GHS defense shuts down ’Cavs

LEDGER PHOTO BY LARRY B. LITTLEJOHN Gaffney’s Brandon Bonner tackles Dorman’s Chad Peake. Think Gaffney transfer Nick Melton had a bulls-eye on his back Friday?

You’d be wrong.

The Gaffney defense’s top priority heading into Friday’s upper state championship showdown with Dorman was to stop Dorman tailback R.J. Reeder, not Melton.

“Our game plan was to shut down Reeder,” Gaffney inside linebacker Bryce Smiley said. “We knew if we stopped him, we could make them one dimensional and then we could beat them.”

The defense accomplished its goal by holding Reeder, who hurt the Indians in the teams’ first matchup with his scrambling ability from the pocket, to just five yards on eight carries.

“Our job all week was to stop Reeder and I felt like we kept him in check the whole way,” Smiley said.

Reeder also wasn’t much of a factor in the passing game with just two catches for 13 yards.

Smiley said he was pleased the Indians’ defense played with emotion against Dorman.

“I thought that everybody’s motor was running the whole game,” he said. “Everybody was going full speed tonight.”

Smiley also praised the secondary, which held Melton to under a 50 percent completion rate.

“They really stepped up,” he said. “They had a good week of practice and