Round 2 Recap

Gaffney 38 Greenwood 31

The Indians had a tough challenge ahead of them in round 2 of the playoffs, having to go down to JW Babb Stadium – a place that has not been kind to visiting teams lately with Greenwood on a 10-game win streak at home entering the night that included a perfect 5-0 this season. Venue aside, Gaffney also had a tall task in having to face do-it-all quarterback Triston Lewis and the Eagles’ high-powered offense.

But, difficult as the challenge was, Gaffney was up to it. The Indians’ offensive success this season has been highly contingent on their ability to run the ball. That is where things played into their hands. Greenwood’s run defense has struggled at points this season, most notably having given up 270 yards on the ground to TL Hanna. Gaffney’s being 1-dimensional on offense plus the Eagles’ struggles on defense meant that the Indians would have a path to win this game – if they just executed their usual game.

The Indians controlled the game by running the ball and owning the time of possession. They amassed 298 rushing yards on 52 attempts – led by Kendaris “Peanut” Bailey with 7 carries for 108 yards and 2 touchdowns. Josiah Hill was not far off with 26 touches for 101 yards and a pair of TDs of his own. Quarterback Banks Bouton ran the ball 16 times for 66 yards (complementing his 3 for 10, 80 yard, 1 TD passing game). All that running allowed the Indians to hold onto the football for nearly 30 minutes of game time. In the just-over 18 minutes the Eagles had the ball, the Gaffney defense was able to force a couple of key turnovers – a fumble and three interceptions. All of those little things were the path for Gaffney to win this game, and they followed it to perfection.

It was a good win for Gaffney, but now the road gets even tougher for round three of the 5A division II playoffs as the Indians will have to go on the road to Rock Hill’s District Three Stadium needing to repeat the execution of tonight and then some in order to upset a team many are pointing to as their state title favorite – the Northwestern Trojans. Does Gaffney have back to back weeks of rising to the challenge in them? Time will tell.

Byrnes 37 Rock Hill 21

The score is deceiving. Wild and boring lead, but it bears worth saying. This game was not as close as it looks and the Byrnes offense was not as strong as their 37 points would lead you to believe.

In fact, in the early going, it was evident that this game was going to be a defensive struggle. Rock Hill’s strength was their defensive front – and they absolutely owned the line of scrimmage for a good portion of this game. Byrnes QB Caine Rogers was flushed from the pocket several times, forced to try and throw on the run, which is not something he does well. The Bearcats took Tre Segarra out of it, limiting him to a TD catch and just one big run play up until late in the third quarter, when Rock Hill’s defense was gassed and Tre was able to break off 3 long runs and a 9 yard TD scamper to account for most of his 122 yards on the ground. Instead, the Rebels’ offense laid on the shoulders of Jacobi Fuller, who led the way in carries with 16 compared to Segarra’s 13, logging 83 yards and 2 touchdowns.

On the other side of the coin, Byrnes was just as strong along the defensive front. They did not allow an offensive score until the 5 minute mark of the 4th quarter – late enough to use the phrase “garbage time” to describe it. They had 2 long pass plays that made the score look deceptively close. But, the reality is that Byrnes held the Bearcats to just 166 yards of total offense, most of which came on those 2 big TD passes. Rock Hill finished with -10 rushing yards, and Byrnes came up with 5 sacks for a combined loss of 43. The defense also got the scoring started for the Rebels with a 59 yard scoop and score from Kelshard Harris that answered a pick 6 that gave Rock Hill an early 7-0 lead. Those 7 points, by the way, were all they had up until the 2 late scores.

The defense and the fact the Rebels won this game were the biggest positives from the night. Otherwise, the biggest negative is that they were sloppy and undisciplined, which amplified their offensive woes. Byrnes had 18 yellow handkerchiefs thrown on them in the game that gave the Bearcats 175 free yards. With a road trip to face Dutch Fork on the horizon for round 3, the offensive line play and penalties are going to have to be shored up. If not, it will make for a long night next week.

Dorman 44 Blythewood 13

The Cavaliers opening round matchup was.. Well I will be blunt. Not great. Blythewood was 4-7 coming into the night. They got to the 2nd round by upsetting Clover 42-23 on the road last week for that 4th victory. That’s a nice win and none of this is to say the Bengals are a terrible team. They averaged just over 28.5 points per game prior to this week – proving they can score. But, Dorman was just that much better.

At no point was this game ever close, and in similar fashion to Rock Hill in the Byrnes game, the scoring came late for Blythewood. The Cavs were up 38-0 before the Bengals found the scoreboard and went on to be outscored 13-6 over the last 9 minutes of the game.

Dorman was led by Nick Means, who ran the ball 8 times for 101 yards with 2 touchdowns. Quarterback Meek Slydell and Jayden Hall also notched a rushing score in the game in which the Cavaliers amassed 214 yards on the ground as a team. Through the air, Slydell was 6 of 13 for 75 yards with his leading receiver being Anthony Peaks with 2 catches for 60.

The Cavs also had 2 non-offensive scores in the win. Kentavion Anderson recorded a 58 yard pick 6 and Carter Nash added a 48 yard punt return for a touchdown.

Dorman will now set their sights on another home game next week as they face off against the Ridge View Blazers, who defeated Spartanburg Friday night to spoil the chance of having a rematch of the City Rivalry in the third round.

Ridge View 29 Spartanburg 21

The matchup was one that was questioned. With injuries piling up, Spartanburg got a big boost last week with the return of running back Trenton Lynch. Strong of a back as Lynch is, the question was begged – just how many points is he worth by himself?

Spartanburg would need a lot more than just a big game from Lynch to pull off a win against this Blazer squad that is chock full of speed up and down the roster. They would also need Trey Burke to be virtually flawless. They got that (to an extent), but the Vikings also got more injury news. Burke went 5 for 11 passing with 140 yards and 2 touchdowns before having to leave the game with a leg injury that appeared to be serious. Backup Chris Colin was 5 for 8 in relief with 51 yards and a touchdown.

On the other hand, Lynch was virtually non-existent in this contest. He logged just 65 rushing yards on 19 carries without a single touchdown. That may very well have proven to be the difference. The Vikings could not run the ball and had so many injuries that they could not overcome as they saw their season end.

Elsewhere in the 5A ranks, Boiling Springs mustered a late touchdown to avoid a shutout as Dutch Fork ended the Bulldogs’ tough season with a 42-7 win.

Woodruff 40 Christ Church 37

Survive and advance. That cliche actually perfectly summarizes both of the round two 3A games on Friday night.

The Wolverines took the lead 40-37 with 51 seconds left in the game. But the Cavaliers threatened, marching down the field to the Woodruff 28 yard line before being forced to try what would have been a game-tying 45 yard fieldgoal at the horn. They missed it allowing the Wolverines to hang on for a date with the heavy favorites in the 3A upperstate bracket – Belton Honea Path – in the quarterfinal round.

For the 2nd straight week, Mountain View Prep saw a late 2 score lead vanish on them. The Stars trailed midway through the 4th quarter, but went on to score 21 unanswered to go up 50-29. Crescent rallied to score 20 unanswered of their own, essentially falling on a missed extra point to seal a 2nd consecutive 1-point win for MVP, who will face #1 seed Powdersville on the road next week looking for a 2nd straight trip to the 3A upperstate championship game.