Long tests Spartanburg’s secondary with deep passes

LEDGER PHOTO BY LARRY B. LITTLEJOHN Gaffney’s Cameron Tate (9) hauls in a 76-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter Friday night. Malcolm Long knew exactly what to do against Spartanburg Friday night throw the ball long against the Vikings’ young cornerback Jasmine Means.

“We tried to pick on him a little bit with the play action,” Long said. “I thought I played pretty well. We were practicing the deep ball all week. We knew they had a young cornerback and that’s what we wanted to do.”

It didn’t take long for the Long to execute the game plan to perfection as wide receiver Cameron Tate beat Means for a 76-yard touchdown on the Indians’ second series.

In the second quarter, Long took advantage of Means’ inexperience again with a 44-yard bomb to Tyson Petty that set up the Indians’ second touchdown of the first half.

Long had a solid outing, completing 8 of his 17 passes for 199 yards. He was picked off once but that happened two plays after tight end Richard Good let a touchdown pass slip through his hands late in the fourth quarter. “I thought I stepped up some,” he said. “It’s the second round of the playoffs and we wanted to win.”

Quarterback Malcolm Long makes a pitch against Spartanburg. Long said it was important for the offense to have a big day since the Vikings’ offense also was putting points on the board.

“Our defense has played great all year long, so it was the offense’s turn to step up,” he said.

The Indians had 435 yards of total offense.

As for the topsy-turvy nature of the game, Long said he just tried to stay poised.

“It was kind of a shock what was happening, but you have to keep your composure,” he said.