The Gaffney defense put the clamps on the Stratford offense last Friday. The unit will need to duplicate that performance Friday at Summerville. Photo by LARRY HILLIARD Gaffney High head coach Phil Strickland can make a statement probably no other coach can make - he appears to have legendary Summerville coach John McKissick’s number.

Strickland and McKissick have met four times in the playoffs, with the Gaffney head man holding a decisive 3-1 advantage, including a blowout win last year in the opening round of the Class 4A Division I playoffs.

The coaches and their legendary programs will meet again Friday in the lower bracket semifinal.

But the modest Gaffney coach won’t be boastful about his record against Summerville - because he’s only focused on this year’s matchup.

But he does admit the teams have met in their share of big games during his time at Gaffney..

“We’ll be playing them for the fifth time in my seven years here,” he said. “The one good thing is that we played well against them last year and we are familiar with the surroundings.”

Gaffney appears to be on the uptick after its best performance of the season in a 31-0 blanking of Stratford in the first round of the playoffs this past Friday.

“We made some mistakes, but overall we played well,” the Gaffney coach said.

The Indians shored up a defense that struggled in a regular-season ending loss to Northwestern. The key, according to Strickland, was convincing the unit to play with more aggression.

“The defense made some plays (against Stratford),” he said. “We got a whole lot of hands on the ball. We worked hard all week with them to make plays.”

Now, the Indians have confidence heading into a matchup with the Greenwave.

“I’ve said that when we play with intensity, we showed that we can be a good team,” Strickland said.