Gaffney quarterback De- Edward Burris picked up a couple of awards at the Furman quarterback camp. Gaffney High football coach Phil Strickland includes blinders on trips to passing tournaments. His focus begins and ends on the play of his quarterbacks, wide receivers and defensive backs.

That's why he didn't particularly like what he saw from his defensive backs until they started to play with emotion at Saturday's 7 on 7 passing tournament at Clemson.

"We've got a lot of young people back there. I got after them a little bit to play with more emotion," Strickland acknowledged.

The Indians must replace several starters in the defensive secondary. The learning curve got even steeper when the coaching staff installed a new coverage at the end of spring practice.

Strickland said the players might have been thinking too much rather than just reacting on Saturday.

The Indians finished the tournament at 4-4, including a 2-3 record in pool play before advancing to the championship round, where they beat J.L. Mann and lost to Daniel by a point on a failed 2-point conversion.

Other than some drops by wide receivers, Strickland said he was excited about the offense's performance, especially quarterback DeEdward Burris.

Burris joined the Indians at the passing tournament after a productive week at the Furman quarterback camp, where he was named the fastest quarterback and won the long-toss competition.

Strickland also praised backup quarterback Joey Copeland's performance at the passing tournament.

The Indians will journey to Greensboro, N.C. on Wednesday to participate in another passing tournament before taking a long break before the FCA football camp on July 10-11.