What We Saw: Gaffney Completes 2nd Half Comeback In OT Thriller

Gaffney trailed Northwestern 10-0 at halftime in Friday’s third round of the 5A playoffs, but coach Dan Jones’s squad rallied in the second half to tie the game and force overtime. Gaffney forced a [player_tooltip player_id="89310" first="Kanoah" last="Vinesett"] field goal before Tyler Jones delivered the knockout punch on a 2-yard TD run, lifting the Indians over the Trojans, 16-13 win to advance to next week’s 5A Upper State Championship against Spartanburg. [embed]https://twitter.com/1BStockdale/status/1461896354586927110[/embed] The story of the night was miscues from the Trojans that Gaffney took advantage of. The Indians forced four Northwestern turnovers with most impactful ones coming in the second half. The first was a Kaliber Hoey interception off a tipped ball. The next one was a muffed Trojan punt that hit the calf of a Northwestern player and Gaffney recovered. Northwestern head coach Page Wofford took full responsibility for the miscues and penalties, a few of which extended Gaffney drives. “Everything that could’ve gone wrong tonight, went wrong. From the penalties, to the bad play calling from me, to the injuries, the cramps, stuff like that, stuff we haven’t had to deal with all year, it all just came in one half of football. It was a lot to overcome and we still gave ourselves a chance there to do it, even after all of that. I’m proud of these kids and proud of what they did this year,” Wofford said. Northwestern’s Greer Hopkins fumbled the snap on a punt deep in Gaffney territory in the 4th quarter, leading to a 5-yard TD run from Tyler Jones out of the wildcat formation, which tied the game at 10 with 9:49 to play in the game. [player_tooltip player_id="89316" first="Will" last="Mattison"] and the Northwestern offense had a chance to take the lead in the closing seconds of regulation after a few nice keepers from the senior quarterback. Northwestern elected to keep the offense on the field on a 4th down and short play (see below), where they didn’t convert instead of kicking a field goal that would’ve given them the lead in regulation. [embed]https://twitter.com/1BStockdale/status/1461891934868455434[/embed] Wofford was asked about the decision not to kick the field goal in regulation. “We thought we could get the first down,” Wofford said. Notable standouts and observations for Gaffney include: <ul> <li aria-level="1">QB [player_tooltip player_id="89340" first="Grayson" last="Loftis"] faced relentless pressure from the Trojans’ defensive line but came back strong in the second half. He didn’t put his team in any danger and had zero turnovers. He connected with WR Deshun Corry who made an incredible catch right in front of the Gaffney sideline, demonstrating great concentration. Loftis found a bit of a rhythm with the quick pass game coming out in the third quarter to offset the pressure from the Trojans.</li> </ul> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">DB [player_tooltip player_id="59498" first="Jesus" last="Dowdle"] had excellent coverage on a Northwestern wide receiver on a shallow route on two straight plays in the first quarter. Once the receiver tried to make the catch, he immediately jarred the ball loose.</li> </ul> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">WR Edward Jefferies made a catch on an in route on 3rd down, finding the void in coverage during the first quarter.</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">DB Eddie Tate-McDowel snuffed out a screen on a third down play to begin the fourth quarter.</li> </ul> Notable standouts and observations for Northwestern include: <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">QB [player_tooltip player_id="89316" first="Will" last="Mattison"] capped off an excellent senior season as he connected with RB Turbo Richard on a checkdown on 3rd down in the first quarter. He connected with WR [player_tooltip player_id="146372" first="Elijah" last="Caldwell"] for a 19-yard TD reception to go up 10-0 in the second quarter. He was also impressive in the zone read game and is probably a better runner than people think.</li> </ul> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">DE Isaac McClellan and Jeremiah McDowell combined for a tackle for loss on 3rd down on an inside zone play in the first quarter as the defense controlled things.</li> <li aria-level="1">DB Tay McCrorey was fun to watch early in the contest, making some nice tackles near the sideline.</li> </ul>