Photo by LARRY HILLIARD Gaffney quarterback DeEdward Burris and his teammates returned to practice this week in hopesof moving forward after a 60-7 loss at Byrnes on Friday. They say when you win you didn’t play as well as you think you do. Conversely, they say when you lose you didn’t play as badly as the score would indicate.

The Gaffney Indians did their best to disprove that on Friday.

Gaffney coach Phil Strickland said the Indians were mistake-riddled in a 60-7 defeat at Byrnes on Friday.

“Everything that could go wrong did go wrong,” Strickland said. “We looked at the tape and just made too many mistakes. We didn’t want to get beat that bad. But (Byrnes) has beaten a lot of people before. But you never want to get beat that bad.”

The Indians’ mistakes weren’t limited to the defense, which surrendered nearly 600 total yards. The unit was shredded for 218 rushing yards and 350 more through the air. Heralded-recruit Marcus Lattimore lived up to his billing, rushing for 164 yards on 22 carries and three touchdowns. Wide receiver Torian Richardson also had a huge game with five receptions for 146 yards.

The Byrnes defense contained Gaffney quarterback DeEdward Burris, who was under heavy pressure from a variety of blitzes, Burris was 5 of 16 for 85 yards.

“Both sides of ball lacked execution,” Strickland said. “We just didn’t get in the right place.”

The specials teams weren’t blameless, either, giving up a 69-yard kickoff return and a safety when a punt snap sailed out of the end zone.

If there was anything good that came out of Friday’s game it’s that the Indians escaped with only minor bruising to their bodies. Whether the beating will effect the team’s psyche is another story?

“I challenged the kids after the game on Friday and at practice on Monday,” Strickland said. “People with character bounce back.”

Strickland stressed the need to put the loss behind the team.

“There is nothing we can do about it now,” he said. “The game is over and done with.”

The Indians shouldn’t have any trouble getting focused for Friday’s game against rival Spartanburg - a team that has struggled at times just like the Indians.

“They have been like us,” the Gaffney coach said. “They’ve struggled from time to time but at times they’ve looked good.”