Gaffney running back Kenard Lipscomb finds some room against Stratford in first round playoff action Friday at The Reservation. Photo by LARRY HILLIARD A 31-0 shutout against Stratford in the first round of the state playoffs Friday was all the Gaffney Indians needed to reconcile the previous week’s loss to Northwestern, and the defense was willing to do anything to get it.

The Indians (9-3) held the Knights (7-5) to only nine first downs and 194 total yards of offense.

The Indians advance to the quarterfinals, where they will play No. 2 seed Summerville on Friday. Gaffney routed the Greenwave in a first-round playoff matchup last season.

“We talked about stepping up in the playoffs,” said Gaffney coach Phil Strickland, who improved to 18-1 all time in first round playoff games. “It looked like we put together a whole game.”

Especially, the Indians’ secondary, which gave up nearly 400 yards through the air against Northwestern. On Friday, the Indians held the Knights to only 160 passing yards.

Strickland said it was simply a matter of the defensive backs being more aggressive.

“They finally started to play the ball more,” he said.

The Indians did add more speed to the secondary with the insertion of wideouts Khris Brown and Joe Craig at safety.

The defense preserved the shutout in the fourth quarter by stopping the Knights on downs and on Chris Adams’ interception with five minutes left in the game.

“The defense had its backs to the wall a couple of times and did what it needed to do to keep them out,” the Gaffney coach said.

The Gaffney offense did its share, too. DeEdward Burris completed 16 of his 21 passes for 207 yards and two touchdowns.

Leading 17-0 at halftime, the Indians tacked on another touchdown in the third quarter, driving 52 yards on four plays. Burris hit Tim Ellis on a 22-yard touchdown to cap the march.

The Indians finished off the scoring in the fourth quarter when Robert Grandy scored from a yard out.

With five seconds left before halftime, Josh Harris continued his hot kicking with a season-best 40-yard field goal after the Indians got the ball back with :48.4 on the clock. Harris made the kick after Stratford coach Ray Stackley called a timeout to ice him.

On their previous possession, the Indians took advantage of excellent field position. Five plays after beginning the drive at their own 48, Burris found an open Quinshad Davis for a 25-yard scoring pass.

Gaffney broke a scoreless tie when Wookie Littejohn scored from six yards out with eight minutes left in the second quarter.

Dorman travels to Irmo in the bracket’s other semifinal matchup.