Backup quarterback Joey Copeland will be on the field somewhere this season, according to coach Dan Jones. Things went as expected for the Gaffney High Indians at their first passing tournament of the summer Saturday at Clemson University.

There were some bright spots and - predictably - some not-so-bright spots.

“We ended up getting better,” Gaffney coach Dan Jones said. “We just wanted to give our players a chance to lineup against an opponent.”

The Indians advanced to the semifinal round, where they lost to Wren to finish up with a 4-4 record.

Gaffney opened the all-day event with a win over Daniel before suffering an unexpected 2-point loss to T.L. Hanna. After a loss to pass-happy Wren, the Indians strung together wins over Walhalla, North Forsyth and Hanahan before losing again to Wren.

As usual, most of the attention at passing leagues center around the performance of the quarterback. Gaffney quarterback DeEdward Burris got a passing (no pun intended) grade from Jones.

“DeEdward did some good things and some bad things,” Jones said. “He made some progress and he took to coaching.”

The biggest disappointment Saturday was the Gaffney receivers’ inability to hang onto the football.

“We had a lot of dropped balls,” Jones said.

And it wasn’t only drops by the projected backups, either. The team’s top receivers also had troubles catching the football.

“We haven’t done a lot of (receivers catching the ball),” Jones said.

But that will change immediately. Jones said the receivers will participate in more catching drills during their team workouts on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Probably the biggest news out of the Clemson tournament was Jones’ statement that backup quarterback Joey Copeland will move to outside linebacker if he doesn’t win the starter’s job. Jones said Copeland is too talented an athlete to sit on the bench.

“Joey needs to be on the field,” Jones said.

The coach also mentioned that cornerback Marquis Brannon had a strong start to the passing tournament. Another cornerback, Snoop Byers, saw his first contact since having his cast removed.

“Snoop played well,” Jones said.

Jones also mentioned that rising sophomore defensive back Justin Thompson has potential but still is raw.

“All in all the kids are making progress,” Jones said.

The Indians will travel to Laurens on Tuesday for another passing tournament. As many as five other teams, including the host Raiders, are expected to compete.