Gaffney dominates ’Cavs, 28-0

Gaffney’s Donald Sims (21) secures one of his five catches over Dorman’s Brian Giles (7).

Ledger Sports Editor

Malcolm Long and the defending state champion Gaffney Indians did little wrong in turning their first-round playoff game into a surprisingly easy 28-0 victory Friday.

Mychal Belcher and the Dorman Cavaliers, on the other hand, did little right in suffering a humiliating home shutout.

Long was sharp, completing 11 of his 20 passes for 199 yards and no interceptions while the slumping Belcher was awful, throwing for just 81 yards and tossing three interceptions.

It was supposed to be a battle between Belcher and the Indians’ potent defense. But Long and the Indians’ offense put on a show, scoring the first two times they touched the ball.

The Indians (7-5) will now face Rock Hill on Thursday at 8 p.m.

“I was proud of the effort,” said Gaffney coach Phil Strickland, who is 5-0 in the playoffs as coach of the Indians. “We came out and played inspired. Getting up on them early didn’t hurt.”

The Indians used a heavy dose of a four-receiver package to create mismatches in the Dorman secondary. They didn’t wait long to exploit those mismatches.

On the game’s first play from scrimmage, Long found wide receiver Donald Sims open down the sideline for a 51-yard gain. Two plays later, Trevon Greene muscled his way over the goal line to put the Indians up 7-0 after less than two minutes of play.

Gaffney would strike just as quickly on its next possession when former starting quarterback turned wide receiver Nick Melton connected with Shrine Bowl receiver Andy Strickland for a 55-yard TD to make it 14-0 with 8:04 left in the first quarter.

Gaffney avenged a 31-28 loss to the Cavaliers in the season opener. In that game, Belcher threw for 225 yards and rushed for 60 more in the Cavs’ comeback win. This time, the Indians used athletic Ventae Tate to follow Belcher’s every move.

“Ventae spied him,” Strickland said. “And our defensive backs covered (the wide receivers).”

The Cavaliers came close to scoring once, but the referee ruled that wide receiver Chad Peake never had possession in the end zone when Gaffney defensive back Rashawn Harris seemingly took it out of his hands for an interception.

That ruling seemed to deflate the Cavaliers, who entered the playoffs as the No. 3 seed.

The Indians added another touchdown before the half on a 65-yard, 10-play drive. Long capped the march with a 5-yarder to Sims, who finished with five catches for a team-high 119 yards.

Gaffney’s last touchdown was helped when Dorman was flagged for roughing the kicker on two straight plays. The first infraction was only a 5-yard penalty, but the second one gave the Indians a first down. Later in the drive, Long hit Monty Green for another first down before Trevon Greene capped the march with a 1-yard run.

With most of the Dorman crowd heading for the exit, the Indians’ defense put an exclamation on their dominating performance by stopping the Cavaliers on several fourth down plays in the fourth quarter.

Defensive back Cameron Tate snuffed out one of the Cavaliers’ fourth-quarter drives with his second interception.

“The defense put up a goose egg,” Strickland said. “I’m real proud of their effort.”

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