Hometown News » Sports

Lattimore, Thompson are Mr. Football Finalists

sblackwell@hometown-news.com — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:16:03 +0000

By Jed Blackwell
Sports Editor
The South Carolina Automobile Dealers Association will present its annual Mr. Football award on December 11 at the Myrtle Beach Performing Arts Auditorium beginning at 7 p.m. The banquet will be held the evening before the SCADA North-South All-Star football game.
The Mr. Football award, sponsored by the Moore Orthopaedics Clinic, is the top individual award to a football player in the state. To be considered for the award, a senior player must be nominated by his head coach and supported by a letter of recommendation from a non-athletic faculty member.
This year’s finalists include two local players, as Byrnes’ Marcus Lattimore and Boiling Springs’ Dylan Thompson have both been recommended for the honor. Other finalists are Bruce Ellington from Berkeley, Goose Creek’s Malcolm Howard, and Daniel’s DeAndre Hopkins.
Past local winners include Malcolm Long, Prince Miller, Trey Elder, and Roscoe Crosby.
Lattimore is hoping to carry on the Byrnes tradition by becoming the third Rebel to win the award.
“I remember when Prince won it and how happy he was,” Lattimore said. “I am just honored to be nominated. It’s not only about being a good football player, but being a good person and making good grades. It’s something people will remember forever. If I were to win it, it would be such an honor.”
Byrnes head coach Chris Miller thinks Lattimore stacks up well against Byrnes’ past winners.
“We feel like he is in the same category as Prince Miller and Trey Elder,” Miller said. “He has done so much for our program and is such a class act. He represents everything that the Mr. Football award is about. It’s not only what he does on the grass, but what he does off of it too.”
Thompson also appreciates the honor of being a finalist for the award.
“I think it is a huge honor to be a finalist for Mr. Football in the state of South Carolina,” he said. “It means a lot to me because a lot of it has to do with character and also football. Without Jesus Christ,none of these awards and accolades would be possible. Thats what I play for because God has given me all of my abilities and can take them away at any moment. Again, this is another great honor to end my senior year and its huge just to be in the same group with players like Marcus Lattimore, DeAndre Hopkins, Bruce Ellington, and Malcolm Howard. I also want to thank my family,coaches, and teammates for helping me become the person and player I am today.”

Cavaliers Take 2nd in 4A Girls Golf

sblackwell@hometown-news.com — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:12:02 +0000

By Stan Olenik
For Hometown News
Lexington held their first round lead and won their sixth straight 4A golf title by four shots over Dorman at Three Pines Country Club in Woodruff. Lexington shot rounds of 318 and 324 for a four shot victory over the Cavaliers.
Maureen Dunnagan may have set a state record by being a member of each of the schools six straight championships. Dunnagan won the individual title by three shots over Dorman’s Morgan Webber.
Webber was in the final group that not only had to play number 16 out of sequence but also nearly in the dark. Tournament play was interrupted twice by heavy rain forcing the golfers off the course. When they returned after the second rain delay the sixteenth green was under water, forcing the change in the order of play for the final group.
The Dorman golfer shot a second straight 76 to finish as the runner-up. “I’ve played in bad weather that was worse than this but having to finish in the dark was pretty tough, I had never had to do that before,” said Webber. “I think I played pretty well considering the conditions,” she added.
The Cavaliers finished second to Lexington for the fourth straight year. “Coach Terry told us that a tournament could come down to just one stroke from each of our players and that is the way it turned out today,” said Webber.
The Cavaliers fired a final round total of 318 but only made up six of the ten-stroke lead held by Lexington after the first round.
“We played in some very difficult conditions and some extra pressure because this was on our home course,” said Dorman head coach Lewis Terry. “We responded with solid rounds by all four girls and I was very pleased with that,” he said.
After Lexington and Dorman, Wren and Easley finished third and fourth in the team competition.
Torey Johnson of Byrnes tied for third in the tournament. Kaitlin Matheson and Maegen Higgens of Wren, Taylor Pleier and Brittany Lowe of Dorman along with Katy Funk of Spartanburg finished in the top-ten and earned All-State honors.
“I know we are disappointed that we were not able to win but we had three girls make All-State and that is the first time we have done that,” said Terry. “We have a very good group of girls coming back for next year and we should have a chance to contend for a title again. Maybe we can win it next time,” concluded the Dorman coach.
The Three Pines staff and volunteers managed to “squeege in” the 4A girls championship on a day when even ducks didn’t fly. Most tournaments would have been cancelled but because the event was a state championship play continued.
“The committee has the right to make a change in unusual circumstances,” said Todd Marshall, Three Pines head professional and tournament manager. “Playing out of order gave 16 a chance to drain and us to squeegee it off. I was going to do everything I could to get the tournament in,” he said.

Nowhere to Run

sblackwell@hometown-news.com — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:47:23 +0000

By Jed Blackwell
Sports Editor
Byrnes tailback Marcus Lattimore was disgusted with an incomplete pass attempt in the third quarter of last week’s game against Dorman.
“That killed me, man,” Lattimore said of his toss toward an open Corey Miller, which was batted down by Dorman’s Kendrick Smith. “I swear I didn’t see him. I thought for sure it was a touchdown.”
Fortunately for the Rebels, that’s just about the only mistake Lattimore made.
Lattimore carried the ball 33 times for 158 yards against the Cavaliers, scoring two first-half touchdowns and picking up a key first down on a fake punt in the third quarter. But it was the Rebels’ final drive that showed Lattimore’s impact. Taking over following a Dorman drive at the Cavaliers’ 34-yard line, Lattimore carried the ball on eight out of nine plays, picking up 31 total yards and running out the clock. Along the way, Lattimore converted a fourth-and-inches from a direct snap, effectively putting the game away.
“It was nothing but an adrenaline rush,” Lattimore said of the short-yardage play. “Everybody was going to get it. The offensive line got a great push, and Katodre Oglesby made the key block on that. I credit him.”
“That’s a great drive by our offense,” Byrnes head coach Chris Miller said. “Our defense had done a great job, and the offense turned around and kept us from having to go back on the field. Everybody in the stadium knew what was coming, and when you can do stuff like that, I feel like that’s the mark of a good football team.”
Byrnes’ defense played well all night, clamping down on Dorman’s rushing attack and forcing the Cavaliers to the air. Dorman managed just 10 total rushing yards on 26 attempts, and the Rebels came up with an astounding 20 tackles-for-loss on the night.
“Coming into the game we were concerned about establishing a running game against their front three, and that really hurt us tonight,” said Dorman head coach Dave Gutshall.
Meanwhile, the Rebels offense ran nearly 30 more plays than the Cavaliers, but Dorman’s defense was able to limit Byrnes to just three scores on the night.
“I thought our defense played with a lot of courage and a lot of heart,” Gutshall said.
After Parker Langford’s 44-yard field goal put Dorman on top 3-0 early in the first quarter, Byrnes answered with a pair of second-quarter scoring drives to take a 14-3 halftime lead. Lattimore capped both drives with scoring runs from direct snaps, a one-yard dive to put the Rebels up 7-3 and a three-yard burst to push the advantage to 14-3. With four seconds remaining in the third quarter, Kaleb Patterson converted a 23-yard field goal to give Byrnes a 17-3 lead.
Dorman got its best offensive production of the night on its next drive, as quarterback Johnny Foster found Charone Peake on a crossing pattern with a 63-yard touchdown pass to trim the deficit to 17-10.
That was as close as the Cavs could get. Dorman’s next drive stalled, and the Cavaliers’ final effort reached the Byrnes 34 before Dorman turned the ball over on downs, setting the stage for Lattimore’s work on the final drive.

Spartanburg Regains Cyder Cup

sblackwell@hometown-news.com — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:07:59 +0000

By Stan Olenik
For Hometown News
Spartanburg County reclaimed the Powerade Cyder Cup with a four-point win in the annual Ryder Cup style matches held at River Falls Plantation. The Spartanburg golfers won nine of the sixteen final matches to win the championship 18-14.
The tournament included the top sixteen golfers from each counties amateur championship playing a series of three rounds of golf. “We had a great tournament and the competition was really tight,” said Brian Kennedy the Spartanburg County Captain. “It is a privilege to play in these matches and being the captain is an extra benefit,” he said.
The defending champions opened the defense of their title with wins in five of the first eight best ball matches. The second round was modified alternate shot competition dominated by Spartanburg. The Spartanburg golfers won six of the eight matches by convincing margins.
Spartanburg took a two-point lead into the final round of 16 singles matches on Sunday. Spartanburg took control of the final round of play with their first four players notching wins. Aaron Setro, Ronnie Funk, Austin Page and Richard Burgess each won close matches to help Spartanburg get within three points of winning the Cup.
Max Fain and Josh McMillan added wins to set the stage for the deciding match of the day. Kennedy, the team captain, won his match with Casey Owens to give the Spartanburg team their fourth win in the six-year history of the tournament.
“We could have thrown all the names in a bowl and drawn them out and had great matches. All the players were so close in ability this year you just knew it was going to be close,” said Kennedy.
Eleven of the sixteen singles matches were decided on the final hole of match play. While the tournament was decided with Kennedy’s win the players on the course finished out their matches.
Greenville team captain Tommy Ashworth won his match against Gene Wetmore, 1 up. “It is hard to play in these matches if you are the captain because you are out there worrying about your team,” said Ashworth. “We had a good group and when you see how close the matches ended up you see both teams played well,” he said.
The feature match of the Sunday singles was a rematch between the two golfers who battled for the South Carolina Golf Association Mid-Am championship last week at the Greenville Country Club.
Greenville’s Marcus Grumbles won the SCGA state title by a shot over Spartanburg’s Kyle Milner but on Sunday the tables were turned and Milner won the match by a shot.
“This is more laid back than last weekend,” said Milner. “We thought it would be fun to play each other on Sunday. Marcus is a great guy, we had a good match and I was fortunate that it ended up my way,” said Milner.
While the competition on the course can be intense, the sportsmanship of both teams showed in the amount of money raised by the players for the First Tee programs in Greenville and Spartanburg. The event will contribute $33,000 to the two junior golf programs to help more young golfers get on the course.
“This money helps us run the programs,” said Laura Parris, the director of the Spartanburg First Tee program. “We can give scholarships to kids and expand the number of young golfers who get an opportunity to learn to play golf and also learn the lessons that come from the game,” she said.
The tournament began as an event to find out which county had the better golfers but in the last two years, the fund raising portion of the tournament has become just as important.
“Nobody likes to lose, we all want to win but we all know what this is about. It is to raise awareness and money for the First Tee program,” said Kennedy. “The support we receive from Coca-Cola and Powerade has really made the success of this tournament possible,” noted Ashworth.
Members of the winning Spartanburg team included Aaron Setro, Ronnie Funk, Austin Page, Richard Burgess, Paul Spradlin, Max Fain, Landon Hames, Chip Ridley, Josh McMillan, Benjy Miller, Kevin Roberts, Andrew Hewitt, Kyle Milner, Bobby Newman, Gene Wetmore and captain Brian Kennedy.
Greenville team members included Mark Ingalls, Danny Brock, Michael Cloer, Marty Henson, Shane Grumbles, Brent Watson, Michael Gault, Thomas Barker, Jeff Ware, Casey Owens, Chris Wilkins, Chris Eassy, Whit Suber, Marcus Grumbles, Ric Cobb and captain Tommy Ashworth.

‘Dig for the Cure’ Events Support Cause

sblackwell@hometown-news.com — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 19:59:47 +0000

By Jed Blackwell
Sports Editor
For one night last week, the Spartanburg and Boiling Springs volleyball teams squared off in a match in which the score was secondary.
The Vikings and Bulldogs participated in one of many “Dig for the Cure” events that are scheduled to take place this month, as local volleyball teams observe National Breast Cancer Awareness month.
Dig for the Cure is a volleyball-specific fundraiser where players and programs get donations for each dig they record in a match. A dig is a defensive play in which a player prevents an opponent’s attack from scoring by “digging” it up before it hits the court. The dig becomes a symbol of defending against breast cancer.
The event at Spartanburg last week also included the sale of the familiar pink items that have become synonomous with the fight against breast cancer. Pink t-shirts, pink-frosted cupcakes and brownies, and pink balloons were all available. Each player’s chair on the benches were tied with pink balloons, and pink shoelaces and hair ribbons were worn by both teams.
Spartanburg coach Lauren Mueller said she was happy to be involved in the event.
“Breast cancer awareness is something that’s near and dear to my heart,” she said. “Our players love to wear the pink, the community support has been enthusiastic, and it’s something that we hope to continue.”
Mueller especially thanked the Spartanburg High students who came out to support the cause.
“Our student section was awesome,” she said. “When you can get some of those guys in pink shirts, you know you’re doing something right.”
Boiling Springs coach Allyson Elliott said her team was very happy to be part of the event.
“It’s a great way to support a fantastic cause,” she said. “We have a parent who’s not able to come to some games - she’s not here tonight, for example - because she’s undergoing treatment. This is something that hits everybody. I’m glad we got the chance to support it.”
Spartanburg athletic director Myles Wilson was pleased with the event.
“It creates a unique atmosphere, and it gives us a chance to give back to the community,” he said.
Spartanburg was to participate in another Dig for the Cure event on Tuesday at Dorman.
In the match, Boiling Springs took a 25-9, 25-15, 25-23 victory over the Lady Vikings.

Mcguire Wins Chapman Title

sblackwell@hometown-news.com — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 19:51:57 +0000

By Stan Olenik
For HOMETOWN NEWS
MJ Mcguire of St Petersburg, Florida won the 2009 Bobby Chapman Junior Invitational championship with a birdie on the first sudden death playoff hole. McGuire topped first round leader Austin Cody of North Charleston for the championship.
“It is great for my confidence to win such a prestigious tournament,” said the 16-year old Florida golfer.
Mcguire joins a list of champions that includes 2009 US Open winner Lucas Glover, who won the first Chapman Invitational in 1995.
The new champion had to come from two strokes off the pace in the final round and then survived the sudden-death playoff for the win.
Mcguire started the final round trailing Charleston’s Austin Cody for the lead. Cody fired a six under-par round of 65 to open the 36-hole championship.
While the future Duke golfer’s putting helped him take the first round lead it was his putter that cost him a chance to win the event.
“There is no excuse for missing two three-footers, that is what cost me the tournament,” said Cody.
Mcguire was able to catch Cody with a 20-foot birdie putt on the fifth hole. The St. Pete junior benefited from a pair of bogeys by Cody on the sixth and ninth hole to take a two shot lead at the turn.
“When I made that birdie on number five I was putting really well. I thought if I could keep that going until the end I could win,” said Mcguire.
After nearly holing his approach shot on the sixteenth hole, Cody missed his second three-footer of the afternoon allowing Mcguire to again take a two shot lead with just two holes to play.
“I wasn’t going to give up. I needed to go birdie, birdie,” said Cody.
Mcguire’s tee shot on the par-5 seventeenth hole missed the fairway and landed well off the fairway in a wooded area.
Mcguire was forced to punch out to set up his approach to the green. The tournament leader hit a six iron just over the pin and appeared to be in position to save par. However, he missed his par putt and then missed again from five feet for a double.
Cody made a birdie on the hole sending both golfers to the eighteenth tee box tied.
Mcguire again missed the fairway with his tee shot but was able to hit his second shot to the green.
“The driver saved me most of the weekend, but it deserted me on the last two holes,” said Mcguire.
Cody had an opportunity to win the tournament with a 10 foot birdie putt on the final hole but the ball slid past the cup while McGuire needed a tricky five-footer to send the tournament into extra holes.
On the first playoff hole Mcguire’s trusted his swing and his driver and split the fairway.
“I knew I could hit a good drive. Usually the less I think about it the better I do so I just hit it,” he said.
Mcguire’s second shot flew over the pin but spun back to within four-feet of the hole.
Cody could not convert his birdie putt and had to watch as Mcguire sealed the win with another short putt on the eighteenth green.
The victory goes along with a Future Masters championship Mcguire won two years ago. The win also comes at an important time for the high school junior as he hopes to have a chance to play college golf.
“I’ve started to get some letters and I’m looking around for college opportunities and see how I fit with them. This win certainly gives me confidence and hopefully opens some doors,” concluded the champion.
Payne McLeod of Reidsville, North Carolina was third. Ben Fogler of Elgin tied for fifth place. The top Upstate golfer in the tournament was Cody Taylor of Greer who finished sixteenth.

Boiling Springs Girls win Coaches Classic

sblackwell@hometown-news.com — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 20:26:47 +0000

By Stan Olenik
For Hometown News
The Boiling Springs girls cross country team won the Coaches Classic Championship division title in Columbia on Saturday. The Bulldog cross-country runners edged out Bluffton to take the top spot in the division.
The race was run on the Clemson Sandhills Research Center grounds, the same track that will host the state championships in November. The field for the Championship division included 46 teams from around the state.
Boiling Springs Sage Kosiorek continued his fine running early in the season by earning a third place finish in the boys International Division race. Only Mark Blackmon of Fort Mill, the defending 4A state champion and Aaron Ramirez of Woodmont, the defending 3A state champion, finished in front of the Bulldog sophomore.
“I think it proves he is capable of running with the top runners in the state,” said Boiling Springs cross-country coach Steven Olejnik. “ Mark Blackmon has been a great runner and Aaron Ramirez is the best in 3A so being in the ball park with these two great runners says a lot about how hard Sage has worked since track season and through the summer,” he said.
Last weekend Kosiorek finished fourth and was the top area runner in the Eye-Opener Race in Spartanburg.
The win by the girl’s team was the first victory in an important statewide meet for the Bulldogs. “We haven’t had a first place in along time so this is very exciting,” said Hannah Burkholder who finished in fourth place. I know I ran faster than I had before for a race at this distance,” said the senior.
Anastasia Kolesnitchenko finished third in the race for the Bulldogs. “I just tried to stay with Hannah for the whole race. I knew if I was close to her I could have a good finish,” said the Bulldog sophomore.
Both Kolesnitchenko and Burkholder ran their best times ever on the demanding course. “We all worked so hard this summer and it is going to help us to have a good season,” said Kolesnitchenko. “I think we can have a good year and get back here for the state championships,” she said.
Adding points for Boiling Springs to help the Bulldogs claim the victory were Kyra Woodyard, Logan Lindsey, Madison Burkholder, Madeline Petty and Allison Thomas.
Logan Morris of Spartanburg Christian was eighth in the girl’s race. The Spartanburg Christian team finished fifth while the Landrum boys and girls teams were eighth in their races.
The Dorman boys team finished third in the International Division race. Chase Wolfe and Ian Kimbrell who finished twelfth and thirteenth in the event led the Cavaliers.
The Spartanburg boys team finished eighth in the same division with Matthew McPhail coming in fifteenth as the top individual Viking’s runner.
The top area girl’s runner in the International Division race was Evie Tate of Spartanburg who finished seventh while Dorman’s Katie Inclan was eleventh. The Cavalier girl’s team finished sixth while Spartanburg was ninth in the girls team standings.

Dorman Boys Claim Eye Opener Title

sblackwell@hometown-news.com — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:36:54 +0000

By Stan Olenik
For Hometown News
The Dorman boys’ cross-country team started the new season right where they finished last season. The Cavaliers claimed the title in the International Division race at the Eye Opener Cross Country meet at Milliken.
   Dorman won the South Carolina 4A title last November and are considered a favorite for a second straight championship.
   The Cavaliers were led by Brandon Easler and Chase Wolfe who finished eighth and tenth respectively in the featured race.
    “We are happy with the win,” said Dorman coach Jeff Buys. “It shows that we are heading in the right direction but our focus is on the big meets at the end of the season,” added the coach.
    The Cavaliers finished ahead of runner-up T.C. Roberson of Asheville and third place Spartanburg High School.
    “Three of our seven runners ran their all time fastest times and to do that early in the season is good. We know we will improve as the season moves on. I’m pleased with where we are right now. It gives us a confidence boost that what we have been doing is paying off,” said Buys.
    Joining Easler and Wolfe on the winning team were Jan Kimbrell, Richard Zarnoch and Preston Hilton.
   The third place finish by the Spartanburg boys was also seen as a confidence booster by their head coach Rob Wilder.
    “I was pleased with how we packed up during the race,” said Wilder. “We know we are going to get faster and if we can do that later in the year we can be successful,” added the Spartanburg coach.
    Sage Kosiorek of Boiling Springs was the top individual area runner in the meet won by Isaac Presson of Asheville High School. The Bulldog sophomore runner finished fourth to help his team to an eleventh place finish.
    “I felt really good early and tried to stay with Brandon Easler (Dorman’s top runner and last year’s 4A individual runner-up) early in the race,” said Kosiorek. “I got past him but I kind of crashed on the last mile or I could have done even better,” he said.
The International Girls race was dominated by Roberson. Laura Hoer of Roberson won the girls race by over 30 seceonds. The top area finisher was Hanna Burkholder of Boiling Springs. Burkholder missed a top-ten finish by a step and was eleventh in the race.
Spartanburg’s Anna Todd was thirteenth, Dorman’s Katie Inclan was fourteenth, Boiling Springs Anastasia Kolesnitchenko and Evie Tate of the Vikings was eighteenth in the race.
The Dorman girls team finished fifth while the defending 4A state champions from Spartanburg ended up seventh. Boiling Springs finished eleventh and Spartanburg Christian Academy was twelfth in the 19-team International race field.
In the Championship Division race, Austin High of Chesnee was the runner-up to Steve Rivard of Stratford for the individual title. Samantha Waters of Landrum was the top area girl’s finisher in the Championship Division taking fifth place.
Stratford from Charleston won both the boys and girls team titles. The Landrum girl’s team finished fourth while the Cardinal boys were eighth in the Championship field. Spartanburg Day was tenth in the boy’s race.
   In the College Division I race Gilbert Kemboi of USC Upstate won the 8 K race in a time of 25.00 minutes and a 28 second victory. Davidson College won the team competition with Upstate finishing third.

Eye Opener Starts Cross Country Season

sblackwell@hometown-news.com — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 20:00:55 +0000

By Stan Olenik
For Hometown News
Broome cross-country coach Skip Frye gave his team some advice about running in Saturday’s Eye Opener. Frye told his team you can’t win the race in the first mile. It might also be a suggestion for the entire season. You can’t win a state championship in the first race.
The first big meet of the new cross-country season takes place on Saturday at the Milliken Research Park. High school runners from South and North Carolina will fill the grounds to race around the three-mile course.
“This is the perfect cross country course,” said Frye. “It is the best in the country. It is in such great condition it is like running in your front yard. It has hills and down hill sections, it is spectator friendly, it is just great,” said the coach.
Frye will bring a team that is currently ranked on top of the pre-season 2A high school poll. Early season ratings are often based on the results of the previous year but Frye thinks he has a team that can contend for a title. The Centurions coach returns all of his top runners for this year and is happy to be ranked very high to start the year.
“It shows the program is in good shape if people are ranking you on top. You got to remember they don’t give you anything for being the pre-season number one,” said the Broome coach.
Other area teams are also ranked very high to start the season at Milliken. The Dorman boys who won the 4A state championship are a pre-season number one team and the defending 4A state champion girl’s team from Spartanburg is ranked third.
The Dorman girls’ team is ranked sixth and the Boiling Springs girls are tenth in the 4A rankings. The Spartanburg boys are ranked eighth in the 4A poll.
Class 1A and 2A teams are combined in the rankings and joining Broome in the boy’s poll is an improving Chesnee team that starts the year ranked fifth. The Landrum girls are second and the Broome girls are ninth in the poll.
Landrum won the boys Class 1A championship last year and while they are not in the rankings to start the season the Cardinals are expected to challenge for a second straight title.
Since the Eye-Opener is the first race of the year and so many teams will be in the field Frye wants to use the race as a way to measure his teams work over the summer. The Milliken site is also the location of the Spartanburg County championship in October, just before the state championships, so Frye will be able to compare how his team has improved during the year.
“I’ve been pleased with the guys and girls and the work they have done this summer. They have put in some good miles and we will see how we measure up to the top teams this weekend,” said the Broome coach.
The day begins with a pair of college races starting at 8:00 AM and 8:30 AM. The first high school race for the top teams at the meet will start with the International girls at 9 AM and the boys at 9:30. The Championship girls will follow at 10 AM and the championship boys at 10:30 with the Junior Varsity races set for 11 AM.
Frye does not expect any surprises in the races. The good teams will run well and set the stage for the season that ends with the state championships near Columbia in November.
“We are a good team but there are a lot of good teams. The Eye Opener lets you see how you compare to those other good teams,” concluded Frye.

Cavs Shut Down Vikings

sblackwell@hometown-news.com — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 18:40:30 +0000

By Jed Blackwell
Sports Editor
Dorman head coach Dave Gutshall said the Cavaliers’ 295-yard rushing output against Spartanburg last Friday was not by design. Instead, Dorman took advantage of an opportunity in its 20-7 victory over the crosstown-rival Vikings.
“The way they lined up, we know they were going to give us the run,” Gutshall said. “They weren’t gonna give us (Charon) Peake and those guys, so we decided to try to run it. It worked out real good for us.”
While Spartanburg’s defense might have been giving the Cavs the run, it was clear what Dorman’s defense was giving back nothing.
The Cavaliers allowed the Vikings just 108 total offensive yards, incluing just 66 rushing yards on 30 carries. Dorman’s defense completely dominated the Vikings, allowing just one serious scoring threat, and that one coming after a fumble return set Spartanburg up deep in Dorman territory.
“They played well, and I’m proud of them,” Gutshall said. “Our defense plays with a lot of pride. I hated that they lost the shutout, but their performance was pretty special.”
The Cavs lost the shutout on a 64-yard punt return by Ronnie Martin with 6:29 to play. It was Martin’s second big punt return of the evening, with the first setting the Vikings up in Dorman territory, and another touchdown for Martin only prevented by the kicker.
“Ronnie Martin is a great player,” Spartanburg head coach Freddie Brown said. “We’ve got to find more ways to get him the ball and let him do what he needs to do. Unfortunately tonight we didn’t stick it in on offense, but we’ll get better.”
Dorman scored all its’ points before halftime, with A.J. Booker providing touchdowns of 14-and 57-yards, and Raymond Smith scoring on a 7-yard dash as Dorman built a 20-0 halftime advantage.
Gutshall was mostly pleased with his team’s overall performance, but definitely saw room for improvement.
“Our special teams play was not good, and I’m not pleased with that,” he said. “That’s an area where we’ll have to get better.
Both teams will return to action this week, as Dorman hosts Gaffney and Spartanburg will travel to Union County.