2) Chris Miller or Bobby Bentley at Byrnes..... you ask why would they want to leave Byrnes where they have had the most successful run for the past decade than any High School Football team in South Carolina history? The answer is, to many Head Coaches at the same school. Chris Miller is technically the Head Coach, but he has Bobby Bentley the coach that built the Byrnes program into what it is today looking over his shoulder. At some point this will cause problems. How long does Miller want to stay at Byrnes with Bentley looking over his shoulder? How long will Bentley's ego allow him to not be the man fully in charge of the Rebels football program? I say talk to both, to see if either one has any interest in coming to Gaffney.

3) Doug Shaw at Mauldin..... would be a very good coach to talk to as well. He is the son of former longtime Head Coach at Myrtle Beach High School Doug Shaw Sr. He has won everywhere he has been including winning 9 games at Mauldin High School last season. Mauldin is a very hard place to win, as it is in Greenville County and they have virtually no football tradition. What could Doug Shaw do at a school with the tradition that Gaffney High School has? I think pretty good. I say contact him and see if there might be a fit.

4) Steve Tanneyhill at Chesterfield..... would be a very interesting coach to consider. He has done a spectacular job at resurrecting the football program at 1A Chesterfield High School. He has had the Rams in the State Championship Game the last four seasons, winning the last three. He is a very good football coach and I really think he would be a good fit for Gaffney. The problem with Steve Tanneyhill is, he does not have a teaching certificate. I say it would be worth the Gaffney search committee's time to talk to him and see if something could be worked out.

5) Allen Sitterle at Lexington..... would be another interesting coach to consider. He was the coach that Gaffney fans loved to hate when he was at Spartanburg High School back in the 80's. He was also at Daniel High School for several seasons and won State Championships while there. He has won everywhere he has been and he is doing a very good job turning around the Lexington program. I say talk to him and see if there is a fit.

6) Dan Jones the current Interim Head Coach at Gaffney..... would be the best choice if they decide to promote from within. He is a Gaffney native and has done a very good job as Defensive Coordinator at Gaffney under Phil Strickland. He has been a very big part of Gaffney's success of winning State Championships the last several seasons. He is well liked by the team and is very knowledgeable on the offensive and defensive schemes that Gaffney wants to run. The time of the Strickland resignation also makes him a very good candidate, because bringing in someone from outside could pose problems with changing of coaching philosophies with the start of preseason practice just a little over two months away. I say talk to him and see if he might be the man for the job.

This Gaffney coaching search is going to be very interesting to follow and Tribe Blitz will be there to follow it with you.

Until Next Time.

FRUSTRATED PHIL STRICKLAND WALKS AWAY

"I'm tired of beating my head against the wall." This is what Former Gaffney High Head Coach Phil Strickland said on Tuesday following his resignation from his job as Athletic Director and Head Coach of the Gaffney High School Indians. Coach Strickland also said, "This job here in Gaffney should be the best high school job in South Carolina, and in some ways, it is. I love the people here, the kids, the fans, but things could be a lot, lot better in other areas." Coach Strickland would not throw stones or talk specifics when he said these things, because he is to classy for that, but we all know what a lot of the problems are, Don't we? As it has been well documented that Strickland and certain members of the Cherokee County School Board have not seen eye-to-eye the past few years, especially since the construction of the new Reservation football stadium. The truth is that, Coach Phil Strickland has been on the School Boards "Hit List" ever since the controversy over the new GHS stadium a few years ago. Some of the School Board members did not like it when Coach Strickland and his wife Debbie, stood up at a public school board meeting and spoke against the board's excuses and repeated delays that eventually resulted in a lesser stadium that wound up costing more money. It is obvious who screwed up that decision, ISN'T IT? The School Board members can probably still hear the loud chorus of "BOO'S" that they received from the Gaffney fans following the State Championship game in Columbia when they were introduced. There has also been at least two of the School Board members conducting a campaign against Phil Strickland for not re-designating the reserved seating assignments at the new stadium, reportedly because a handful of their friends wanted "better" seats. As for Phil Strickland, there has been numerous bumps along his path over the past few years. For the most part, he has kept his mouth shut and negotiated his way around them. On Tuesday, however, he had had enough. Phil Strickland had intended to stay in Gaffney, as he had already signed his contract for next year. Phil Strickland is a very good football coach, a good person and a class act that cares about his players, coaches and the fans of Gaffney High School. PHIL STRICKLAND DID NOT DESERVE TO BE TREATED THIS WAY! That is more than we can say about the majority of the Cherokee County School Board. The board cares only about themselves and the politics, not the kids and their teachers. If anyone should be leaving it should be the School Board not a great man and coach like Phil Strickland. As parents and fans of Gaffney High School, lets do something about this School Board. Lets go to the polls and vote these people out of office!!!

Until Next Time.

BASEBALL AND SOFTBALL PLAYOFFS PREVIEW

Well it is playoff time for the Gaffney Indians baseball and softball teams, so it is time for the 4A Baseball and Softball State Champions to open defense of their 2009 State Championships. Lets look at the district playoffs for both teams.

BASEBALL

After getting off to a slow start this season, 1 and 4 in their first five Region 3 4A games, the Indians battled back winning their last five Region games to finish as the 2nd seed out of Region 3 4A. The Indians finished the regular season 15 and 7 and 6 and 4 in Region 3 4A. The Indians begin District 1 play tonight at home at Commissioners Field against Blythwood the 3rd seed out of Region 4 4A. The other teams in the District 1 playoffs are Wren the Champions of Region 1 4A and the 1st seed in the District and Dorman the 4th seed out of Region 2 4A. It is a very tough District with four quality teams. The Indians come into the playoffs on a roll, as they have won eight in a row, appear to be peaking at the right time of the season. It should be very interesting to watch the Tribe's playoff run as they try to defend their State Championship from 2009.

SOFTBALL

The Gaffney Lady Indians softball team opens defense of their 2009 State Championship as the 2nd seed from Region 3 4A and they open the District 1 playoffs at home tonight against Lancaster the 3rd seed from Region 4 4A. The Lady Indians finished the regular season 17 and 4 and 9 and 1 in Region 3 4A and as Co-Champions of Region 3 4A with Nation Ford. The Tribe lost the tiebreaker with the Falcons and finished with the 2nd seed in the Region. The Lady Indians come into the playoffs in a hitting slump, but with perhaps the best softball pitcher in the state in Julie Sarratt. The other teams in the District 1 playoffs are top-seed Laurens out of Region 1 4A and a very good Byrnes team as the 4th seed out of Region 2 4A. It looks like a very tough District, which will make for some very interesting high school softball action.

GO INDIANS!!! LETS WIN OUR DISTRICT CHAMPIONSHIPS!!!

Until Next Week.

TRIBE BASEBALL AND SOFTBALL UPDATE

BASEBALL

The defending 4A State Baseball Champions got off to a rocky start in Region 3 4A play this season as they started 1 and 4 in the Region. The Indians are beginning to get on a roll, as they have won three consecutive Region 3 games and stand 4 and 4 in the Region 3 4A standings. The Indians appear to be peaking at just the right time, as they make a run for the playoffs. Michael Wright has picked up where he left off last season, as he has had a stellar season on the mound. Corey Crissone has also had a solid season on the mound for the Indians as well. Tyler Wilson has been battling a sore arm most of the season but when called upon he has been very dominant. The Indians face a very big week this week to see if they can get into the playoffs and to see what place they finish in Region 3 4A. The week starts with a big game at home tonight at Commissioner's Field against Region 3 rival Clover.

SOFTBALL

The defending 4A State Softball Champions have been good this season and have been ranked in the Top 10 all season, but they have not been as dominate as they were last season. The Lady Indians also appear to be getting better as the season progresses as they have a 7 and 1 record in Region 3 4A and have a chance to wrap up a Region 3 Championship this week. Julie Sarratt really seams to be getting better as she pitched a perfect game last week. The Lady Indians start their week at Clover tonight.

OUTLOOK

I really do see the Indians Baseball team to continue to play well and make the playoffs. I believe they can make a run especially if they can get more innings out of Tyler Wilson in the playoffs. They also have big game pitcher Michael Wright, who became a star last season as a 9th grader as he helped lead the Tribe to the State Championship. I do not see the Indians repeating as State Champions, even though it is not impossible. A good solid season.

I see the Lady Indians Softball team winning the Region 3 Championship and also making a run in the playoffs if Julie Sarratt continues to pitch as well as she has recently. I see the Lady Indians coming up a little short of a repeat State Champion as they lose to the Byrnes Lady Rebels in the playoffs. A good solid season.

I hope I am wrong about the outlooks of the Tribe's baseball and softball teams as my blood is black and gold. GO INDIANS!!

Until Next Time.

A LOOK AHEAD AT THE INDIANS 2010 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

We are still sticking out our chest with pride about our 2010 State Championship Boys Basketball Team and our defending State Champions in Softball and Baseball are in the middle of their seasons, but I would like to look ahead to the fall and look at the Tribe's 2010 football schedule.

GAFFNEY'S 2010 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

The Gaffney Indians have traditionally played tough football schedules and it has payed off with 16 State Football Championships, the most in the history of the state of South Carolina. The 2010 fall football schedule looks to be the toughest in recent history with non-region games with Boiling Springs, Dorman, Greenwood, Union County, Byrnes and Greenville. The Region 3 4A schedule will be much tougher than before as well with region games against Clover, Rock Hill, Lancaster, Northwestern and arch-rival Spartanburg.

The Indians will start their 2010 season one week earlier than usual, as they play Boiling Springs in week 0 of the season. The Indians will not host their Jamboree this season because of the early season start up. The Indians will again play in The Battle on The Border Jamboree against Crest.

It should be a very exciting 2010 football season for the Gaffney Indians as they return a large number of players from last season's Upperstate Runner-up team. The New Reservation should see very large crowds this fall and the road games should be played in front of large crowds as well. If the Indians have a great regular season, with the schedule that they are playing, they should get a good seed for the playoffs. It would be great to bring home another football State Championship to the School of Champions Gaffney High School.

Until Next Tuesday.

THE FINISHERS ( THE STORY OF THE 2010 4A STATE CHAMPIONS )

What I would like to do today is to look back and see how the 2010 4A State Championship Basketball Season unfolded. Before we look at this Championship season we have to look at how the 2009 season ended.

The 2009 season ended with the Gaffney Indians getting to the State Championship game in Columbia to play Lowerstate Champion Goose Creek Gators. The Indians fell behind by double digits in the 1st half, only to rally and cut the lead to two points with less than a minute to go in the game. The Goose Creek Gators would hold on and hand the Gaffney Indians a very disappointing 63 to 58 loss in the State Title Game. The Indians would finish the season at 25 and 3. The Indians would lose eight players off of the 2009 team but had 4A Player of The Year Josh Corry coming back. The Indians had three more players coming back as well with Bo Wray, Domminick Byers and Chase Smith. The loss in the Championship Game stayed with these four returning players all through the summer work-outs and preseason practices as they could not wait until the new season would start so they could try to finish what they could not finish the season before, to win a State Championship.

The season started for the Gaffney Indians with the four returning players and eight new players on the varsity team. For most programs it would have been a rebuilding season, but the Gaffney Indians of Head Coach Mark Huff are not most programs, as they are the top 4A boys program in the state of South Carolina and they were just reloading for another championship run. Coach Huff has always given his teams a nickname before the start of the season and this years edition of the Gaffney Indians would be called The Finishers.

The season opener was on December 4th against rival Union County. The Indians opened the season without their top player and the reigning 4A Player of the year Josh Corry as he was suspended for the season opener for missing a practice. The undersized Indians were quicker than the taller Yellowjackets and out rebounded Union County 48 to 27 and senior Chase Smith picked up the scoring slack from Corry not playing with 24 points. The Indians would defeat Union County 92 to 57.

The early season had the Indians defeating arch-rival Spartanburg 86 to 68 in game two of the season. Game number three of the young season had the Indians in their first big showdown of the season as the 3rd ranked Gaffney Indians faced the 4th ranked Dorman Cavaliers. The game lived up to the hype as the Indians escaped with a 66 to 60 victory. After an easy 72 to 45 win over Byrnes the Indians and Cavaliers would meet once again with the Indians completing the regular season sweep of the Dorman Cavaliers 54 to 49.

The Holiday Tournament part of the Indians schedule started as they hosted the Substation 2 Tournament at The Burial Ground. The Indians would play Spartanburg Christian Academy in the first round and defeat the Warriors 68 to 64. The Indians would defeat Chesnee in the Substation 2 Championship 81 to 59. It was two very lackadaisical and unimpressive performances for the Indians even though they won the Tournament Championship.

The Indians would then participate in the Upwards Classic Tournament at Dorman High School where they would face Peachtree Ridge from Atlanta in the first round. The Indians did not play well for a third consecutive game and fell to a very good Peachtree Ridge team 87 to 70. The Indians would bounce back and defeat Butler (NC) 85 to 73 and Sebastian River (FLA) 82 to 60 to finish out the Upwards Classic.

The Non-Region schedule for the Indians ended with another big win over Byrnes 70 to 57 and another win against arch-rival Spartanburg 67 to 56 and another win over Union County 95 to 73.So the calender had turned from 2009 to the 2010 part of the schedule with the Indians finishing the non-region part of their schedule with an 12and 1 record.

The 2010 Region 3 4A opener had the Indians defeating the York Cougars 88 to 75. It was a Region win but it was not pretty. The Indians stood at 13 and 1 over-all and 1 and 0 in region play.

The 2010 season turning point came after another lackadaisical win over Region 3 4A lightweight Nation Ford 65 to 55, the Indians would then host Fort Mill at The Burial Ground. The Fort Mill Yellowjackets would come to Gaffney and defeat the Indians 66 to 60. The Indians would follow up their loss to Fort Mill with a win at the buzzer against Region 3 4A's last place team Northwestern 73 to 71. The Indians would then insert Quinshad Davis into the starting line-up and they turned up their defensive intensity a few notches and greatly improved their rebounding as their season turned around.

The 2010 regular season ended on a roll for the Gaffney Indians, after their loss to Fort Mill and near-miss to Northwestern, as they reeled off Region 3 4A wins of 76 to 48 over Clover, 90 to 52 over Nation Ford, 71 to 66 in their rematch with Fort Mill, 94 to 56 over York, 89 to 60 over Clover and 114 to 46 over Northwestern. The Indians would end the regular season with a 21 and 2 record and as Region 3 4A Champions as they headed to the playoffs.

The 2010 4A Playoff opener had the Indians hosting and defeating South Pointe by a score of 69 to 43. The Indians would lose star guard Josh Corry in the 2nd quarter with a badly sprained ankle. The win over the Stallions would set up another showdown with arch-rival Spartanburg in the 2nd round.

The 2nd and 3rd round of the 4A Playoffs had the Indians, with a questionable Josh Corry playing in the game at about 80%, defeating Spartanburg 69 to 47 in the 2nd round and they survived a 3rd classic match-up with Dorman in the 3rd round 45 to 42. Sophomore Quinshad Davis scored the winning basket with a lay-up with 10 seconds left in the game.

The 2010 Upperstate Championship Game had the Gaffney Indians facing the surprising Easley Green Wave who had upset NO. 1 ranked Hillcrest in the 3rd round. The Indians jumped to a 22 to 8 lead at the end of the 1st quarter and was able to hold off the Green Wave with a late run for a 74 to 66 victory and the Upperstate Championship for the Indians. Dershawn Dawkins led the Tribe with 24 points including 12 in the 4th quarter. Eighth-grader L.J. Peak added 14 points and 8 rebounds.

The 2010 4A State Championship Game had The Finishers back in Columbia to finish the job that they didn't finish in March of 2009. The Indians would face the Lexington Wildcats who defeated Goose Creek the team that broke the hearts of the Indians and their fans a year ago in the Title game. The State Championship game with Lexington was a game of runs with the last and Championship clinching run being a 22 to 6 run by the Indians to end the game after falling behind 51 to 49 to Lexington to start the 4th quarter. The Wildcats had finished an 11 to 0 run to take the lead early in the 4th quarter. The Indians won this game with their bench outscoring the Lexington bench 29 to 3 for the game and they out rebounded the taller Wildcats 37 to 17. Junior PG Dershawn Dawkins led the Indians with 16 points and executed the Indians offense flawless and sophomore Quinshad Davis scored 15 points and 13 rebounds. The Indians defeated Lexington 71 to 57. THE FINISHERS FINISHED THE JOB AND WON THE 2010 4A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP IN BOYS BASKETBALL!!

The loss in the State Championship Game last year was a big motivating factor with this years Gaffney Indians basketball team. They wanted to finish the job and they did. The Finishers are 2010 State Champs!

TRIBE FACTS..... The Gaffney Indians have won four 4A Basketball State Championships in eight years.

TRIBE FACTS..... The Gaffney Indians have won a total of five Basketball State Championships in school history. The Titles were won in 1949, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2010.

Until Next Tuesday.

4A BOYS BASKETBALL STATE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME RECAP

THE FINISHERS FINISH THE JOB, STATE CHAMPIONS!!!

The Gaffney Indians finished the job this past Friday night at the Colonial Life Arena, as they won their 4th State Basketball Championship in the last eight years as they defeated Lexington 71 to 57. It is the Gaffney Indians 5th Basketball State Championship in School history. The Indians finished with a 26 and 2 record with Region 3, Upperstate and State championships.Lets recap the State Championship Game.

1ST QUARTER

The Indians came out as the home team dressed in their home white uniforms. Lexington would open the game with a 5 to 0 lead before Dershawn Dawkins scored on a runner in the lane to give the Tribe their first points of the game. Gaffney looked like they came out a little tight and their first basket of the game seemed to calm them down. Gaffney would out score the Wildcats 10 to 2 the rest of the quarter to lead 12 to 7 at the end of the first quarter. The Indians would show in the 1st quarter how they were going to win this game. The Indians really pounded the boards and got some great play off of their bench.

2ND QUARTER

The Indians depth and rebounding would continue to be the story in the 2nd quarter as well as they held the Wildcats to one and done for most of the quarter and they continued to get outstanding production off of their bench. The Indians bench would out score Lexington's bench 16 to 0 in the first half, led by Zevonta Shands who had two huge three pointers for 6 points and William Smith with 6 points. Eighth-grader L.J. Peak had 2 points off the bench and rebounded and defended well also. Michael Wright was his usual spark plug off the bench as he had 2 points and played good defense and continued to come up with loose balls. The Indians would lead 35 to 24 at the half.

3RD QUARTER

The third quarter started with the Lexington Wildcats making a major run at the Indians, fueled by their star guard Shaq Roland. The Wildcats would go on a 13 to 2 run to tie the game up at 37. The Indians responded with one of their patented runs as they would out score Lexington 10 to 0 in the blink of and eye. The 10 to 0 run took all of 1:21 off the clock. The Indians would then lead 47 to 37. The Wildcats would come off the deck once again, as they out scored Gaffney 12 to 2 to end the third quarter. The quarter ended with the score tied at 49 to 49.

4TH QUARTER

The 4th quarter started with Lexington getting a steal on the Indians first possession of the quarter and getting a basket for their first lead since the first quarter at 51 to 49. Instead of panicking the Indians got back to playing Gaffney basketball as super-sub for the game Zevonta Shands would hit his 3rd three point basket of the game to put the Indians back on top 52 to 51. The Indians would not give up the lead again, as the Indians depth began to take its toll on the Wildcats. Dershawn Dawkins would score 6 points down the stretch and he would drive and dish to Quinshad Davis who had 7 points down the stretch as the Indians increased their lead to 10. The Wildcats got the lead down to 63 to 57, but was unable to get any closer, as the Indians would hit their free throws down the stretch to finish the job of winning the State Championship 71 to 57.

THE KEYS TO VICTORY

The keys to the Gaffney Indians winning the State 4A Basketball Championship was the Indians being so dominant on the boards as they out rebounded the taller Lexington Wildcats 37 to 17 for the game. The depth of the Indians payed off as usual, as Gaffney's bench outscored the Lexington bench 29 to 3 for the game. The Indians were able to out score Lexington 22 to 6 the rest of the game after falling behind 51 to 49 with 7:30 left in the 4th quarter. Lexington probably handled Gaffney's press better than anybody had all season, but it still took its toll on the Wildcats as they ran out of gas in the 4th quarter.

Gaffney's All-state guard Josh Corry did not have one of his better games as he only scored 9 points with two big three point baskets in the first half and two key free throws down the stretch. The Indians showed just how good they are by winning the State Championship game with their star having a sub-par game. They got a team high 16 points from junior point guard Dershawn Dawkins, 15 points and 13 rebounds from sophomore forward Quinshad Davis, 11 points and three key three point baskets from junior reserve guard Zevonta Shands, 6 points and 6 rebounds from eighth-grader L.J. Peak and only 2 points but 7 big rebounds from senior forward Chase Smith. CONGRATULATIONS INDIANS FOR FINISHING THE JOB OF WINNING THE STATE BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP!!!

TRIBE FACTS..... The Gaffney Indians moved into a tie with Lower Richland High School for the most 4A Basketball State Championships with 4. The 4A classification was formed by the South Carolina High School League back in 1969. The Indians have a total of 5 basketball State Championships in their history.

Until Next Tuesday.