What We Saw: Smith Pushes Gaffney Past Boiling Springs

Jed Blackwell September 20, 2024 @ 11:47 PM

BOILING SPRINGS | The last 10 yards [player_tooltip player_id='1254122' first='Jamarcus' last='Smith'] gained ended the game.   His other 278 kept Gaffney in it.   Forced into a change of position, trying to weather a furious Boiling Springs defense, Smith did a little bit of everything in the Indians 28-22 overtime victory over Boiling Springs. He had 288 all-purpose yards, a staggering number that doesn't begin to tell the story of everything he did for Gaffney.   The Indians' 282 passing yards? Smith receptions accounted for 119 of those on five catches, including a 99-yarder that tied the game in the first quarter. That wasn't Smith's only 99-yard play of the night. He corralled a kickoff inside the 1 and raced up the home sideline for a touchdown to answer a Boiling Springs score.   "On the catch, I felt like I could beat him," Smith said. "My quarterback trusted me, my coaches trusted me, they drew up a play, and we just had to execute. That's what we did. On the return, there were two of us back there. We kind of both caught it, but I took it and I waited for my blocks to set up."   The stat of the night for Smith, though, was the least eye-popping. Inserted at QB after [player_tooltip player_id='284134' first='Jayvon' last='Gilmore'] was ejected from the contest, and with Gaffney already missing starting RB [player_tooltip player_id='473029' first='Jaiden' last='McDowell'], Smith made the best of the situation. He didn't complete a pass. He rushed for 70 yards on seven carries. The rest of the Indians combined for negative eight.   And, when the Indians forced a turnover on Boiling Springs' first overtime possession, Gaffney found themselves Smith's yards-per-carry average away from a win.   He cashed in on first down.   Smith said the move to QB was something he was glad to do to help the team.   "It's a lot of pressure," he said. "I used to play quarterback, but I haven't done that in a long time. I'm thankful my teammates put their trust in me. Encouraging words on the sideline really helped me. I just kept my composure, and we went and won the football game."   Gaffney's defense did plenty, too. The Indians held Boiling Springs to just 152 total offensive yards, including just 40 on the ground. [player_tooltip player_id='605522' first='Andrew' last='Ruppe'] notched nine solo tackles, Josh Corry had two sacks and Imari Foster-Boyd added another, and [player_tooltip player_id='615213' first='Jayden' last='Sims'] had an interception for Gaffney.   Boiling Springs' defense kept the Bulldogs in it. They were typically stingy on the ground, and gave up only a pair of big plays, Smith's long touchdown and a 64-yard catch-and-run from Shane Davidson, who slipped a tackle near the line of scrimmage before racing away. [player_tooltip player_id='1036731' first='Dennis' last='Glenn Jr'] and Bobby McBeth kept up near-constant pressure on Gilmore, and while they didn't record a sack, the pressure paid off as Ryshaun Morgan and [player_tooltip player_id='1708292' first='Kuron' last='Nesbitt'] both had long interception returns, with Nesbitt's setting up a score by [player_tooltip player_id='1254206' first='Javen' last='Chhim']. Morgan had a receiving TD to put the Bulldogs on the board first, and [player_tooltip player_id='1360379' first='Kyle' last='Patterson'] added a TD catch. Patterson also punted well for Boiling Springs, killing two punts inside the 1 and another at the 11, while averaging 41 yards on eight kicks.

BOILING SPRINGS | The last 10 yards Jamarcus Smith Jamarcus Smith 6'0" | 185 lbs | WR Gaffney | 2025 State SC gained ended the game.