McKissick: Not a vintage Greenwave team
By LARRY HILLIARD Ledger Sports Editor larry@gaffneyledger.com

JOHN MCKISSICK

You'd think a rifle-armed quarterback, an early national ranking and NFL-lookalike wide receivers would vault this team to the ranks of the best-ever Summerville squads.

You'd be wrong.

Legendary Summerville head coach John McKissick says this year's Greenwave stacks up offensively to his storied teams of the past, but falls short when it comes to defense. McKissick, whose team hosts Gaffney Friday in a Class 4A Division semifinal game, describes his defense as lacking quickness. That might be the reason the Greenwave have had trouble tackling this season.

"We are throwing and catching the ball pretty good, but obviously we aren't playing defense very well," said the legendary McKissick, who has won more games than any other high school football coach.

Last week's game against Fort Dorchester backs up his claim. The Greenwave scored a remarkable 78 points, including nine touchdown passes by quarterback Reid McCollum, but surrendered an almost equally astounding 47 points.

"We have missed a lot of tackles," McKissick said. "We only have one linebacker back that played a good bit."

McKissick's last state championship team was probably more complete. That team topped Gaffney in the 1998 state title game. The team's defense was led by defensive tackle Preston Thorne, who played for the University of South Carolina, and an outstanding tandem of linebackers.

"We really had a good defense that year," he said. "That team was able to control the ball."

He also ranks his 1984 team highly, which featured Clemson great Keith Jennings, who played for the Chicago Bears.