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SUMMERVILLE – The ending of Gaffney’s showdown at Summerville on Friday night couldn’t have been anymore fitting.
In a game that had already featured eight turnovers, linebacker Jaquan Barnes intercepted Summerville quarterback Dalton Saunders at the Indians 10 with 30 seconds remaining to lift Gaffney to a 35-28 road victory in the second round of the 4A Division I playoffs.
It marked the second straight season that Gaffney (10-3) won at Summerville in the playoffs.
The Indians will travel to Dorman in next Friday’s semifinal.
“I watched (Saunders’) eyes the whole time,” said Barnes of the interception. “He threw it high, and it went straight into my hands.”
Summerville (11-2) jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead with 7:06 to go in the first quarter off two Gaffney turnovers.
A high snap recovered by Michael Scholz set up a 74-yard touchdown pass from Saunders to Cody Reese on the Green Wave’s first offensive play.
Saunders later connected with De’Angelo Henderson on a 14-yard pass after Summerville recovered another fumble at the Indians 21.
The Green Wave extended the lead to 21-0 on a 65-yard pass from Saunders to DeJon Wilkinson. Saunders finished the first half 8-for-16 for 226 yards. Summerville piled up 340 yards of total offense and connected on 6 of 9 third-down attempts in the first half.
Gaffney cut the deficit to 21-7 at the half on an 80-yard pass from DeEdward Burris to Quinshad Davis. Davis led the Indians with four catches for 140 yards.
Gaffney got the break it was looking for, though, midway through the third quarter.
Defensive back Khris Brown intercepted a Saunders’ pass at the Indians 5 and returned it 79 yards to the Summerville 16.
Three plays later, Burris connected with Mike Wood on a 15-yard pass that cut the lead to 21-14. The Indians outscored Summerville 21-0 in the quarter.
The Green Wave were also 0-for-4 on ball possession downs during the third quarter.
“We stepped it up in the second half,” Gaffney coach Phil Strickland said. “We were kind of sitting back on our heels and letting them catch the ball in the first half. But we went back out in the second half and went after the ball.”
Burris added a 1-yard run followed by an 18-yard run by Rodney Rogers to take a 28-21 lead.
Burris later gave the Indians a 35-28 lead on a 19-yard run with 6:00 remaining set up by Shonquille Byers’ interception. The Indians scored 21 of their points as a result of turnovers.
Byers also stopped a potential Green Wave scoring drive with another interception at the Indians 27 on the previous possession.
“Our coaches told us to come out and play and let all the first-half stuff go and just play our game,” Byers said.
Burris led the Indians with 18 carries for 124 yards with two touchdowns and finished 16-of-27 for 271 yards and two scores.
He also became the first Gaffney quarterback to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season since Tyrone McGill in 1993.
“This was crazy. I don’t even know what to say,” Burris said. “Our players just wanted it and we played a little bit harder than they did.”
“I’ve been in a bunch of these types of games,” Strickland said. “The momentum in the first half went their way, and the momentum in the second half went our way.”
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