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.
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