Photo by LARRY HILLIARD Gaffney quarterback DeEdward Burris receives medical attention after a late hit knocked him out of the game in the first quarter on Friday. As the rain fell steadily at Byrnes High’s Nixon Field on Friday, it wouldn’t come as a surprise had the Gaffney Indian defense tried an antirain dance to make it stop and it didn’t work.

After all, the Gaffney defense wasn’t able to stop anything, particularly Byrnes wide receiver Torian Richardson and running back Marcus Lattimore as the nationally-ranked Byrnes Rebels humbled the Indians, 60-7.

The unit was shredded for 218 rushing yards and 350 more through the air. Heralded-recruit Lattimore lived up to his billing, rushing for 164 yards on 22 carries and three touchdowns. Richardson also had a huge game with five receptions for 146 yards.

“One game doesn’t make a season,” Gaffney coach Phil Strickland said. “We got outcoached and outplayed. Our hats are off to them. They have a great football team.”

Give Strickland credit for being a stand-up guy after the game. He took the blame for a team that had the proverbial deer in the headlights look — a team that made too many mistakes in all phases of the game, including special teams that gave up a 69-yard kickoff return and a safety when a punt snap sailed out of the end zone.

But the defense and special teams shouldn’t shoulder the entire blame for the lopsided defeat. The Gaffney offense was equally inept, producing only 85 passing yards and rushing for 59 yards on 43 attempts.

The Byrnes defensive line and linebackers spent most of the game in the Indian backfield, harassing Gaffney quarterback DeEdward Burris into an atypical 5 of 16 for 85 yard performance. Burris left the game briefly in the first quarter after a late hit by a Brynes defender.

Ironically, the game began with a goal line stand by the Gaffney defense, which stopped the Rebels on their opening possession at the 2- yard line.

But the momentum was shortlived when the Rebels sacked a scrambling Burris for a safety in the end zone. On the ensuing free kick, Tony Hillman weaved his way through the Gaffney tacklers for a 69-yard touchdown.

The Rebels scored on their next possession when Lattimore raced up the middle for a 9-yard touchdown.

After the high snap went out of the end zone for a safety, the Rebels needed only three plays to score on their ensuing possession to make it 26-0 on a 4-yard pass from Chas Dodd to Craig Weick and a 2-point conversion from Lattimore.

The Rebels tacked on three more scores in the second quarter to build a 46-0 halftime lead.

Incredibly, the Rebels’ lead could have been even larger but Dodd fumbled twice inside Gaffney territory.

The second half was a mere formality as the Rebels scored two more times in the third quarter before playing their reserves.

The Indians averted the shutout when Burris scored from four yards out early in the fourth quarter.

Gaffney which falls to 3-2, travels to Spartanburg on Friday to conclude the nonregion portion of its schedule.

The Rebels, meanwhile, will meet No. 1-ranked Thomas Aquinas High School of Florida in a nationally-televised game.