Gaffney's third-quarter rally knocks out Summerville

SUMMERVILLE -- The stakes weren't as high, but Gaffney's 35-28 victory over Summerville on Friday night was painfully familiar if you're a Green Wave player, coach or fan.

Summerville jumped to a 21-0 lead in the second quarter, but the Indians stormed back with three touchdowns in the third quarter to win the Division I-AAAA state quarterfinal game in front of approximately 5,000 fans at McKissick Field.

Four years ago, the Indians handed the Green Wave the ultimate heartache, a 33-22 victory in the Big 16 state championship game. The Wave led in that game, too, taking a 26-7 halftime lead.

"There weren't as many marbles on the table tonight, but it was very similar," said Gaffney coach Phil Strickland, whose team outscored Summerville 28-7 in the second half.

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Summerville vs Gaffney

Summerville High School takes on Gaffney High School in football on Friday night November 20 2009 at the Summerville High football stadium.

"There was no rah-rah speech at halftime. I just told the kids not to panic."

Gaffney upped its record to 9-3 in a game that featured 977 total yards, and will face Dorman next week in a state semifinal. The Green Wave finished with an 11-2 record.

It was a sloppy game (nine turnovers) with some outstanding individual efforts. Gaffney quarterback Deedward Harris completed 18 of 30 passes for 285 yards and two touchdowns, while throwing three interceptions. He also carried 20 times for 99 yards and scored two touchdowns. He had all but 50 of Gaffney's 432 total yards.

The Indians turned the ball over five times and lived to talk about it.

Summerville tallied 545 yards in total offense. Sophomore quarterback Dalton Saunders completed 16 of 36 passes for 333 yards and four scores. But he threw three of his four interceptions in the second half. De'angelo Henderson carried 21 times for 189 yards. He had two touchdown receptions.

Summerville coach John McKissick said he hasn't though about his status for next year.

"But they might run me out of town after tonight," he said. "We had some opportunities, but we missed a couple field goals, dropped some passes and turned the ball over way too many times. I feel bad for the kids. They played hard. Gaffney played hard. I'm just disappointed for the guys."

Down 21-7, Gaffney scored three touchdowns in a span of 5 minutes, 42 seconds to take a 28-21 lead.

Burris passed to Mike Harris for a 15-yard touchdown with 7:55 left in the third quarter.

Burris scored on a 1-yard run with 4:06 left in the quarter to tie the score. Then after a Summerville fake punt came up a yard short, Gaffney marched 44 yards on three plays to take a 28-21 lead as Rodney Rodgers broke loose for an 18-yard touchdown run.

Summerville tied it at 28 with 9:15 left in the fourth quarter when Saunders completed a 34-yard touchdown pass to Henderson.

But Burris settled the issue with a 19-yard touchdown run with 6:00 left in the game to cap a four-play, 80-yard drive that was set up by an interception.

Summerville threatened, but Jaquan Barnes picked off Saunders' pass at the 10 with 25 seconds left in the game.

"He was slippery," McKissick said of Burris. "We couldn't get a good grip on him. He's a real Houdini."

Gaffney turned the ball the ball over only one time in last year's 40-10 victory over Summerville. But the Indians turned the ball over on their first two possessions and it cost them 14 points.

The Indians marched the ball to the Wave's 12-yard line on the opening drive, but the 10-play drive was killed when a shotgun snap sailed over Burris' head and Michael Scholz recovered.

The Wave scored on the next play when Saunders hit a wide-open Reese on a 74-yard pass-and-run to give the Wave a 7-0 lead with 8:10 to go in the first quarter. The Wave made it 14-0 just 64 second later. Edwards couldn't handle a snap and the Wave recovered. Saunders found Henderson on a 14-yard screen pass that made it 14-0.

The Wave pushed the lead to 21-0 when Saunders hit DeJon Wilkinson on a 65-yard touchdown pass with 5:38 left in the first half.

The Indians finally scored when Burris hit Quinshad Davis on a slant that went for 80 yards and a touchdown.

SU--Cody Reese 74 pass from Dalton Saunders (Brian Jordan kick)

SU--De'angelo Henderson 14 pass from Saunders (Jordan kick)

SU--DeJon Wilkinson 65 pass from Saunders (Jordan kick)

GA--Quinshad Davis 80 pass from Deedward Burris (Josh Harris kick)

GA--Mike Wood 15 pass from Burris (Harris kick)

GA--Burris 1 run (Harris kick)

GA--Rodney Rogers 18 run (Harris kick)

SU--De'angelo Henderson 34 pass from Saunders (Jordan kick)

GA--Burris 19 run (Harris kick)