2013 Football Season

 
 


2013 Peach Blossom Final Conference Standings
 

Conference

Overall

Greer

6-1

  10-3

Greenville

6-1

  7-4

Blue Ridge

6-1

  8-3

Pickens

4-3

  6-5

Southside

3-4

  6-5

Eastside

1-6

  3-7

Berea

1-6

  1-9

Travelers Rest

0-7

  2-8





#1 ranked Daniel ends Greer's season, 41-10...


Tough first half dooms Greer's playoff run...
The Greer Yellow Jackets fell to the Daniel Lions 41-10 tonight at Dooley Field in the third round of the AAA playoffs. The Jackets season ends with a 10-3 record and as champions of the Peach Blossom Conference. This game was hyped as much as any game in recent past, but by halftime Greer was digging out of a 34-3 hole. Uncharacteristically Greer gave the Lions short fields on all but one of their first half scoring drives. Coach Will Young said "that's tough to do against any opponent, let alone the #1 ranked team in the State." The game started well enough with the two teams trading punts. Then Tay Woods picked off a Daniel pass giving Greer the ball at the 40. On 2nd down Quez Nesbitt got the handoff and looked inside, then bounced outside and went 56 yards to the Lion 7. That set up Nick Roberson's 31 yard field goal and a 3-0 Greer lead. A short kickoff and good return by Shrine Bowl running back Jae'lon Oglesby however, set Daniel up with good field position at the 47. On the 1st play Oglesby took a handoff on a counter play and raced 53 yards for the score. Christian Groom's extra point had Daniel up 7-3. After a penalty moved Greer back to the 10, QB Mario Cusano's pass was intercepted at the 23 yard line & that set up a QB sneak from the Greer 1 five plays later to make it 14-3. A three and out gave the Lions the ball back at their 37 and Daniel would mount it's longest drive of the night- 63 yards- and score on Jared Dillingham's 20 yard run on the 1st play of the 2nd quarter. Daniel would score two field goals & a TD on consecutive drives to end the half all on extremely short fields from the 34, 23, and 45 yard lines, the TD coming when a low snap on a punt resulted in a 14 yard loss and a 1st down for the Lions at the Greer 23.
 
Down big, the Jackets regrouped in the halftime locker room and came out with great energy and stopped the Lions on their first two possessions. On offense the Jackets began moving the ball, but Daniel sacks ended both of the Greer drives. The Lions broke through with a 2 yard scoring run by Dillingham with 1:46 to go in the 3rd quarter to make the lead 41-3. The Jackets made their way inside the Daniel 10 twice in the 4th quarter. The first time a Cusano pass from the 10 deflected of a defender's backside into the arms of a diving linebacker at the 4. After two near safeties by the defense the Lions would punt to near midfield. Emmanuel Kelly made a determined run over and through defenders to the 33, before Cusano spotted Nesbitt near the Greer sideline. Quez then made a spirited run down to the 10. After a penalty pushed it back to the 15, Cusano hit Dorian Lindsay for the touchdown with 1:13 to play. Lindsay was sandwiched by two defenders and while hit hard enough to shake him up, Lindsay held on to the ball for the score. Roberson's extra point closed out the scoring at 41-10.
 
And while Greer's season ends, Daniel will advance to the Upstate Finals next week at home against red hot Chapman. The Panthers, who will join the new Peach Blossom Conference next fall, defeated Belton-Honea Path tonight 17-7. After a mid season funk, Chapman has now won six straight, denying the much talked about possible Daniel-BHP rematch. Coach Will Young said "We're all very disappointed right now of course. We didn't want it to end this way- we didn't want it to end any way. But I suspect when we get a couple weeks out and the sting of it starts to fade, I think we'll all be able to look back at this as a good season that we can all see some things to be proud of. It's hard to win any game, and we won 10 of them. I love my guys and I wish for them we could have gone a little bit further, but again I'm proud of this bunch". The Sims and Karr Financial Solutions Players of the Game for Greer were Ty Campbell on defense and Dorian Lindsay on offense. Congrats to those guys. Statistically the numbers do not look like a 41-10 game as Daniel had 310 total yards to Greer's 252. The Jackets were credited with 47 lost yards on 4 sacks and the low punt snap. Oglesby led all rushers with 13 rushes for 113 yards, 53 on the one TD run in the 1st quarter. Greer's North South All-Star Quez Nesbitt finished the evening with 60 yards on just 10 carries, a career low when healthy. Cusano was 16-31 for 190 yards for the Jackets with the two interceptions and a touchdown pass. Neither team lost a fumble. Nesbitt & offensive tackle Rolland Nall will continue with one more game, as both of those guys will be playing in the North South All Star game in Myrtle Beach later in December. The Yellow Jacket Sports Network will keep you informed about those two Jackets as they play in that game.
 
Thanks to all our sponsors and our great Greer Yellow Jacket fans for another great season of Yellow Jacket Football. But most of all thanks to the players & coaches who put so much time in making Greer High football the "tradition that never graduates". Stay tuned to this website and our Twitter account @YJSN1 and we'll let you know of our plans for the upcoming Greer basketball season & the radio broadcasts for that. Until then- thanks for supporting the Yellow Jacket Sports Network and allowing us to be your voices of the Jackets!!


Game and final season stats...click here





Roberson kicks Jackets into 3rd round...



Jackets knock off Westwood to reach Upstate Semis...
 
Nick Roberson kicked a 37 yard field goal with 2.7 seconds remaining as the Greer Yellow Jackets got an exhilarating 45-42 win over the Westwood Redhawks. With the win, the Jackets advance to the Upper State Semi Finals next week against the Daniel Lions at Dooley Field. The winning drive started with 2:43 remaining in the game from the Greer 32 after Westwood had scored a game tying touchdown. After a quick first down Greer faced 3rd and 10 from the 44. Mario Cusano's pass was on target but high in the air, but Dorian Lindsay stretched up and made a tremendous two handed grab for the 1st down. The Jackets got another 1st down with under 30 seconds to play and when Cusano scrambled to the 20 yard line Greer took their final timeout with just over 7 seconds remaining, sending Roberson on the field. The Redhawks took not one, but two timeouts to only add to the drama. And as Steven Gay called the attempt from the sideline on the Yellow Jacket Sports Network, "the lines are set, Tyler Wright snaps it, Bobby Farrington good hold, the kick is up and the kick is..... goooooooood!" At that point Greer only had to kick it down the field on the kickoff. Westwood attempted a few laterals, but the Jackets quickly surrounded the ball carrier to end the game. Greer improves to 10-2 on the season to reach the Upstate Final Four. Coach Will Young was thrilled with the Jacket win. "Our guys are a special bunch. We're like family. They just never gave up. Over and over this game went back and forth, but so happy for our kids. And our coaches...just a special group of men. I love them all."
 
But what a game. After a thrilling 34-30 win last week against Emerald, tonight's game provided even more thrills and chills. The two teams gut punched one another all night loneither balked. It was a classic "whoever has the ball last may be the winning team" kind of game. Greer had it last and they won it. The game will forever be remembered with two of the most unbelievable ,same-game individual running back performances in high school football. Certainly it was the greatest in Dooley Field and Yellow Jacket Sports Network history, and according to Rudy Jones a Greenville News and now Spartanburg Herald-Journal writer for over 30 years, the best he's seen as well. Greer's Quez Nesbitt & Westwood's Christian Brown both finished the evening with exactly 356 yards rushing. Brown had five touchdowns and Nesbitt four, the 71 yard run on the game's first play from scrimmage giving Quez the career touchdown record at Greer High, breaking am 18 year old record held by Lajerick Cannon. That gave the Jackets a 7-0 lead after Roberson's extra point. Westwood tied the game on a 12 play 80 yard drive and a Brown 1 yard run but the game wouldn't be tied for long as two plays into the next drive Nesbitt went 68 yards for another score to make it 14-7. The game stayed that way for almost the entire 2nd quarter, but the Redhawks would tie it up on a 32 yard run by Brown with 3:39 to go. Westwood's kicker Brandon Howard was a perfect 6-6 on PATs for the night. The Jackets got a break with 30 seconds to go in the half when QB Chris Patterson lost the handle of the football at his own 27, but the Jackets couldn't capitalize.
 
Westwood started at their own 10 yard line to start the 3rd quarter and a quick three plays forced a punt from the end zone and Greer took over at midfield. And just as he did on the first play of the game, Nesbitt raced to the end zone on the 1st play of the 2nd half for a 50 yard score. Roberson's extra point was blocked and Greer led 20-14. The Nesbitt/Brown duel would continue when Brown got a 22 yard run completing a 4 play 65 yard drive with 8:52 to go in the 3rd. The extra point gave Westwood the lead at 21-20. Seven minutes later it was Nesbitt giving the lead back to the Jackets on a 27 yard run. Greer would go for two and from the Wildcat formation, Emmanuel Kelly was hit at the line of scrimmage, but pushed forward and just before he hit the ground, Kelly stretched the ball across the line for the conversion, making it 28-21 Jackets heading into the 4th quarter. But once again it was Brown knotting things back up for Westwood. They would get a good kick return to near midfield and go 53 yards on 9 plays, including Brown's 6 yard TD with 10:30 remaining. On the ensuing kickoff, Kelly nearly took it back, stepping out of bounds at the Redhawk 35. A Nesbitt first down at the 18 set up a Kelly run from the tailback spot for the score, the first touchdown of the night by someone not named Quez or Christian. Roberson once again kicked the extra point through giving Greer a 35-28 lead with 8:11 to go. But just when you start thinking that this play might give the Jackets the edge, here came the Redhawks again. Another long kick return set up Westwood at midfield and with 5:50 remaining, Brown would tie it up at 35 with a 34 yard run and extra point. A Nesbitt kick return out to the 41 and a near touchdown run by Nesbitt to the Westwood 31 put Greer in scoring position, then Kelly took the snap from the Wildcat. Running through the tackles he completely ran over a Redhawk defender at the 10 and another holding on desperately to his jersey as it stretched out behind, Kelly would not be denied the end zone as Greer once again claimed the lead with 5:07 left in the game. Roberson made it 42-35 with his fourth extra point. But you had to worry that maybe the Jackets scored too quick and perhaps they did, as the Redhawks powered down the field on an exhausted Greer defense as Patterson would score from 3 yards out, tying the game at 42 after the PAT, setting up the winning drive by the Jackets.
 
Statistically, the game was just as close as the score would indicate. Westwood had 21 first downs to Greer's 19. Greer had 410 yards rushing to Westwood's 401 and as noted previously Nesbitt & Brown each netted 356 yards rushing. Brown ran the ball 46 time for a 7.1 yard average, while Nesbitt got his yards on 25 runs, averaging over 14 yards per touch. Kelly came in with 45 yards on 5 carries, including the 31 yard romp in the 4th quarter, and Cusano got a bug run late, going 9 yards to the Redhawk 20 with 7 seconds to play, setting up Roberson's winning kick. Cusano was 8-14 for 62 yards passing while Patterson was 0-7 for Westwood. Greer kept the football for 24:37 while the Redhaks had it the other 23:23. The Sims and Karr Financial Solutions Players of the Game for Greer were Marquis Lyles on defense and a determined effort for them all on offense. Nick Roberson, Bobby Farrington, and Tyler Wright get the honors on special teams for their snap-hold-kick on the game winning field goal.
 
Next week the #1 ranked and 13-0 Daniel Lions come to Dooley Field. Daniel ended Clinton High's late season run by defeating the Red Devils 31-7. Clinton had started the season 0-7 before winning five straight to make it into the 2nd round of the playoffs. The winner of the Greer-Daniel game will play the winner of the other side of the Upstate bracket: Chapman & Belton Honea Path. Chapman beat Wren while BHP knocked off Broome. We hope you will make your way out to Dooley Field to support the Jackets as they continue on the Road to Columbia. The Greer fans that were there tonight in the cold rain made a difference! Thank you Greer fans for making the commitment to be there and let this team feel the support from the stands. Next week will be a great test, but with a determined spirit and a great home crowd, the Jackets are aiming to keep things going for another couple of weeks! Congratulations to the Jackets for the 45-42 win tonight over Westwood! GO JACKETS!!

Game stats...click here





Jackets use second half comeback to advance in playoffs...



Greer overcomes four turnovers and gets clinching TD in the 4th quarter...
When your team is intent on a deep run in the playoffs, sometimes you have to win a thriller. And when you win a thriller, there are some guys that will make that "big time play in a big time game". And tonight the Greer Yellow Jackets won a 34-30 thriller over the Emerald Vikings at Dooley Field. The Jackets got the go ahead touchdown with 7:40 to go in the 4th quarter on Quez Nesbitt's 14 yard run. A good return on the ensuing kickoff gave the Vikings good field position at the 42 and four plays later they were advancing towards Greer's Red Zone. But as QuDarius Neal approached the 30 yard line, Jalen Stokes was able to rip the ball loose and Tay Woods recovered for the Jackets with a little more than 5 minutes remaining. From there, the Jacket ground game took over as Greer would completely run out the clock. After two 4th down runs by Nesbitt, the final one down to the Emerald 10 yard line, QB Mario Cusano only had to take a knee to run the clock to 0:00. The Jackets improve to 9-2 on the season and will live another week and host the Westwood Red Hawks. Westwood, located in the Blythewood community near Columbia is now 7-4 on the season following their 38-10 win tonight over Woodruff. The Red Hawks have now won five games in a row with the win over Woodruff. Emerald ends their season tonight and will join the Peach Blossom Conference beginning with the 2014 school year.
 
The game started out like it may be a shootout. Emerald went 74 yards in just 4 plays to start the game and go up 7-0 just two minutes in. Emmanuel Kelly returned the kickoff 56 yards to the 40 and on the next play Nesbitt went 40 yards for a score. Nick Roberson's extra point knotted the game at 7. Then the Vikings did their turn again, this time going 70 yards in 9 plays and scored when QB Isaiah Brown hit Neal on a short pass play that he would turn into a 35 yard TD. Two possessions later, Kelly broke out of a group of players and scored on a 12 yard pass from Cusano to get the Jackets even at 14. Greer would take their 1st lead of the night with 5:37 to go in the 2nd quarter when Cusano tossed a 16 yard pass to Nesbitt on a pretty wheel route on 4th down and 4 from the 16. Roberson's PAT made it 21-14. And when the Greer defense held, the Jackets were poised to make some space. After a 1st down however Greer fumbled and Emerald recovered at the Jacket 42. On the 5th play of the series, Neal scored on a 21 yard run to tie the game at 21. With 2:21 to go in the half and three timeouts, Greer had plenty of time to move back on top and would in fact move to the Emerald 16 yard line with 44 seconds to go. But the Vikings started blitzing every play and were able to get pressure on Cusano, forcing the sophomore to throw into traffic near the end zone and the pass was intercepted and returned just across midfield. On 1st down Greer got a sack, but they also got a facemask penalty that moved the ball to the 26. From there, Will Tommie booted a 43 yard field goal with less than 1 second remaining and Emerald took a 24-21 lead into the locker room.
 
Greer was set to get the ball 1st in the second half, but Emerald surprised the Jackets with an onsides kick that they would recover at the 50. Shaken by the turn of events, Greer's defense was gashed with three runs for the entire 50 yards, giving the visitors a 30-21 lead. And when the kickoff hit the ground and deflected off Kelly at the 22 there were several Viking players around the ball. But somehow Stokes came out of the pile with it for Greer, helping the Jackets to  dodge a huge bullet that could potentially seen them fall behind by three scores. Nesbitt gained 5 yards on 1st down, then took it the other 73 on 2nd down. Roberson brought the Jackets within 30-28 with his 4th extra point. On the Vikings next possession, Jackson Tipton got a finger on a Brown pass attempt downfield, and Malek Johnson got his 7th interception of the season. Greer looked to take the lead back moving into the 36, but another fumble gave it back to Emerald. The Vikings got  good 9 yard run on 1st down, but back to back tackles for loss by Marquis Lyles and a 5 yard penalty forced a Viking punt. Greer would start and their own 42 and would make it count this time with a determined drive that ended with the Nesbitt 14 yard run. Greer would go for two, but Cusano's pass toward Nesbitt was just a little wide, setting up the Stokes strip, Woods recovery, and a Jacket team forcing their will by running out the clock.
 
The Sims and Karr Financial Solutions Players of the Game for Greer were Nesbitt on offense. Quez had 297 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns, leaving him just one score short of the all-time touchdown record at GHS, currently held by Lajerick Cannon. On defense Tay Woods got the honor, while Jalen Stokes was the special teams player of the game for his  good play. On the night, the time of possession was split pretty even, but Greer outgained the Vikings 428-333. Neal led the visitors with 133 yards on 16 carries. Emerald was just 2/11 in passing on the night but put up 243 yards rushing. Emerald had the two 2nd half turnovers, but Greer had four turnovers. two fumbles and two interceptions, along with losing the onsides kick.
 
We hope that you will pack Dooley Field next week! The team needs YOU there to help make Dooley Field the toughest place to play anywhere. Hopefully we can have a big crowd there and for those of you that can't make it, the Yellow Jacket Sports Network keep you up to date with all the action. For breaking news and information all week long remember to follow the Yellow Jacket Sports Network on our Twitter @YJSN1. GO JACKETS!!


Game stats...click here

 





Greer struggles in loss to Blue Ridge, still captures #1 seed...



Late TD pass gives Blue Ridge 10-9 win over Greer

Ty Montgomery threw a 3 yard touchdown pass to Brian Garrett with 3:04 left in the game to give Blue Ridge a 10-9 win over the Greer Yellow Jackets Friday night at Death Valley North. The pass capped a 10 play 80 yard drive that started from their own 20. The win gives Blue Ridge an 8-2 record and a 6-1 Peach Blossom Region record and Greer winds up with the same. The Jackets and Tigers are now in a three way tie for the conference lead alongside Greenville, who is also 6-1. The SC High School League tiebreaker: defensive points allowed in the games involving the tied teams gives Greer the #1 seed. Greer gave up 13 in a 42-13 win over Greenville and the 10 points tonight- or 23 total. Greenville gave up 49 and Blue Ridge 50. The Red Raiders do get the #2 seed, but not on points. Rather, they get the #2 because of their head to head win over the Tigers earlier in the season. Greer will host Emerald next week while Blue Ridge will travel to face Belton Honea Path.

In a game many expected to be a higher scoring contest, it was instead a hard hitting slugfest with both teams seeing important players limp to the sidelines. Greer held field position advantage early but a 62 yard pass play flipped the field for the Tigers late in the 1st quarter and they would hold it the remainder of the 1st half. They would miss a 42 yard field goal midway through the 2nd quarter, but a perfectly executed screen pass between Montgomery and Tay Jenkins got BR the ball inside the Greer 5 late in the half. The Jacket defense would push the Tigers back from there, but Jon Michael Bright would connect on a 22 yarder on the last play of the half giving Blue Ridge a 3-0 lead at intermission.


Greer couldn't do anything on their 1st second half possession, but a 62 yard Jake Arrowood punt pinned the Tigers deep at their 5. Two plays later Nakeem Hoke sacked Montgomery in the end zone for a safety to get Greer on the scoreboard. That made it 3-2 and moments later Greer would take the lead on the free kick from the 20 yard line. Emmanuel Kelly fielded the kickoff at the 31 and would take it back. He wiggled through defenders at midfield, then ran over- not around- a defender at the 35. From there it was a straight shot to the end zone. Nick Roberson's extra point put Greer up 9-3 with 9:20 remaining in the 3rd. From that point on it was defense taking over from both sides. Seriously....lots of defense. North South All-Star Quez Nesbitt who missed the previous game due to injury was a targeted man on Friday and was held to 60 yards, while QB Mario Cusano rarely had more than a moment to look downfield. Blue Ridge didn't fare any better when they had the ball, as Greer would keep the hometown Tigers bottled up as well. And when Greer moved the ball to the Blue Ridge 16 yard line with just over 8 minutes to play, the Greer faithful had to feel like the Jackets were about to deal the knockout punch. But the Tigers held forcing a 33 yard FG attempt by Roberson, who put it straight through the uprights. An illegal procedure penalty backed it up 5 yards however, and Roberson kicked it through again for a 12-3 lead that gave Greer a two score lead with just under 9 minutes remaining. But another flag was thrown, this one a roughing the kicker call. After appearing to decline the penalty at first, the Jackets elected to accept the penalty and send the offense back out onto the field with a 1st and 10 from the Blue Ridge 11. Three plays netted 6 yards and Roberson would be called on for a 22 yard kick to once again make it 12-3. The kick was high & strong, but was ruled no good and Blue Ridge had new life with 8:11 left in the game.

From there Blue Ridge would dink & dunk their way down the field. On 1st and goal from the 7 the Tigers appeared to get a break when the ball came loose at the 4 and was recovered by the Jackets. But the play was blown dead. On 2nd down a QB run was stopped at the line of scrimmage, but on 3rd down Montgomery's pass to Garrett tied the game at 9, then Bright put them ahead with the extra point. Greer would start at their 25 with just under 3 minutes to play and with only one timeout left they had to move. Nesbitt was in a lot of hurt, but somehow picked up a 1st down on 3rd and 4. An 8 yard gain on 1st down moved the ball out past the 45 but from there two plays lost 5 yards. And on 4th down Cusano was hit as he threw the ball and the Tigers took over with 50 seconds to play and ran out the clock.

The Sims and Karr Financial Solutions Players of the Game for Greer were Emmanuel Kelly with his safety-sack then his free kick return for a TD, Arrowood for his great punting (5 punts 46 yard average) and Tyler Wright who had a monster game from his middle linebacker spot.

Now it's time to turn the page on the regular season and start down the Road to the AAA Championship. The region races are nothing but an avenue that leads to the playoffs. If you play well enough in the region the better your seed. And at #1 you can't get a better seed than Greer has. Greer will not leave Dooley Field as long as they win until they would play for the State Championship. So as far as getting to the playoffs with a good seed & position? Mission accomplished. Does it hurt to lose to one of your rivals? Sure it does, and congratulations to Blue Ridge on the win. But from Greer's perspective you must quickly turn the page and focus on the positives that they are right in the exact same spot if they had won the game or for that matter, if they were 10-0. This is a seriously talented team that can make a deep run in the playoffs. The trick will be to regroup and get ready for Emerald. There are some banged up Jackets that need to get their treatment and get healed up to go at it again next Friday. This time of year, lots of teams are beat up and players will have to tough it out. Others may have to step in and take bigger roles. We're also calling on the great Greer fans who packed out the visitor's side tonight to triple up the support and come to Dooley Field next week for the opening round of the AAA playoffs. If you can't be there, the Yellow Jacket Sports Network will bring it to you, but again we'd love to see you live in-person at beautiful Dooley Field. GO JACKETS!

Game state...click here





Greer cages Tigers on Senior Night to maintain conference lead...



"Pink Out" Win tonight sets up region championship stage next week at Blue Ridge...

Okay so Quez Nesbitt didn't play tonight. Did the Jackets miss him? Absolutely they did. But the rest of the team knew that others would have to fill the void on Senior Night with a tough Southside Tiger team coming to Dooley Field. Mario Cusano threw for 258 yards and five touchdown passes, two of them to Emmanuel Kelly, who rushed for another score and set Greer up in scoring position with long returns. Adrian McGee got his first career varsity start in Nesbitt's place and the sophomore rushed for 116 yards on 20 carries, while Zach Glidden, Tay Woods, & Dorian Lindsay had touchdown grabs for Greer. The Jackets improved to 8-1 on the season and a perfect 6-0 in the Peach Blossom Conference, while Southside is now 6-3 overall and 3-3 in the region. The win sets up a showdown next week at Blue Ridge between the Tigers and Greer. A win for Greer would give the Jackets the region championship and a #1 seed in the AAA State Playoffs, while a Blue Ridge (7-2, 5-1) win would likely create a three way tie atop the standings and a tiebreaker would determine seeds. Last season Blue Ridge came to Greer undefeated, but the Jackets foiled the Tigers with a 35-7 win to take the top spot. Simple formula for the Jackets....win.

After a good defensive stop on Southside's opening drive gave Greer the ball at the 48, the Jackets went 9 plays and 52 yards for the score on their first possession on a Kelly four yard run. Nick Roberson made his first of six extra points to put Greer up 7-0 with 6:53 to go in the 1st quarter. After trading a pair of punts Greer got the ball on a Tiger fumble at the 48 yard line. On the next play Cusano found Kelly deep behind the Southside corner with a perfect pass in-stride for a touchdown to make it 14-0 early in the 2nd. On the Jackets next turn with the ball, Cusano would finish a 73 yard drive with a 20 yard pass to Zach Glidden. He was grabbed in the pocket but got away into the right flat where he spotted Glidden in the back corner of the end zone just over a Tiger defender with just 44 seconds to go before halftime. Roberson made it 21-0 with his 50th consecutive extra point.

Greer would then take the opening drive of the 3rd quarter and make good again, this time another Cusano to Kelly 30 yard touchdown pass that looked a lot like the first time these two hooked up to put Greer ahead 28-0. Southside would gain some  field position on the remainder of the quarter and with 54 seconds left they would start at the Greer 48. Leading rusher Lutrell Dallas took a handoff and powered behind the left side of his line- a place the Tigers ran frequently- and went 48 yards for the score. Micah Tiffin added the PAT and the Tigers crept to within 28-7. Dallas led Southside with 143 rushing yards on the evening. But if there was any question about the game, the Jackets put it to rest quickly. A good Kelly kick return out to midfield set  up a three play scoring drive. Two plays moved it to the Tiger 35, then Cusano hit Tay Woods with a short pass, which Woods got a couple of early blocks, then just outran two defenders to the end zone. that play, with 11:46 to go in the game but Greer up 35-7. The Jackets would close out the scoring two minutes later when a good punt return to the 15 by Lindsay set up a 25 yard scoring pass from Cusano to Lindsay.

Once again the Greer offense looked good, rolling up 396 yards to Southside's 164. And while Dallas did give the Tigers the 143 yard rushing effort, the rest of the team only managed 21 more. The Tigers were held to just 4 of 12 passing for 11 yards. Leading receiver Cam Wrice came into the game with 575 receiving yards on the season, but left Dooley Field with just two catches for four yards. The Sims and Karr Financial Solutions Players of the Game for Greer were Emmanuel Kelly on offense with his 190 all purpose yards, two TD catches and the 1st quarter run that got the Jackets on the board. Zeke Whiteside filled in for junior Deandre Moren (knee) and nabbed Player of the Game honors for his good play in the secondary.

We hope to see a great Greer crowd at Blue Ridge next week as the two 29651 teams battle it out for the conference championship. Hopefully you will make it there, but if not the Yellow Jacket Sports Network will bring it to wherever you are. Congrats to the Greer Yellow Jackets for their 42-7 win over the Southside Tigers!

Game stats...click here





Greer extinguishes Blue Flame, 51-20...



Special teams play comes up big & Quez Nesbitt chalks up 344 yards rushing as Greer pulls away in 2nd half

Emmanuel Kelly leaped high in the air to pull down a Pickens kickoff before it went into the end zone right at the goal line. Another foot and it would have been a touchback & Greer ball on their own 20 yard line. Pickens had just scored with 3:25 remaining in the 3rd quarter to pull within 10 points at 30-20. The near capacity Blue Flame crowd was roaring and the sideline was alive. And well they should be. They had just gone 60 yards in just three plays, the big one a pass-catch-run play that went 50 yards to the Jacket one yard line. So when Kelly skied into the Pickens County sky to corral the line drive kick, there were probably several on the Greer side that thought "oh no just let it go". Good thing he didn't feel that vibe. He ran straight up the left hash for 20 yards, then turned to his right towards the Greer sideline, cutting back left at the 25 before weaving past several would be tacklers and following his blockers, who were forming living wall of vegas gold & white. By midfield there was only one defender who had a chance & when Kelly shrugged him off like a rag doll it was a Yellow Jacket parade into the end zone, 99 3/4 yards away from the leaping grab. The extra point made it 37-20 and the Greer defense, riding that momentum got the ball back two minutes later as they forced a three & out. Starting at their own 24, the Jackets called Quez Nesbitt's number and the Greer senior just added to his legend, going 76 yards on the last play of the 3rd quarter. Ball game. The Nick Roberson extra point put Greer up 44-20 as Nesbitt got only one more carry & finished with 344 yards and four touchdowns. 

Pickens started strong, showing Greer they would not come in and be an easy out. In fact, the Blue Flame went ahead 7-0 on a 33 yard TD pass from QB Elijah Turner to leading receiver Mason Covey. Greer quickly tied things up with Nesbitt's first TD and Roberson's first extra point with 6:59 to go in the 1st quarter, capping a 63 yard drive. Pickens held off Greer's pass rush early on and Turner had plenty of time to look downfield. And with their fast pace, the Greer defense while set at the snap, were having a hard time finding the ball. Turner rolled right and once again found Covey from the 22 completing an 82 yard drive to go up 14-7. After Greer's lone punt of the night the Blue Flame again began to drive & in Jacket territory, Jackson Tipton came down with an interception at the 25. Much like Kelly's kick return, Tipton and company returned it through a crowd for an apparent touchdown. But Kelly was flagged for a block in the back much to the dismay of the Greer crowd. But the Jackets would tie it up three plays later on Nesbitt's 33 yard run. And when the defense got another stop, Nesbitt gave Greer their first lead at 21-14 finishing off a 64 yard drive with a 29 yard scamper. The next two Pickens drives were also halted my interceptions, the first by Malek Johnson & the 2nd by Deandre Moren. Greer would stall inside the Blue Flame 15 on both, and twice line up for Nick Roberson field goal attempts. The first one sailed wide to the right, but the second one came from 35 yards out on the last play of the 1st half and was right down the middle, giving the Jackets a 24-14 halftime lead.

On Pickens first possession on the 2nd half they lined up to punt, but their punter spotted an uncovered receiver near the Greer sideline as the Jackets only had ten men on the field. The pass was completed for a 1st down but going down the ball was stripped out and recovered by Dorian Lindsay near midfield. From there the Jackets cashed in with another 3 points as Roberson drilled a 27 yarder. The game was heavily influenced by special teams all night long and would soon be again when Tay Woods burst through the line to block the Pickens punt. Greer had no trouble moving inside the Blue Flame 7, but once again lost yardage due to a penalty, setting up Roberson's third field goal of the night, this one from 31 yards, giving Greer a 30-14 lead, before the Blue Flame's short-lived attempt at a comeback. Greer put together another nice looking drive in the 4th quarter, going 63 yards in 9 plays, all of them runs. Adrian McGee did most of the damage and also got the score as he ran in from the two. Roberson finished the scoring with his 6th extra point and Greer won 51-20.

The Sims & Karr Financial Solutions Players of the Game for Greer were Roberson (3-4 FG's & 6-6 XP) & Kelly on special teams with his game breaking 99 yard kickoff return. On defense there were several key contributors on the evening, but the YJSN crew went with Nakeem Hoke with his pocket pushing presence and three big sacks. Another good performer was linebacker Tyler Wright, who went down with an ankle injury in the 4th quarter and did not return. The win gives Greer their 7th straight win and a 7-1 overall record, and a perfect 5-0 mark in the Peach Blossom Conference, one game ahead of 4-1 Greenville & Blue Ridge. Greenville throttled TR tonight, while Blue Ridge held off a late rally and defeated Southside. Pickens falls into a 4th place tie with Southside in the region with 3-2 records. Greer will return home next week to Dooley Field for the final regular season game against Southside. Southside trailed Blue Ridge 35-7 at the half, but put together a 2nd half surge to draw within 35-29 late in the contest. But Blue Ridge was able to recover an on-sides kick attempt and run out the clock.

We hope to see you and a huge crowd next week at Dooley Field as the Jackets try to keep things building for an exciting run into November. Thanks for letting the Yellow Jacket Sports Network be a part of Greer Yellow Jacket football on the radio, this website, TuneIn, Twitter, and Facebook for 24 years strong. Congratulations to the Jackets on the great win tonight in Pickens!





Jackets win in a rout over Berea...



 

Greer remains only unbeaten in conference as Cusano accounts for 5 TDs...

 
Mario Cusano was 12-14 for 281 yards and four touchdowns tonight and the sophomore quarterback ran for another score as the Greer Yellow Jackets defeated the Berea Bulldogs 70-0 at Harold Batson Stadium in Greenville. The Jackets are now 6-1 and 4-0 in the Peach Blossom Conference. They are now alone in 1st place after Greenville edged Pickens 60-52 to knock the Blue Flame from the unbeatens. Greenville, Blue Ridge, Pickens, and Southside all have just one loss and sit a game behind the Jackets.
 
The game started fast again tonight for Greer for the 2nd straight week when Jackson Tipton intercepted a tipped ball at the Bulldog 28. And on the next play Cusano found Zach Glidden running free at the five and delivered the ball for a touchdown. Nick Roberson mad his 1st of 10 extra points and Greer led 7-0 just 54 seconds in. The Greer defense was stellar all night, limiting the Bulldogs to just 22 yards on 25 carries on the evening and 3-17 passing. The Jackets also had three interceptions on the night to go with the five they picked off last week against Eastside. In that two game stretch Malek Johnson as five interceptions. But after a good defensive stop Greer roughed the punter but were able to get the ball back after another five plays. They would go 87 yards on 8 plays with Quez Nesbitt doing the final 9 yards to make it 14-0 with 2:27 to go in the 1st. Quez would score again seven minutes later on a 22 yard run. After breaking the school rushing record last week with three straight 200+ yard games, Nesbitt only rushed for 74 yards on 8 carries tonight but did get the two scores, giving him 19 on the season. On the next series for Berea, Malek Johnson got his 1st pick at the 48 yard line, then reversed his ground and took it all the way back for a touchdown to put Greer up 28-9 at the 7:12 mark of the 2nd quarter. The ensuing kickoff was mishandled by the Bulldogs and they were backed up inside the 5. Three plays in, Greer rushed hard at the Berea punter but he was able to get it off, but only to the 16 yard line. From there it took two plays to score, the TD being a 9 yard post pass to Dorian Lindsay. Berea got a great kickoff return deep into Greer territory, but turned it over on downs at the 21. On 2nd down Cusano threw a perfect strike to a downfield Tay Woods for a 79 yard scoring strike to make it 42-0 with 1:13 to go in the half. Even then the Jackets weren't done. Another good kick return put the ball in Greer territory, but with the Bulldogs trying to score, Johnson got his 2nd interception at the Greer 5 and returned it all the way to the Berea 28. Cusano threw to Emmanuel Kelly to the 13, and then Cusano rolled right looking to throw, but tucked the ball and ran, diving in the end zone with just 3 seconds left on the clock, giving Greer a 49-0 halftime lead.
 
At halftime the coaches and officials agreed to run the clock without stopping it, and the 2nd half melted away very quickly. Getting the ball 1st, Greer went 63 yards in 3 plays, the score being a 40 yard Cusano to Kelly pass and the starters were done for the night. In the 4th quarter freshman QB Brice Green accounted for the final two scores, capping a 53 yard drive with a 1 yard zone read keeper, then throwing a 21 yard TD pass to Zeke Whiteside with just 3:31 remaining setting the final at 70-0. In all the Jackets totalled 503 yards to just 67 for Berea, who fell to 0-7 on the season.
 
The Sims and Karr Financial Solutions Players of the Game for Greer were "the quarterbacks" Cusano, Green, and Ty Abercrombie, who led the Jackets to those lofty offensive totals. Together they threw for 5 touchdowns and ran for two more. On defense Ty Campbell continued his strong play inside, constantly pushing the pocket and making life miserable for the Berea backfield and causing early throws, which led to the three interceptions.
 
Greer will try & stay ahead in the region race next week at Pickens. It's a little further away than this week, but we want everyone that can to be there and give the Jackets a lift as they will be going against a one-loss team trying to force a tie at the top of the region. The Yellow Jacket Sports Network will be there and bring it all to you if you just can't make it. Congrats to the Greer Yellow Jackets for winning their 6th straight game tonight with a 70-0 advantage over the Berea Bulldogs!

 





Greer starts fast and cruises past Eastside...



Quez Nesbitt breaks career rushing record as Jackets blank Eagles 49-0...

This was a special night at Dooley Field. Special #1 is the Greer Yellow Jackets defeated the Eastside Eagles 49-0 to move to 3-0 in the Peach Blossom Conference. The Jackets have won five straight since their season opening loss at Seneca. It was special because Homecoming is always special at Greer, and as an added bonus, it took place under a clear fall evening with temperatures comfortably in the 70's. Throw in another special because a beautiful Christian young lady named Caroline Neely was named Homecoming Queen. Special because the Class of 2003 was in the stadium celebrating their 10 year reunion, meaning many of the 2003 State Championship team were in attendance, most of whom visited the Greer High team in the locker room before kickoff. Special because Greer had been looking for a complete game. The previous four wins by the Jackets were all marked by sluggish first half performances followed by strong second half play, but tonight they burst out of the gate with 21 points in the game's first nine minutes. By the time punter Jake Arrowood punted his 2nd punt on the evening it was late in the 4th quarter. Then there was the defense's special night as the Jackets notched only their 3rd shutout in the last four years, holding Eastside to -5 yards and no 1st downs in the first half, while hauling in five more interceptions on the night, three of them by senior cornerback Malek Johnson. Oh yeah, and Quez Nesbitt made a little special too...running behind an inspired offensive line Nesbitt turned a modest 18 carries for 242 yards and 3 touchdowns, in the process becoming Greer High's all-time leading rusher in the 4th quarter, first passing Lajerick Cannon, then later Dominique Parks. When the record fell, Coach Young immediately called timeout and Chad Hannon announced the feat on the PA, igniting a standing ovation for the Greer senior, who was mobbed by his teammates as he came off the field. Friday Night Lights could not have scripted a more perfect evening.

Greer scored only 26 seconds into the game when Eastside attempted an onsides kick on the opening kickoff. The Jackets were not fooled as Jackson Tipton recovered the kick at the 48. Two plays later Nesbitt scored on a 7 yard run and Nick Roberson made his first of 7 extra points to make it 7-0. A quick 3 and out by the defense gave the ball back to Greer and they would go up 14-0 on a 12 play 68 yard drive taking 5:13 off the clock capped by quarterback Mario Cusano's 3 yard run. Another 3 and out gave the Jackets the ball at midfield & from there it took only 4 plays, the scoring play being a 20 yard run by Nesbitt. Another Eagle punt and Greer would go 61 yards in 8 plays with Nesbitt once again doing the honors from 4 yards. That made it 28-0 then the two teams traded punts. With the clock running under 20 seconds to go in the half, Greer defensive tackle Ty Campbell jarred the Eastside QB with a big hit just as he released the ball, sending it sailing into the hands of Tyler Wright, who returned the interception 28 yards for a TD with only 5 seconds left in the half and Greer took a 35-0 lead into the locker room.
 
At this point both coaching staffs had agreed to keep the clock running, but Eastside came out and went on a long drive to start the 3rd quarter, running off nearly 9 minutes off the clock until on 4th and 6 from the Greer 16, Cedric Sullivan stepped in front of an Eagle pass at the 10 yard line. From there the Greer offense, who had been itching to get on the field for almost the entire 3rd quarter, went 90 yards in six plays, the last being a nice 9 yard burst by Emmanuel Kelly. Johnson's 2nd interception gave Greer the ball back and after Nesbitt broke the record, Kelly went 27 yards on the next play for a score. Roberson's kick proved to be the final point of the night in the 49-0 Greer win. With Greenville's 40-7 win over Blue Ridge, that leaves Greer and Pickens as the only two unbeaten teams in the region. Pickens won 55-34 at home over Berea, Greer's opponent next week. The Sims and Karr Financial Solutions Players of the Game for Greer were the "entire" offense for the Jackets, because so much from every position goes into someone who breaks a record. Sure, there is the record breaker, but so many people have to carry out assignments at a high level to make those things happen. On defense Malek Johnson got the honor after missing last week's game with a recurring shoulder injury, nabbing 3 picks, including the last play of the game in the Greer endzone.
 
Coach Will Young was very pleased with the team's performance. "Yes finally we did get off to a good start tonight and were able to keep it going for the whole game. Glad for the kids to be able to put together that kind of game in front of a big Homecoming crowd. Proud of the defense for getting a shutout, and proud of Quez for setting the record. That kid just plays with so much passion. Honestly, I have never been around a kid like him. There's just nobody like Quez Nesbitt." After the game Steven Gay also spoke with Nesbitt on the radio, but he quickly shifted all the attention away from himself saying "if it weren't for that line and all the recievers doing some good blocking it wouldn't have happened. I give them all the credit for this. Yeah it's cool, especially since we all know how many great backs Greer has had. Yeah I'm real proud and all to have this record, but it took a lot of good plays by the whole team to make it happen."
 
Greer will now play on the road for two straight weeks at Berea & Pickens as they try to keep pace with the Blue Flame and perhaps set up a face to face meeting for the outright lead in two weeks at Pickens. But first comes the task at Berea next week. We hope that you will make the short trip northwest of downtown Greenville to support the Jackets on the road. Berea has made some nice enhancements to their stadium and it's a nice place to watch a game. If you can't make it just remember the Yellow Jacket Sports Network will have you covered. And for D Team & JV scores as well as other important Greer High news, follow us on Twitter @YJSN1 or on Facebook at Yellow Jacket Sports Network. Congratulations to the Greer Yellow Jackets for their Homecoming win tonight over Eastside!

Game stats...click here





Strong second half propels Jackets over Travelers Rest...



Greer improves to 4-1 with road win at season's midpoint....

The Greer Yellow Jackets shook off a sluggish first half with a dominant 3rd quarter to take a 42-3 victory Friday night over the Travelers Rest Devildogs. The Devildogs had to think at halftime that their game plan of running the ball, slowing the game down, running clock, and perhaps entering the final minutes with a chance to win in late was working to perfection. Greer only had four possessions in the entire first half and led just 7-3 at intermission. After an interception in the end zone on their first drive, the Jackets took the lead with 4:15 to go in the first quarter when QB Mario Cusano capped a 60 yard drive as he threw a nice 11 yard pass to Adriane McGee on 3rd down. Nick Roberson booted the extra point and Greer was up 7-0. But the score stayed put the remainder of the half until the Devildogs broke through. They started a short on yardage but long on time at the Greer 47 with over seven minutes on the clock. They methodically moved the ball down the field and set up 1st and goal at the Greer two yard line. But after a timeout, the Jacket defense stiffened and forced TR to settle for a 27 yard field goal by Austin Bell. Those eleven plays too 6:18 off the clock and the two teams went into halftime in a close game.
 
Whatever Coach Will Young said to his Yellow Jackets at halftime worked, and worked really well, because the same Greer team that played the 1st half was a different bunch in the 2nd. A quick backward three and out by the defense gave Greer the ball at the TR 35 & it only took 4 plays to get in the end zone. Quez Nesbitt punched it in with an 11 yard scoring run. After an out of bounds kick gave the Devildogs the ball at the 35, Greer got a break when the Devildogs fumbled at the 41. From there, it was a one-play 41 yard TD run from Nesbitt and when the Greer defense produced another quick stop, Nesbitt got his 3rd TD in just a little more than four minutes off the clock with a 7 yard run, completing a 21-0 3rd quarter for Greer and a 28-3 lead. Travelers Rest did mount a mini-drive on their next opportunity, but ultimately the Greer defense won out again. Starting at their own 14, Nesbitt gained two yards on 1st down, then went on a spectacular twisting, racing run for 84 yards and another touchdown, his fourth of the night. That makes nine TD's in the last two games, giving him 14 on the season, or slightly ahead of the pace of his 30 TD performance in twelve games as a junior. Greer would close out the scoring when Jackson Tipton stripped the ball from a TR ball carrier and Emmanuel Kelly picked it up at the 47 and raced down the sidelines for a defensive score to set the final margin at 42-3 after Roberson's sixth extra point of the night.
 
With the win, Greer improves to 4-1 on the season and is now 2-0 in the Peach Blossom region along with Pickens & Blue Ridge who are also 2-0. Greer will return home to Dooley Field next week as they will entertain the Eastside Eagles in the annual Homecoming game. Eastside is 0-2 in the region after falling 45-7 to Pickens. Nesbitt once again had a big night, finishing with 290 yards on 19 carries. He now has 1090 yards rushing at the midway point of the regular season, and from the records that we have since the Yellow Jacket Sports Network went live in 1990, we believe that Quez is just a little more than 200 yards from becoming Greer High School's all-time leading rusher. We will get that figured out to the yard in the days ahead and will certainly publish that to you as soon as possible. As of now that is a distinction held by Dominique Parks. Nesbitt and Lajerick Cannon are very close together for the #2 spot. And when you sit and think about all of the great running backs in the long history of a school known for great running backs, it becomes quite the story. Next week is also Hall of Fame night at Dooley Field, so please try & be there to support the Jackets in way more ways than one! And as usual, if you can't be there in person, you know the Yellow Jacket Sports Network has you covered with all the action.

Greer - TR game and season stats...click here





Greer dominates Greenville in 42-13 win...



Nesbitt has monster game and defense stings Raiders with four interceptions...

With the Peach Blossom Conference schedule now taking front & center attention, the Greer Yellow Jackets knew just how tough it is to come back from a loss in the opener. Last year the Jackets fell on a late TD pass to Greenville and spent the next seven weeks trying to catch the Raiders and Blue Ridge. On the final night of the regular season they did it, but it was uphill all the way. So when Greenville ran onto the Dooley Field turf, you could understand it making the Jackets see red. For the 2nd straight week Greer overcame a sluggish first half but put things together in the 2nd en route to a 42-13 win. Quez Nesbitt rushed for 306 yards and five touchdowns, while the Greer defense had four interceptions: by Jackson Tipton, Dorian Lindsey, Emmanuel Kelly, and Tay Woods, the final three setting up Jacket touchdowns in the 2nd half. Kelly also had a ESPN Top Plays- type touchdown grab as the Jackets scored quickly for the second straight week on the 2nd half's first possession. With the win, Greer is now 3-1 on the season but most importantly, 1-0 in the Region. They'll head to Travelers Rest next week. The game couldn't have started better for Greer, who stuffed Greenville on three plays, then saw the offense go 65 yards in 7 plays as Nesbitt get a 12 yard run for the TD. Nick Roberson made his first of 6 straight extra points and Greer was up 7-0. Tipton's interception gave the Jackets the ball at midfield, but after a 1st down Greer would punt. Greer would have the ball on the Raider side of midfield 3 more times but couldn't sustain drives. Greenville would tie things up however on a 70 yard pass play from sophomore QB Carson Spiers to Cam Wakefield. After swapping punts Greer took over at it's own 21 and sixteen seconds later Greer was ahead because Nesbitt burst through a hole for a 79 yard TD run and a 14-7 halftime lead, and with Kelly's acrobatic play to start the 2nd half the Jackets finally had a little breathing room at 21-7. Quarterback Mario Cusano scrimmaged from the 31 yard line and lofted his pass deep down the Greer sideline. Kelly jumped over a Greenville defender at the 5 and the ball bounced high in the air. From there, Kelly dove towards the end zone and gathered the ball just before it hit the ground in the end zone. A possession later Lindsey got his interception at the Raider 27. Nesbitt got two carries, the 2nd a 25 yard scoring run and the Jackets were up 28-7 with 5:27 to go in the 3rd quarter.

Greenville would try to crawl back in the game after that when a determined kick return to midfield gave the Raiders good field position, then they would go 7 plays for the other 50 yards. The scoring play was a 10 yard pass from Spiers to Malik Rogers. The extra point was pressured and missed wide left leaving Greer up 28-13 still with 3:13 to go in the quarter. And when the Raider defense held, their offense threatened to really make things interesting as they drove into Greer territory. But that's when Kelly got his pick, a one handed grab and return to midfield. After an 8 yard pickup on first down, Nesbitt raced the next 42 for his 4th score of the night and a 35-13 lead. Greenville's next series only lasted two plays as Woods interception and return put the Jackets at the Red Raider 43. Of course, you know who got a long run to the four, and in short order Nesbitt got TD number five on a four yard run. Roberson's kick gave Greer it's final points of the night and the 42-13 win. The Sims and Karr Financial Solutions Players of the Game for Greer were Nesbitt/Kelly on offense, and the Greer secondary on defense. The secondary was greatly assisted tonight however, by an extremely strong pass-rush which constantly disrupted Greenville's front line leaving Spiers to scramble and throw the ball quicker than he wanted.

After the game Coach Will Young still saw plenty of room for improvement in spite of the victory margin and the three game winning streak. "Pleased with the win and pleased with our effort. But we are still leaving lots of things on the table. We were inside the 3o yard line what, four times in the 1st half? We're down near the 10 twice and get nothing? The game could have seriously been over at halftime, yet it was the 4th quarter before we put them away. And while our offensive line did well enough obviously when your running back gets 300 yards we can still get a lot better." Greer will head to Travelers Rest after their successful 3-0 homestand. The Devildogs are 2-2 on the season following a significant road loss at Pickens tonight their conference opener. It's s short 15 mile ride to get there from Greer and we know the team would really appreciate a great crowd to come support the team. The crowd support has been great all season thus far including tonight. Wow what a contrast with 4400 seats full on the home side and a sparse showing across the way on the Greenville side, where there was much more metal showing than people. Many times over the years Greer fans outdraw the home side, and it would be a strong message of support for that to happen at T.R. So come on up the road and make some noise for your Greer Yellow Jackets. For those of you that love the Jackets but can't be at the game, you know the YJSN has your back. We'll have it on all our channels like TuneIn Radio, yellowjacketsports.net, and the flagship AM-800 WPJM. For other Greer High scores & breaking news you can also follow us on Twitter @YJSN1. Our Facebook page is "Yellow Jacket Sports Network". Great job Jackets with the 42-13 win tonight over the Greenville Red Raiders!

Game stats...click here Peach Blossom standings... Game photos...click here




Greer rallies to win Jacket Bowl XIX over Union County...

Greer scores 21 straight points in second half surge...

The tremendous potential of the Greer Yellow Jackets reared it's beautiful head in the 2nd half Friday night as they came storming back from an 11 point halftime deficit and claim a 31-28 victory over Union County in Jacket Bowl XIX at Dooley Field. Trailing 21-10, the Jackets returned the 2nd half kick to midfield, then Quez Nesbitt took the first handoff 46 yards to the Union County four yard line. The next handoff and he was in the end zone to make it 21-17 after Nick Roberson's extra point. Greer's defense struggled some to get off the field in the first half, got big stops in five straight series in the 2nd half, twice after turnovers left them in less than favorable position. Good stops by the defense got the offense rolling again, but a fumble after a long Emmanuel Kelly run, and a pass interception gave Union the ball near midfield. And still down by four, the defense stood tall each time. Finally with a drive starting late in the 3rd quarter, Greer mounted it's longest drive of the season, going 13 plays over 84 yards, the final two by Nesbitt with 9:51 remaining in the game. That gave the Jackets their 1st lead of the game and the big Greer crowd was on their feet. On the ensuing possession, Union County QB Matt Bennett rolled to the right and lofted a pass down the middle of the field, but Greer safety Jackson Tipton stepped in front of the pass for an interception the Greer 45. With all the momentum, Nesbitt raced around the right side for 44 yards to the Union 11, and on 3rd down from the 15, sophomore Mario Cusano found Kelly in the back of the end zone just in front of the goal post to give the Jackets a ten point lead at 31-21. That came with 5:04 to go in the game. Union County has been a championship team type team fro 20+ years now, and those teams rarely just go away. Those "other" Yellow Jackets would drive it 77 yards in six plays, the last a 13 yard pass from Barnett to Jordan Spencer to bring Union to within 31-28. Greer was flagged twice for pass interference on the series. With 2:44 remaining and three timeouts, Union elected not to go for the onsides kick but rather depending on their defense to get the ball back. After a Nesbitt first down run on the 1st play, Union tightened up and they would force Greer to punt. Starting from their own 30 with 1:21 to play a sack on 1st down by Cedric Sullivan forced Union to call their last timeout. At that point Greer was sending the house on every play, and when Union's 4th & long pass sailed high downfield, all the Jackets had to do was take two snaps to run out the clock. Greer is now 2-1 on the season and will host Greenville next week at Dooley Field in the 1st game of the Peach Blossom Conference race.

It was a game of solid entertainment all night from the opening whistle. Starting on their 20 yard line Union went up 7-0 early efficiently going 80 yards in 9 plays, taking 4:41 off the clock. The TD was a tough 2 yards run on 3rd down by Christian Petty. Malek Johnson, making his 2013 season debut for Greer returned the kickoff 57 yards to the 18 yard line. After a 5 yard penalty, Nesbitt ran it to paydirt from 23 yards. Roberson's 1st of four extra points tied the game at 7. Greer looked poised to go ahead when the defense appeared to be in position to sack Barnett in his own end zone. He threw it away, prompting some fans to ask for a grounding flag, which would have resulted in a safety. But Union would punt it out only to their own 32. But the ball accidentally hit a Greer player and Union recovered. Three plays later they would convert a 4th and 1 at the 42. A play later Barnett threw a short pass to the sideline that Shy Smith would race downfield for a 55 yard score to put them up 14-7 with 51 seconds to go in the 1st quarter. The two teams would then swap punts before Greer went 72 yards in 9 plays. The drive would stall at the Union 5 and Nick Roberson nailed a 22 yard field goal to make it 14-10. On the Greer kickoff, Spencer: who had the game of his life with 140 receiving yards & 157 return yards- ran the kick almost all the way back, going 78 yards to the Greer 14. On 3rd and long after a timeout, Barnett waited on his tight end Washington to drag across the field and hit him for a 7 yard scoring toss. That would make it 21-10 going into halftime, setting the stage for the Greer 2nd half surge.

Nesbitt ended the night with 225 rushing yards, giving up two straight weeks over 200 yards and 3 touchdowns. Kelly was the leading receiver tonight with 80 yards and a score. With only 108 total yards of offense at halftime, Greer would rack up nearly over 260 in the 2nd. And while Union County had almost 200 at halftime, they had on 65 in the 2nd half- and that includes the 77 yard drive at the end. The Sims and Karr Financial Solutions Players of the game for Greer were Cedric Sullivan on defense, and Quez Nesbitt on offense. Sullivan had three tackles for loss, including two sacks, while Nesbitt's 225 yards and 3 TDs help propel the Jackets to victory. Coach Will Young was excited about the determination to keep coming back, but was not pleased with a couple of the big mistakes and a couple of particularly harmful personal foul penalties. "We have great potential. Our guys can go a long way this year, but they are going to have to decide how bad they really want it, because we have got to clean some of that up, or else it will eventually bite us. I'm pleased with a lot of the things we're doing, but we just can't keep doing some of that dumb stuff if we want to be a championship type team."

As Greenville comes to Dooley Field next week, it's time to get really serious as it's the first night of Peach Blossom Conference play. The Red Raiders had their final tuneup tonight with a 34-14 win over JL Mann. Come help the Jackets close out a great three game home stand with a big crowd. Special kudos to the Greer fans tonight as they were particularly loud & enthusiastic all evening long, making the Greer stadium a tough venue for a visiting team. The Yellow Jacket Sports Network will have all the action on WPJM AM-800, the TuneIn Radio app, and from this website courtesy of Eddie Burch at Prudential Real Estate. For Jacket news and scores throughout the week, follow us on Twitter @YJSN1. Congratulations to the Greer Yellow Jackets on their big 31-28 win over Union County in Jacket Bowl XIX!




Yellow Jackets rebound with home opening win over Riverside, 42-3...

Mario Cusano throws for 3 TD's, runs for another in win against crosstown Warriors.

The Greer Yellow Jackets shook off a sluggish first half with four touchdowns in an eight minute stretch and cruised to a 42-3 victory over the Riverside Warriors on a beautiful night at Dooley Field. Greer scored on their first possession on a 16 yard pass from QB Mario Cusano to Zach Glidden but led only 7-3 as the first half wound down. With just over four minutes remaining, the Jackets took over at their own 20. In a run-heavy drive, senior Quez Nesbitt scored from 24 yards out in a dart here, dart there, twisting touchdown run that left several Warriors grabbing at air. That score put Greer up 14-3 with less than a minute to go in the half. That eased some of the quiet nervousness from the big home crowd still stunned by the late game collapse last week at Seneca. And when the Jackets saw a 15 yard pass down the home sideline from Cusano to Emmanuel Kelly turn into a 65 yard TD, Riverside was beginning to realize that an upset wasn't in the cards. A strong defensive stand an subsequent drive was halted when Cusano tossed his first interception of the season on 4th down from the Warrior 32. Instead of knocking the pass down, the defender intercepted the ball way back at the 2 yard line, netting 30 yards in lost field position. Then on 1st down as Riverside attempted to pass, Greer's Bradley Styles knocked the ball loose from Ryan Cerino, and Nakeem Hoke fell on the ball in the end zone for a defensive touchdown. Another quick score by the Jackets, this one a 52 yard pass to Dorian Lindsey, put Greer up 35-3.

After trading punts, the Jackets, starting from their 31 yard line, mounted their longest drive of the night time and play-wise, going nine plays over the next 3:56. Cusano executed a perfect quarterback draw, going the whole 10 yards untouched until he reached the goal line. Nick Roberson finished the night 6 for 6 on extra points. Nesbitt, who was held to only 58 rushing yards last week, had 212 tonight. And Cusano followed his good opening week passing performance with another 200 yard night. Cusano in fact accounted for 4 of the Jackets 5 offensive touchdowns with three passing scores and the 10 yard run. In all, Greer had 457 yards in offense to only 56 for the Warriors. The Greer front line had a hard time getting off the field last week, but held Riverside to only 4 first downs tonight. With the win the Jackets improve to 1-1 heading in to the annual "Jacket Bowl" against Union County. Riverside is now 0-2. The Sims & Karr Financial Solutions Players of the Game for Greer were Cusano on offense and junior linebacker Tyler Wright on defense. After the game, Coach Will Young while glad to get the win, was still preaching to the team to eliminate mistakes. "We are still doing dumb things. Offense, defense, up front, we've made a lot of mistakes. And every one of them are things that we know better. We have to clean these things up. The good thing is we won."

We also want to say thanks to Greer Memorial Hospital for giving out 1000 Spirit Towels before the game tonight. The cheerleaders are asking everyone to bring them back to every game this season. We hope you to see you next week at Dooley Field. If you can't be there the Yellow Jacket Sports Network will try our best to make you feel like you are there! Congrats to the Greer Yellow Jackets on their first win of the season tonight!

Game stats...click here




Seneca powers past #2 Jackets 35-27

2nd half rushing spree puts Bobcats ahead, then they hold off late Greer rally to win the opener...
A year ago as the Greer Yellow Jackets started out the season ranked in the State's top ten with high hopes abounding, the Seneca Bobcats came into Dooley Field and stole a ball game, hitting a two point conversion pass in overtime to win 46-45. Greer led halfway through and seemed ready to pull away but back came the Bobcats with a punishing ground game that put nine, ten, and sometimes eleven men in the box that the Jackets couldn't account for. Fast forward a year later at a different site, Greer led by seven on three different occasions and even threatened to pull away a couple times as late as the 3rd quarter, but that all-out blocking scheme worked to perfection again as the Bobcats rallied for 21 straight 3rd and 4th quarter points. By the time they scored their final TD, they gashed the Jacket D for 83 yards on just six plays, all runs through the tackles. That gave Seneca a 35-21 lead with just 4:00 remaining and with several Greer players looking down & tired, and the offense backed up facing 4th and 11 from their own 34 quarterback Mario Cusano somehow found Quez Nesbitt running open at the Bobcat 20. Nesbitt made the catch and raced in for the touchdown pulling the Jackets within 8. Nick Roberson then executed a perfect onsides kick that was recovered by Jackson Tipton and suddenly there was life on the Greer sideline with 2:55 remaining. On 4th and 1 at the Bobcat 41, Nesbitt gained two yards. Three plays resulted in a yard loss, and on 4th down Cusano's long pass downfield to Nesbitt was knocked down securing Seneca's 35-27 victory over the #2 ranked Jackets.

Greer started out strong, getting a 45 yard kick return to the 50 by Nesbitt. They scored in just 5 plays and the TD was a 4 yard burst by Nesbitt. Nick Roberson's first of 3 extra points gave Greer a 7-0 lead just 3 1/2 minutes into the game. But Seneca came right back with a kickoff return of their own. Seneca tailback Marquis Arnold, who had spent the week hearing the news media talk about Quez Nesbitt, had the game of his life, including a 75 yard kick return here to give the Bobcats the ball at the Greer 18. They tied the game when QB Trey Stephens ran it in from the four. Greer regained the lead at the 7:31 mark of the 2nd quarter as Cusano capped a 4 play 65 yard drive with a pass to Tay Woods from the 30 yard line. But once again Seneca came right back to tie things with a 9 play 66 yard drive when Arnold got his 1st TD with a 14 yard run.The two teams traded punts, and with 1:18 left in the 1st half, Nesbitt couldn't get in position to catch the Seneca punt, but ran back to catch it on first bounce at the 10. After circling back towards the end zone he made one man miss then got a helmet jarring block from Emmanuel Kelly. Another decleater at the 40 set Quez loose on his way to a 90 yard punt return for a score making it 21-14 at halftime.

After a good defensive stop to start the 2nd half Greer got the ball near midfield and promptly moved the ball into Bobcat territory looking to take their first double digit lead of the game. But a negative play and two incomplete passes forced a Greer punt that only reached the 29. Seneca would not punt again as their offensive blocking intensified in the late August heat. Arnold's 13 yard run tied the game at 21 completing a 71 yard drive. Greer moved the ball to the Bobcat 44 and faced with 4th and 7 lined up to punt. But instead of kicking, the snap instead went to Emmanuel Kelly. Seneca however wasn't caught off guard as they dropped the big speedy receiver for a short gain to the 41. And only 6 plays later it was Arnold once again finding the end zone capping a 59 yard drive and putting Seneca ahead for the first time at 28-21.

Arnold led all rushers with 179 yards and four touchdowns. Overall the total yardage was close as Seneca had 345 yards to Greer's 335. But the big surprise is Greer was held to only 58 yards rushing on the night while the Bobcats ground out over 250. Cusano was impressive in his first start at QB going 19-33 for 280 yards. Dorian Lindsay had 11 catches for over 100 yards as well. The Sims and Karr Financial Solutions Player of the Game for Greer tonight however, was cornerback Jalen Stokes who only started due to all conference corner Malek Johnson sitting out recovering from a dislocated shoulder. Stokes was all around the football tipping a couple passes while making several tackles, including two TD saving plays. After the game Head Coach Will Young said "We had some bright spots, and we had some things we got exposed on. Seneca is always well coached and if you can be exposed, Coach Green will find a way to do that. We just need to get back and take a look at the things we can get better at. We also need our guys to understand you have to fight for the whole 48 minutes and never give up."

The Jackets begin a three game homestand next week at Dooley Field as they will square off against cross town Riverside. The Warriors, who were edged out tonight 13-12 to Eastside, are coached by former Greer player, then Defensive Coordinator Philip Smith, who is in his first year on the job. We hope you will come out and support the team next week and help them get back in the winning column. On another note, Greer Memorial Hospital will provide the first 1000 fans a Jacket Spirit towel to wave as you cheer for the Jackets. If you can't be there make sure you keep up in all the ways the Yellow Jacket Sports Network provides. We have our radio broadcast on WPJM AM-800, the Tune In Radio app on your smartphone will get you that same broadcast when you search "WPJM" and our internet broadcast, brought to you from this website by Prudential Real Estate agent Eddie Burch. You can also follow us on Twitter for scoring updates and breaking news by following @YJSN1. We hope the Jackets can get in a good week of practice and have a great bounce-back game against Riverside next Friday night. GO JACKETS!!


Game photos from Julie McCombs/Greer Today




2013 Varsity Football Schedule

 

 

Home games in black. Peach Blossom Conference games in CAPS.

 

All games start at 7:30 PM.

August 30 - @ Seneca - Lost 35-27

September 6 - Riverside - WON! 42-3

September 13 - Union County - WON! 31-28

September 20 - GREENVILLE - WON! 42-13

September 27 - @ TRAVELERS REST - WON! 42-3

October 4 - EASTSIDE - WON! 49-0

October 11 - @ BEREA - WON! 70-0

October 18 - @ PICKENS - WON! 51-20

October 25 - SOUTHSIDE - WON! 42-7

November 1 - @ BLUE RIDGE - Lost 10-9

November 8 - Emerald* - WON! 34-30

November 15 - Westwood*  WON! 45-42

November 22 - Daniel*  Lost 41-10

*indicates State 3A Playoffs

 

D TEAM PAGE - 2013 SCHEDULE
 

 




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