By Billy G. Baker Publisher Gaffney — The Gaffney Lady Indians (10-5, 3-1) softball team went into Spring break on a three-game win streak and first year head varsity coach Maddie Pruitt is excited about coaching at her alma mater. “I played at Gaffney and graduated in 2014,” said Coach Pruitt. “I take so much pride in coaching at my alma mater. This is my first year as head coach after being an assistant for the past three seasons. I have taken this program in a new direction and with this season we are laying the foundation for the future of the softball program at Gaffney High School.” Gaffney has three region wins over Dorman, Spartanburg, and Boiling Springs this season. They lost to region leading Byrnes earlier in the season. The Indians will play at Byrnes in a key region game on April, 9. The team’s seven other wins so far this season came against: Pickens (9-3 & 16-5), Wren (11-1), Dorman (10-8), Seneca (8-7), Blue Ridge (9-2), Legion Collegiate (4-1), and Spartanburg (15-2). The other four losses were against Daniel, BHP, Riverside and Stratford. Gaffney has only 10 players on the roster this season. All players are returners except freshman Ashley Caraway , 7 th grader Maysen Byars , senior Josie Stroupe (batting .414) and sophomore Madison Burgress . The teams top two pitchers are a sister duo of Kourtney Caraway and Ashley Caraway . Kourtney has 17 K’s in 31 innings of work while Ashley has 22 K’s in 31 innings in the circle. “We are fortunate to have Brooke Perry as our pitching coach and she played at Purdue and Gardner Webb ,” said Coach Pruitt. “She is a tribute to our success in the circle.” Anna McGee is also an assistant coach with the team. Freshman Ashley Carraway (batting .564) is the lead-off batter for the Indians and she starts in left field. Senior Jenna Paris (batting .600) starts in left field and she is a team leader and bats second in the order. “Jenna is just a great all-around kid,” said Coach Pruitt. “She is a leader on and off the field.” Batting in the three-spot of the order is sophomore shortstop Korbyn Lydia (batting .435). “Korbyn plays hard and she is not afraid to make big plays,” said Coach Pruitt. “She welcomes pressure situations at the plate and she produces.” Sophomore starting catcher Brooke Smith (batting 381) bats clean-up. “She is one of our key defensive players and she has saved us runs with her defense behind the plate,” said Coach Pruitt. “She is excellent at blocking balls and understands her role behind the plate.” Seventh grader Maysen Byars (bating .488) starts at second base and she bats in the five- hole. “Maysen plays like an upper- classmen and she produces at the plate,” said Coach Pruitt. Sophomore Kourtney Caraway (batting .439) is mainly a pitcher and she bats sixth in the order. Junior team leader Dacey Phillips (batting .280) holds down a starting role at first base and she bats seventh in the order. “Dacy is a player the other players on the team look up to,” said Coach Pruitt. “She is one of our team leaders for sure.” Senior Josie Stroupe is the DP. Sophomore Madison Burgess starts in right field and junior Brooklyn Jennings is the team Flex. One early set-back for the team was an injury to sophomore Mollie Byars in the team’s first home scrimmage prior to the season starting. Mollie only played two innings before her injury,” said Coach Pruitt. “She collided with another outfielder and she was slated to be our starting center fielder. This was a big set-back for us on defense. We had to sit back as a coaching staff and re-evaluate our defense and this forced other players to step up, and they have.” Coming out of Spring break Coach Pruitt pointed out some things the team needs o improve upon. “Our pitchers need to work ahead in the count and mot miss over the plate,” said Coach Pruitt. “In the hitting area we need to show more patience on wait on our pitch, and don’t get antsy with a 0 a 1 count. We need to stay in an offensive mind-set and only a defensive mind-set with two strikes.” Entering the second half of the season, Coach Pruitt talked about the strength of the team. “We have “The Unity” with good team chemistry,” said Coach Pruitt. “Our players understand their roles in the game, whether a bunt or RBI situation. “They are learning the Big Picture of the game and how they are just a piece of the success of the team,” said Coach Pruitt. “We have stressed to our girls to be the best teammates they can be. And that goes beyond cheering for each other in the dug-out.” Coach Pruitt offered some keys to having a very competitive game against region leading Byrnes when the two teams meet on April, 9. “First of all, we need make every defensive play on balls the Rebels put in play and have no errors to have a chance against them,” said Coach Pruitt. “We (Gaffney) need to be on time at the plate and hitting the ball from where it is pitched.” Gaffney Baseball Team Focused On Earning Spot In The Play-Offs With Strong Finish The Gaffney High baseball team went into Spring break (5-7, 3-4) and veteran head coach Jeff Mages knows just what to do to have a strong finish to the 2024 season. “As a team we need to take advantage of runners in scoring position with timely hits,” said Coach Mages. “We are young but improving each game. We are looking forward to the second half of the season.” Gaffney has five players batting over .300 at the break. They are Braden Beatie at .469 with 9 RBI’s and six doubles. J Bradbury is at .394 with one double. Garrett Moss is hitting .357 with four doubles. Scott Gilfillan is hitting .324 with three doubles and one home run, Drew Medley is at .304 with three doubles and two home runs. On the mound the top three pitchers have been Medley who is 1-1 with 37 strike-outs and a 2.959 ERA. Gilfillan is also 1-1 with 27 strike-outs followed by Carson Bailey (1-1) with 14 strike-outs in 14.2 innings of mound duty. In a 13-11 win over Spartanburg earlier in the season Beatle had a double with three RBI’s in the win. Sam Smith had two hits with two RBI’s in the win over the Vikings. Gilfillan had four hits and two RBI’s and Brady Smith scored three runs and got one hit. Medley had two hits and one RBI against the Vikings. Garrett Moss contributed two hits and two RBI’s in the win. Gaffney will be at Broome at April, 1 and host Broome the next day. On April, 9 Gaffney will host Woodruff and Union County on the next day. The Indians meet Woodruff on April 12. Two very important three game region series begin on Monday April, 15 with Dorman. One week later, the final three game region series begins with Boiling Springs.

By Billy G. Baker Publisher Gaffney - The Gaffney boys’ basketball team finished (15-10, 5-3) during the 2023-24 season under first year head coach Charles Blue , and the coach is very excited about the future of the program. “In all honesty our main goal this season was to teach our team how to play man-to-man pressure defense and we feel like we are better prepared for next season having that part of our rebuilding mission complete,” said head coach Charles Blue. “It had been four or five years since the Gaffney boys had played much man-to-man and it took a while to get them use to our new system this season.” The team finished tied for second in the region and made the playoffs. They lost in the first round to highly respected Riverside 71-68. Three Gaffney players earned all-region honors. They are senior Markell Hollis who averaged 17.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, and two steals a game. He had 24 points in the season ending loss against Riverside. Freshman Rickey Littlejohn earned all-region honors after averaging 11.9 points and five assists a game. The third Indian to earn all-region honors is junior forward Kaleb Phillips who averaged 10.1 points a game. Junior big man and big-time offensive lineman recruit Sheldrick Sarratt (6-5, 310) finished with an average of 6.3 points and 5.7 rebounds a game, Sarratt had 11 points in the Riverside game. Junior point guard Londin Bailey will also return next year after averaging 6.3 points and 2,3 assists a game. Two seniors, Judd Price and Derek Kennell averaged 5.5 and 4.7 points per game respectively. Coach Blue said the Gaffney jayvee team was 15-3 on the season and led by three forward types all in the 6-3 to 6-4 range. “We should have moved a couple of them up to varsity for the playoffs and that was an honest mistake on my part,” said Coach Blue. “We have several outstanding players moving up to the varsity and in looking back a couple of them should have played with us this season. “Our expectations for next season are a deep play-off run,” said Coach Blue. “During the off-season we are working on understanding man-to-man defense and we are focused on press and switch techniques.”

By Billy G. Baker Publisher Gaffney - If anyone needed assurances that Gaffney head girls’ basketball coach Mark Huff could coach well when Plan A got tossed out the window due to injuries; be assured that his 21 wins and a region championship earned by Gaffney during the 2023-24 season will long be cherished and remembered by all who follow the Lady Indians program. Near the end of Gaffney’s huge win over Dorman on January, 19, leading scorer Shiriah Harris broke her foot and was lost to the season. Her 18.7 points, 7.2 rebounds, two steals and two assists a game were gone with her season ending injury. (Coach Huff quickly went into Plan B mode for sure). “We moved sophomore guard Korbyn Lydia from wing to the post and then we took our sixth person off the bench, junior Izabella Sarratt and moved her to a wing after the injury to Harris,” said Coach Huff. “In all my years coaching I had never lost a leading scorer to a season ending injury that late in the season. “Everyone responded well to the challenges we had after the injury and I am very proud that this team was able to beat Byrnes at the end of the regular season (53-33) that clinched the region title for us,” said Coach Huff. “Our man-to-man defense just kept getting better as the season went along. We actually held Byrnes scoreless in the second quarter of that game.” Earlier in the season, at Byrnes on January, 23, (four days after Harris’ injury) the Lady Rebels had defeated Gaffney 62-55 at home. The 20-point win for Gaffney in the final game of the regular season against Byrnes was very special indeed for the program. After the lost to Byrnes earlier in the season, Gaffney reeled off seven straight wins with the adjusted line-up. They defeated Hillcrest (55-16), Spartanburg (53-45), Boiling Springs (38-23), Dorman (48-47), Byrnes (55-33), Nation Ford (51-26) and Spring Valley (70-63). The wins over Nation Ford and Spring Valley were playoff wins. “We lost to JL Mann twice during the season but the 57-40 lost put us out of the playoffs,” said Coach Huff. “You just never know how far we might have gone had Harris not been injured. I do know that I am very proud of how the team stepped up and played all season and after the injury.” Numerous post-season honors came to several players. Freshman Tianah Hopper (5-10) earned Region Player of the Year honors after she finished with 16.4 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.6 steals a game. Harris earned all-region honors. Freshman guard Lauren Mathis earned all- region honors after averaging 8.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.4 steals a game. Hopper and Harris were also named to the SCBCA AAAAA All-state team. They will both be named to the HSSR all-state team also when it is released on March, 15. Junior Foreign Exchange Student Elena Bedana will be returning to Italy in June. Bedana averaged 4.9 points and 3.7 assists per game. The only senior on the team was 6-1 post reserve Diamynd Buckson who averaged 2.4 points and 2.6 rebounds a game. “We will return four starters to the team next season and if we can stay healthy, we should have an opportunity to make a deeper playoff run,” said Coach Huff. “We were really young this season with two freshmen, two sophomores, and one junior starting.” Coach Huff plans to take the team to a team showcase event in Rock Hill June 14-16 in which college colleges are allowed to observe. “Over the summer you are allowed to compete in 10 different games over 10 days with your team,” said Coach Huff. “We went to a one- day camp at South Caroliina last summer and there are several one-day camps we attend put on by various high schools in the area that we attend.” Other members of the team expected to return include junior forward Kymoroa Pearson and junior guard Kaylin Houze . Coach Huff is closing gout his third season as the Gaffney girl’s coach and he has a 49-24 record in those three seasons. On the boy’s side of his coaching resume he has a career record of 536-208. He just closed out his 38th year as a head high school basketball coach.

By Billy G. Baker Publisher Gaffney - In all the highly successful years that Mark Huff has coached both varsity girl’s and boy’s high school basketball, he had never experienced a late season injury to a top player until an unfortunate injury to leading scorer Shiriah Harris near the very end of the big win over Dorman on January, 19. “We are up four near the very end of the game when Dorman missed a shot and Shiriah grabbed the rebound and was dribbling out from the basket when she stepped on another players foot and broke a bone in one her feet,” said Coach Huff. “Shiriah played a great game against Dorman and the team was playing very well. She is about to surgery in a couple of days (around Jan., 30) and we have unfortunately lost us for the season. “In our first three region games, Shiriah had averaged 21 points and 10 rebounds a game,” said Coach Huff. “We are still trying to figure out adjustments in our line-up to help us be successful but you just can’t replace what Shiriah meant to our team. She was our difference maker and our energy and we wish her all the best with her upcoming surgery.” Without Harris in the line-up, Gaffney played Byrnes four days later, and lost 62-55. In that game, 5-10 freshman post player Tianah Hopper scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Freshman point guard Lauren Mathis chipped in 13 points while making three three-pointers. Sophomore wing Korbyn Lydia added 11 points against the lady Rebels, including three assists and two steals. On January, 26 Gaffney won a non-region game against Hillcrest and Hopper led the way with 26 points and 10 rebounds. The Lady Indians will close out the regular season with a home region game against Spartanburg on January, 30 before playing a region game at Boiling Springs on February, 2. Then the real tests comes when the team plays at Dorman on February, 6 and Gaffney closes out the regular season on the road at region leader Byrnes on February, 9. “We hope to use our two games with Spartanburg and Boiling Springs to find the best combination of players to find a way to beat Dorman and Byrnes in our final two regular season games,” said Coach Huff. “We actually started both Tianah Hopper and Diamynd Buckson (Sr. 6-1) against Byrnes but we feel like Buckson plays better coming in early off the bench." “We started Korbyn Lydia against Hillcrest in the post and she played pretty well,” said Coach Huff. “Not having a true post player like Shiriah has forced us to try different line-ups. Hopefully, we will have things figured out better before we play Dorman and Byrnes.” Starting on December, 23 with a win over Daniel (72-51), Gaffney won 10 straight games including the Dorman win on January, 19. The other 8 wins came over West Henderson, N.C . (79-40), FPAASF (93-15), Landrum (62-41), Riverside (654-45), Clover (57-53), Hillcrest (68-27), Boiling Springs (85-37), and Spartanburg (71-51). Entering the Hillcrest game Harris finished the season averaging 18.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.9 steals a game. Next on the scoring index was Hopper at 16.2 points, 9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 3.1 steals a game. Lydia was at 8.1 points and 2.2 rebounds a game. Junior guard Isabella Sarratt (5-8) was averaging 8.3 points and 2.9 rebounds at that point in the season with freshman guard Lauren Mathis at 6.9 points and 1.6 rebounds per contest. Junior wing Elena Bedana is currently at 6 five points and 1.7 rebounds including two steals a game. Kaylin Howze is an 8 th grade guard averaging 2.9 points and 1.9 rebounds while Buckson is at 2.1 points and 2.3 rebounds each game. Kymora Pearson is a sophomore reserve guard. Coach Huff is assisted by Keenan Littlejohn and Jasmine Kearse .

By Billy G. Baker Publisher Gaffney - Charles Blue grew up in Texas but having the opportunity to be a star 6-6 guard on the Limestone College basketball team, 15 years ago; introduced him to new opportunities in the community, that included meeting his future wife ( Summer Lacey Gardner ) who is a three-sport Athletic Hall of Fame honoree at Gaffney High School . After serving for two seasons as the head junior varsity coach at Dorman , where he was also a varsity assistant to Thomas Ryan , Blue was hired to rebuild the boys’ basketball program in his new home town. So far, the rebuilding project is ahead of schedule. With four games left in the 2023-24 regular season the Gaffney team stands at (13-7, 3-1) on the season. Last years team won only five games and they finished 0-8 in the region. “I feel like my strength is player development and I have been around basketball my entire life,” said Coach Blue. “My mind-set is going for the ring from day one. Do not do anything with a mediocre attitude. I worked with my players very hard over the summer and we have a great group of kids to work with here at Gaffney.” Gaffney’s most recent win was over non-region foe Hillcrest (67-59) led by senior combo-guard Markell Hollis who scored 22 points and snared seven rebounds. Junior Kaleb Phillips (6-4) added 14 points as he made four three-pointers in the game. Freshman combo-guard talent Rickey Littlejohn added 11 points and dished out made six-assists against Hillcrest. For the season, Hollis (6-4, 160) leads the team in scoring at 16.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists. Littlejohn is averaging 11.1 points and 4.4 assists a game and Phillips is a guard averaging 10. 7 points a game. The other two starters include junior defensive specialist Londin Bailey who is averaging 6.5 points and 3.1 rebounds a game. The 5 th starter is 6-2 center Judd Price at 5.1 points and 3.1 rebounds a game. “We play our starters 75 per cent of the time in each quarter then we bring in several players off the bench to give them experience while the starters catch a breather,” said Coach Blue. “Developing a strong bench is key to your success in this sport.” The first two players off the bench are usually senior guard Derek Kennell (5.3 points) and big- time power five football left tackle recruit Sheldrick Sarratt (6-5, 310). “I think Sheldrick went on a football visit to Georgia Tech this weekend and for a 300-pound athlete he runs the floor very well and he is actually a good shooter,” said Coach Blue. Sarratt is averaging 6.8 points and 5.9 rebounds a game. The 8 th player who usually always subs in before the end of the first quarter is senior guard Sincere Lanair who is also a defensive specialist. The other key reserve players on the 12-man roster include junior guard Darien Logan , 6-6 junior center Scotland Dover , 6-4 sophomore forward Zyon Ratchford and junior guard Joshua Smith . The team’s most memorable game so far this season was their over-time win against Dorman (67-61) on January, 19. “We were up 12 points and after the first quarter, but we were trailing 9 points entering the fourth quarter when Hollis took over the game for us,” said Coach Blue. “After a defensive stop late in the game Harris drained a three from NBA range and then on Dorman’s final possession of regulation, he steals the ball on an inbound play and dunks to help us tie the game. “Then in over-time Littlejohn took over scoring 10 of our 12 points that helped us win the game,” said Coach Blue. “The gym was packed out and it was a state championship atmosphere.” Heading into the final four games of the season Gaffney is 3-1 in the region and holding down second place while Dorman is 3-2 holding down third place. Both team trail Byrnes who is 5-0 in the region. After region games with Spartanburg and Boiling Springs the Indians are at Dorman on February, 6 and they host Byrnes in the regular season finale three days later. “We have the personnel to finish strong and win a region title and not finishing at least second would be disappointing,” said Coach Blue. Coach Blue said that Hollis was invited to a “Top 80 SC Prospect Camp” in Charleston this past summer and he was awarded the “Best Shooting Award” at the camp. “This kid can shoot a basketball,” said Coach Blue. “He is a dead-eye shooter with NBA range on his three-point shots.”

By Billy G. Baker Publisher Gaffney — Mark Huff has begun his third season as the head girls’ basketball coach at Gaffney and despite being 4-3 early on his young team is gaining ground with every game they play. Huff won five state titles in a 21-year tenure as the Gaffney boy’s coach before leaving for coaching stints at JL Mann and Southside . He retuned to the hardwood three seasons ago to take over the Lady Indians program and it is just a matter of time before his teams earn spots once again in the gold medal round at the end of the season. All total, Coach Huff has 31 years of head coaching experience with a collective 536 wins over his career. Gaffney is 4-3 after seven games into the 2023-24 season. They have defeated Union County twice (101-16 and 87-15), Clover (5-50) and Northwestern (77-16) Their three losses are to JL Mann twice (65-47 and 50-44) and most recently to Riverside (60-54) “The main difference in the boy’s game versus the girl’s game is that the boys play above the rim while the girls paly below the basket,” said Coach Huff. “The speed of the game is a little quicker for the boys also. However, the X’es and the O’s are the same for both.” Coach Huff likes to play a two guard, two post and one forward set-up with his team. This year’s team is young but talented. They are led by 5-10 freshman post player Tianah Hopper who is averaging 19.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.3 steals seven games into the 2023-24 season. “Hopper gets up and down the court really well and she handles the ball really well,” said Coach Huff. “I certainly feel like she is a next level player.” Sophomore 5-10 forward Shiriah Harris is averaging 14.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.5 steals and three assists a game. “Harris has a high ceiling also and she is getting better with every game she plays,” said Coach Huff. Junior wing Izzabella Surratt (5-8) is averaging 9.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.5 steals and three steals a game. Freshman PG Lauren Mathis leads the team in assists at nearly four per game, and in the fewest turnovers. Rounding out the starting five is junior Wing Elena Bedana averaging 5.3 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2,5 steals and 3.5 assists per game. The first post player off the bench is 6-1 senior Diamyard Buckson who leads the team in blocks. The first Wing player off the bench is sophomore Korbyn Lydia . The next two in all the bench are usually sophomore 5-11 forward Gaby Lee and 8 th grader Kaylin Houze . Other key reserves include sophomore guard Kymora Pearson along with sophomore guard Kourtney Caraway. “Our first goal is always to win the region which gets us home games in the play-offs,” said Coach Huff. “Our second goal is to get a little better with every practice and with every game. “If we can play as good as are capable of playing then I feel like we can compete for a region title and make a deep run in the playoffs,” said Coach Huff. “We schedule a very tough early season games with schools like Riverside , JL Mann and Clover to help us get ready to play competitive teams in our region like Dorman , Spartanburg and Byrnes .” Gaffney will participate in a holiday tournament and will play Greenwood on December, 23 rd . After that they will play Riveside on January, 3 rd after the team returns from the holidays.

By Billy G. Baker Publisher Gaffney — The Gaffney Indians (9-4) played one of the toughest schedules of any AAAAA team in South Carolina during the 2023 season, and after two impressive wins in the playoffs over Lexington and Clover , rival Dutch Fork ended the Indians season with a 35-10 win in mid-November. “We were certainly disappointed about how the season ended for us,” said veteran Gaffney head coach Dan Jones after the season. “In our community we have some of the best fans around and our expectations are to compete for a state championship every season. “We are certainly going to miss the 8 senior starters who are graduating,” said Coach Jones. “We were pleased to have two seniors represent Gaffney in the Shrine Bowl, and to also have two players represent us at the North-South game in Mrytle Beach.” The two Gaffney Shrine Bowl players include center Jake Buerk (6-2, 285) and DL Jarriel Jefferies (5-9,240. The two North-South all-stars from Gaffney were WR Emazon Littlejohn (6-0,180) and DL Caron Foster (6-3, 235). “Jefferies, Foster and Littlejohn were all four- year players in our program while Buerk was with us for two seasons,” said Coach Jones. “All four of these players were difference makers for sure.” Looking ahead to the 2023 season, Coach Jones commented, “I think we are needing to fill 8 spots from the starters graduating so we have a core group of experienced players returning,” said Coach Jones. “I think we will be okay. We certainly were not satisfied with the way this season ended, but in Gaffney, everyone is always excited looking towards the next season. We know that expectations are always high for the football team in Gaffney.” At least two returning players are very high in the minds of college recruiters in the region. “ Shedrick Sarratt (OL-6-5,305) is high on the recruiting board at South Carolina right now and he is getting interest from all over the region,” said Coach Jones. “He’s a big boy who is very athletic and you can see that when you watch him on our basketball team. “He was the leading scorer in one of our games already this season,” said Coach Jones. “He gets up-and-down the court really well for a big man. He has long arm extension and the quick agile feet major colleges look for in next level offensive lineman.” Sophomore running back Jaiden McDowell (5-11, 175) is another power five type recruit who has two seasons left at Gaffney. McDowell finished the 2023 season with 1,313 yards on 240 carries averaging 5.5 yards a carry while scoring 13 touchdowns. In addition, McDowell caught 45 passes coming out of the backfield for 548 yards and four additional touchdowns. “First of all, Jaiden is a great kid on-an-off the field,” said Coach Jones. “He has great vision which allows him to get to the hole quick allowing him to find a seam towards the open area of the defense. The fact that he had over 500 yards in pass receptions validates that he has good hands coming out of the back field and that is a big plus for him.” On defense junior LB Andrew Ruppe is showing next level talent. On the season senior quarterback Riley Staton (6-3, 200) had a solid season completing 196-of-34 passes for 2,737 yards and 28 TD’s. He also rushed for 370 yards on 70 carries adding one TD via the ground. Behind McDowell and Staton on the rushing index was Zion McBeth (62-335-2). Littlejohn led all receivers (57-869-11) followed by Jamarcus Smith (49-787-6) and then came McDowell; McDowell also led the Indians in scoring with 103 points. Place kicker Jake Spadavecchia was 9-of-13 on field goals and he made 44-of-47 PAT’s. On defense MLB Andrew Ruppe , Jayden Sims , and Viante Robbs tied with three interceptions each.

Defending state champion Silver Foxes will play host to J.L. Mann on Friday

By Billy G. Baker Publisher Gaffney - Region foe Byrnes , ranked second in the latest HSSR Sweet 16 Ranking, spoiled Senior Night for the Gaffney Indians with a 33-21 win at the Reservation on October, 27 th that clinched the region title for the Rebels. From the field, after the game, Byrnes head coach Reggie Shaw shared his thoughts, “We came out fired up and social media can be a blessing or a curse, and our guys have learned to stay off of it, and use what they see as a motivator,” said Coach Shaw. “There was a lot of stuff put out on social media and our guys used it as a motivator no doubt. “Also, our game with Gaffney last year left a bad taste in our mouths and we felt like we gave one a way,” said Coach Shaw. “We were down four guys last year when we came up here in the playoffs last year. Losing that game 34-28 last year was on our minds getting ready to play tonight. Our kids played lights-out tonight and I am very proud of all of them.” Coach Shaw was very high on his senior quarterback Drew Stevens . “He is very composed and he does not get rattled and he is a great kid who loves his teammates,” said Coach Shaw. “He took a shot early in the game but he came right back and led us down the field on a score in our next possession. “Also proud of our freshman running back Tre Segarra and he is a nationally ranked elite soccer player; ranked among the top 15 soccer players in the country,” said Coach Shaw. “His father is our assistant Principal and his mother is a former star soccer player as well. No body out-works this kid.” This week Byrnes will host region foe Dorman in the first round of the AAAAA playoffs. “See what happens,” said Coach Shaw. “We win the region, get a top seed, and we are rewarded by having to play Dorman in the first round of the playoffs.” Gaffney will host Lexington this week. Head coach Dan Jones talked with the HSSR after the game, “We failed to execute for most of the game tonight and there at the end of the game (after second fumble recovery trailing 27-21) we just could not get it done,” said Coach Jones. “We had a fumble and an interception that helped defeat us tonight for sure. We also had a couple issues with center snaps tonight that hurt us. “Right now, we have to make sure that we are healthy get our legs under us and simplify a few things and concentrate on playing error free football,” said Coach Jones. “We still have great potential with the playoffs starting if we can get focused. In this game tonight we just had a hard time flipping the field.” The game featured six players headed for post-season play in the Shrine Bowl and North- South all-star games. Gaffney will be represented in the Shrine Bowl by DL Jarriel Jefferies and OL Jake Buerk while Emazon Littlejohn will see action as a WR and Caron Foster will be a DL at the North South. Byrnes will be represented in the North- South by DB Knai Cook and LB James Oates . Byrnes took advantage of three first half turnovers, including two snaps over the quarterback’s head, to gain a 17-0 lead at the half. Talented freshman running back Tre Sagarra scored on a three-yard run, capping off a five play 50-yard drive, with 6:25 left in the first period to get the Rebels on the board. Place kicker Jacob Corman added two PAT’s in the first half plus a 25-yard field goal with 2:27 left in the opening period to give Byrnes a 10-0 lead over the error-plagued Indians in the first half. Byrnes made it 17-0 at the half when Wildcat QB ZY Landrum scored on a seven-yard run with just 17 seconds left in the second period. In the third period, Rebel’s QB Drew Stevens connected to Segarra on a six-yard pass and Cormon’s PAT stretched the lead to 24-0 with 10:08 left in the third period. Gaffney scored their first touchdown of the game with 8:37 left in the third period when Staton passed 7 yards to Shane Davidson (6-5, 180) in the end zone. Jake Spadavecchia’s PAT cut the deficit to 24-7. On their next drive the Rebels covered 86 yards on 11 plays but had to settle on a 20-yard field goal by Corman with 4:25 left in the third to pull-ahead 27-7 at that point in the game. On this drive Stevens completed a 41-yard pass to Chamarryus Bomar to keep the drive alive. Gaffney scored on their next first two possessions of the fourth period. Staton tossed a four-yard scoring pass to Drew Medley with 9:54 left in the final period and the PAT made it 27-14. Gaffney recovered a Byrnes fumble at their 48-yard line after kicking off to the Rebels. Nine plays later sophomore running back Jaiden McDowell scored from seven yards out and the PAT made it 27-21 with 6:14 left in the game. Gaffney forced another fumble recovered by Imari Foster-Boyd with 3:49 left in the game at the Indians 36-yard line. However, Staton was sacked on a fourth down play from the 45-yard line as the Rebels took over. Byrnes scored their final touchdown of the game when Stevens found a wide- open Armoni Weaver on a 72-yard touchdown play. The PAT failed resulting in a final score of 33-21. For the game Stevens completed 14-0f-22 passes for 264 yards and two TD’s. Weaver caught six passes for 134 yards. Segarra led Rebel rushers with 44 yards on 17 carries. The Gaffney offensive leaders were Staton who completed 15-of-34 passes for 150 yards and one TD. His top target was Emazon Littlejohn with six catchers for 87 yards. McDowell led Gaffney rushers with a net of 58 yards on 20 carries and one TD. On defense, Byrnes was led by senior LB James Oates with six tackles and an interception while Gaffney was led by sophomore LB Zyon Ratchford with 10 tackles.