Union scores three unanswered TDs in 2nd half to erase halftime deficit

When Marion Cusano drew the Union County defensive back when it looked like he would run, then tossed it downfield to Alex Syphert to give Greer a 22-15 lead with 2:16 remaining in the first half. That had put things right in Dooley Field for the moment. Greer had fallen behind twice earlier in the half, but the offense was sharp & the defe  crowd on the home side was feeling pretty good, especially since the Jackets would be getting the ball to start the 2nd half.

And when Greer promptly drove the ball down to the Union 15 yard line, it appeared that Greer was on the verge of a two score lead. But a missed pass on 3rd down and a field goal that fell just under the cross bar gave Union a boost of confidence, and on 3rd and 6 from their own 24 QB D'Arius Smith flipped a short pass to Shi Smith who took it the distance for a TD that gave Union the lead at 25-22. Greer faced 2nd and 1 from midfield, but couldn't pick up the first down. After a Greer punt Union connected on a 62 yard pass on 3rd down, then a 28 yard pass on 4th and 20 to the six yard line, where Smith ran it in to make it 32-22. Once again the Jackets drowv down the field, but a 4th down pass was intercepted and returned inside the Greer 10. The Jacket defense rose up and got a stop, but after swapping posessions, Smith again found Smith, this one from 54 yards out to set the final score.

Greer ends their season with an 11-1 record, becoming the first team in Greer High history to go undefeated in back to back regular seasons. Union County, now 6-6 on the season advances to play Chapin next week in the Upstate Semis. The Jackets say goodbye to several seniors, including the record setting duo of Mario Cusano & Dorian Lindsay. Shrine Bowler Troy Pride and North South All Star Adrian McGee also leave behind a legacy of winning games, 41 of them- to be exact over this senior class' time at Greer. 

Thanks to everyone who supported this team and congratulations to the players & coaches who once again made the 2015 season an exciting and successful campaign. It's been the Yellow Jacket Sports Network's privilege to be a part of it, and we'll look forward to basketball season now and some "Friday Night Hoops on the Radio" in the near future. Stay tuned into Yellow Jacket sports by following us on Twitter @YJSN1, Yellow Jacket Sports Network on Facebook, and of course this website. And as always- GO JACKETS! nse had gotten a couple of stops. And even though Union drew to within 22-18 on the half's final play, the capacity crowd on the home side was feeling pretty good, especially since the Jackets would be getting the ball to start the 2nd half.

And when Greer promptly drove the ball down to the Union 15 yard line, it appeared that Greer was on the verge of a two score lead. But a missed pass on 3rd down and a field goal that fell just under the cross bar gave Union a boost of confidence, and on 3rd and 6 from their own 24 QB D'Arius Smith flipped a short pass to Shi Smith who took it the distance for a TD that gave Union the lead at 25-22. Greer faced 2nd and 1 from midfield, but couldn't pick up the first down. After a Greer punt Union connected on a 62 yard pass on 3rd down, then a 28 yard pass on 4th and 20 to the six yard line, where Smith ran it in to make it 32-22. Once again the Jackets drowv down the field, but a 4th down pass was intercepted and returned inside the Greer 10. The Jacket defense rose up and got a stop, but after swapping posessions, Smith again found Smith, this one from 54 yards out to set the final score.

Greer ends their season with an 11-1 record, becoming the first team in Greer High history to go undefeated in back to back regular seasons. Union County, now 6-6 on the season advances to play Chapin next week in the Upstate Semis. The Jackets say goodbye to several seniors, including the record setting duo of Mario Cusano & Dorian Lindsay. Shrine Bowler Troy Pride and North South All Star Adrian McGee also leave behind a legacy of winning games, 41 of them- to be exact over this senior class' time at Greer. 

Thanks to everyone who supported this team and congratulations to the players & coaches who once again made the 2015 season an exciting and successful campaign. It's been the Yellow Jacket Sports Network's privilege to be a part of it, and we'll look forward to basketball season now and some "Friday Night Hoops on the Radio" in the near future. Stay tuned into Yellow Jacket sports by following us on Twitter @YJSN1, Yellow Jacket Sports Network on Facebook, and of course this website. And as always- GO JACKETS!

Final Jacket Bowl 22 Game Stats - click here

Nelson Welch inducted in Ring of Honor - Jacket Bowl 20 coming up next

The Greer Yellow Jackets know that now it's just "survive and advance" with the AAA playoffs underway. Friday night's game with Travelers Rest they did just that by surviving the Devildogs inspired start by going on a 45-0 run to finish the game.. Greer was down 13-0 with the 1st quarter all but gone, but when Adrian McGee got the Jackets on the board with a 50 yard run with :36 to go in the quarter, Greer was off to the races. After a defensive stop Greer hit a big play when Mario Cusano hit Dorian Lindsay with a 42 yard completion on 3rd and 10. Two plays later Cusano's 2 yard run and Nick Roberson's PAT gave Greer their first lead at 14-13. McGee would get his 2nd interception of the half and the Jackets turned that into a 34 yard field goal by Roberson. Another stop and good use of their timeouts gave Greer the ball back and they cashed that in with a long pass to Troy Pride, which set up Cusano's 4 yard pass to McGee for the score. That gave Greer a 24-13 lead at the break.

As the defense continued to shut down Travlers Rest the offense kept clicking. Cusano threw three 2nd half TD passes, all to Pride. Troy had five catches on the night for 200 yards. His TD grabs in the 2nd half were a 27 yard jet sweep pass, a 19 yard quick pass out to the right side, then with 3:28 to go in the game with the Jackets backed up with 3rd and 7 from their own 3 yard line, Pride just outran his man and Cusano delivered a perfect ball down the field for a 97 yard scoring play. Nick Roberson made his sixth extra point and the Jackets finished off the Devildogs 45-13. 

The Sims and Karr Financial Solutions Players of the Game for Greer were McGee on defense with his two INTs to go along with his two offensive tourchdowns, and Roberson on offense with his 6/6 on extra points to go along with his 34 yard field goal.

After the game Coach Will Young said on the Yellow Jacket Sports Network that even though his defense got off a little slow, he was proud of the way they battled back and shut out TR the rest of the way. "They have a fine running back and that QB is a good player too, so you do have to give them credit for making some plays as well". He said "or offense actually was good the whole game". Defensive Coordinator Travis Perry said "they (TR) did exactly what we practiced for. Our guys were just a little too excited coming in. We were trying to locate the ball rather than just playing our assignments. Once we settled them down and just played our gaps properly, we were fine."

Greer will now host Union County next week in yet another Jacket Bowl, this one #21. Union knocked off #2 seed Belton Honea Path 27-24 on a late touchdown. Greer defeated Union County in Week 3 35-28, Greer's stiffest test of the season as Greer scored on a 53 yard pass from Cusano to Pride with 1:01 to play. 

We hope to see the stands packed for this game! Hopefully you can be there, but if not you know the YJSN will have you covered. Congrats to the Jackets, now 11-0 after the 45-13 win tonight!

 Final TR Game Stats - click here

Back to back unndefeated regular seasons, but Greer aims higher...

The Greer Yellow Jackets completed a perfect 10-0 regular season tonight with a 32-7 victory over the Blue Ridge Tigers. In the storied history of the Greer program, two straight undefeated regular seasons is still a feat that’s never happened before in the 94 years the Yellow Jackets have been playing football. The closest calls to anything like that came in 1945-46 when the team lost once, then again in 1955-56. The 1994 team went 15-0 and the ’96 squad started 8-0 but was upset the next week.  But this group of Jackets made it happen. And while Coach Will Young is proud of the accomplishment, he is seeking bigger goals. "Yes it’s great, we’re proud of an undefeated regular season, but we want more, much more than that. Success at Greer is defined by that water tower at Dooley Field. This group wants to be on that water tower."  Beginning in 2011, Greer is now 45-5 in the last five regular seasons. They will now take a week off while the midlands and lower state schools catch up from flood-cancelled games, and begin the AAA playoffs November 13 at Dooley Field.

Greer jumped out to a 16-0 lead midway through the 2^nd quarter. Mario Cusano hit Troy Pride with a short pass and the senior took it the final 19 yards for the score. Nick Roberson made the PAT and it was 7-0. Greer got a safety when Blue Ridge QB Jake Smith was flagged for intentional grounding from his own end zone. After the free kick, the Jackets drove 14 plays over 63 yards in 6:51 and got a score as Cusano ran it in from the one. Blue Ridge drew to 16-7 completing an 81 yard drive with a short Vonta Jenkins run. Greer added a TD with just 20 seconds to go in the half when Cusano lofted a 50 yard pass to Pride, who used his speed to get to the ball and beat the Tiger defender to the end zone. Blue Ridge broke a big play and were attempting a short field goal with 2 seconds remaining in the half, but Pride bolted in from the right side to block the kick, leaving the Jackets ahead 23-7 at intermission.

After a scoreless 3^rd quarter, Greer would score with 6:49 to go in the game as Cusano hit Dorian Lindsay with a 15 yard pass. Roberson, who was 4/4 on the night, made the extra point. The Jackets closed out the scoring on the evening with another safety, this time when Smith was tackled in the end zone on a blitz.

The Sims & Karr Financial Solutions Players of the Game were Pride on special teams with his two field goal blocks, Lindsay on offense as he had 12 catches for 151 yards and the TD, while Corey Styles gets the nod on defense. Styles had 6 tackles, a sack, and a QB pressure. Cusano was 19/27 for 238 yards and 3 TDs and he added 63 yards on the ground and another score. Adrian McGee led Greer in rushing with 93 yards. On his first carry on the night, McGee went over 1000 rushing yards and now sits at 1090 for the season. Pride added 5 catches for 75 yards and two scores for Greer.

Stay tuned to this website during the week ahead and/or definitely follow the Yellow Jacket Sports Network on Twitter @YJSN1 and Yellow Jacket Sports Network on Facebook. We’ll keep you up to date on the playoff opponent and news from the Yellow Jacket front. Congratulations on the undefeated regular season by the Greer Yellow Jackets and the 32-7 win tonight! GO JACKETS!

 Final Game Stats - click here

Cusano breaks school passing record en route to 48-14 win...

The Greer Yellow Jackets are Peach Blossom Conference Champions again. They clinched the title tonight at Dooley Field by running away from second place Southside 48-14 behind six touchdowns by Mario Cusano and a stingy bend but don’t break defensive effort.  The win lofts the Jackets to 6-0 in the region going into next week’s game at Blue Ridge, and with the 2^nd place tie between Southside, Emerald, and Chapman all having two region losses Greer can hold up the trophy a week early. That means Greer will be at Dooley Field in the 2015 playoff opener on November 13.

The Jackets scored just 2 ½ minutes into the contest on a 3 play 50 yard drive after a quick three and out by the defense. Adrian McGee scored on a two yard run and Nick Roberson booted the extra point through and it was 7-0. Southside showed it came to play as they answered with their own TD as Juwan Price threw a perfect 26 yard pass in the back of the end zone to Nege’ Washington and the game was tied at 7. And when the Tigers forced a three and out it looked as though they would get a chance to move ahead. But they fumbled the punt and Greer recovered at the 25. It took just 4  plays for Greer to reclaim the lead when Cusano ran in from the 1 behind a jumbo blocking package. From there, the gates opened and the Jackets would never look back.  Cusano threw  TD passes to Dorian Lindsay from 37 yards, Alex Syphertt 24, and a 40 yard wheel route to McGee with just 19 seconds to go in the half to make it 35-7 at intermission. Prior to Syphertt’s catch Troy Pride had returned a Tiger punt 80 yards for a touchdown only to see a penalty wipe the score away. Nick Roberson’s 3^rd PAT by the way, was the 200^th extra point as the Yellow Jacket kicker. Nick now sits at 249 total points scored in his Greer career.

Greer would take the opening possession of the 2^nd half and go 8 plays over 63 yards to score again, another Cusano pass to yet another receiver, this one to Pride and it was 41-7. On the next Greer drive Cusano completed a short pass to become the all-time leading passer in Greer High history, breaking Offensive Coordinator Mazzie Drummond’s record of 5665 yards. Cusano would do the honors on the next TD, but on the ground on a 7 yard run. Southside would close out the scoring with 6:42 remaining in the game on a 28 yard run by Quay White setting the final score at 48-14. 

On the night, Cusano was 19-24 for 304 yards and the aforementioned 4 TDs to 4 different receivers. He also added 72 yards on the ground and two more scores. Adrian McGee led the Jackets in rushing with 93 yards on just 12 carries, a 7.8 yard average. That leaves Adrian just three yards shy of 1000 rushing yards on the season at 997. And while Dorian Lindsay led Greer in receiving yards with 114, Syphertt actually had the most catches with his six grabs for 77 yards. The Sims and Karr Financial Solutions Players of the Game were Syphertt on offense, and on defense the honor went to DJ Sitton, who had six tackles and an interception.

With the victory Greer is now 9-0 on the season and look to cap a second consecutive undefeated regular season next week against the Blue Ridge Tigers. Young men have been playing football at Greer High since 1921, and two straight undefeated regular seasons has never happened.  Way back in 1945 the Yellow Jackets went 9-0 and followed that up in 1946 with a 9-1 campaign, their only blemish a week 4 loss to Parker 20-19. Ten years later the ’55 team dropped only a week 6 game to Spartanburg 20-13, finishing that season 11-1. They would run the table in 1956 going 11-0 and winning the State title. The 1994 Greer team won another State Championship with a 15-0 record and won their first 8 games of the ’95 season, only to fall at Broome in a huge 20-13 upset. So a win at Blue Ridge would not only be a satisfying win over their rival, but help this Yellow Jacket team make their own history. And of course a Tiger win would be a nice ending for a tough season at Blue Rige, who will enter the game at 3-6 and no shot at post season.

We hope you will make the short trip up Highway 14 or 101 to make the game. If you can’t make it, you know the Yellow Jacket Sports Network will have you covered. Congratulations to the 2015 Peach Blossom Champs…the Greer Yellow Jackets!!

 Final Southside Game Stats - click here

The Greer Yellow Jackets raced out to a 28-0 halftime lead over the Chapman Panthers en route to a 35-21 win Friday night at Panther Stadium in Inman. Chapman put together a strong second half run, partly because their offense woke up and they also took advantage of a couple of costly fumbles by the Jackets. And when Chapman QB Colton Bailey saw Greer having trouble getting into position on defense at the 6 yard line, he quickly hit receiver Tim Beach for the score to make it 28-21 with 10:10 to go in the game. The large Chapman home crowd was excited and the Jackets needed to change back the momentum. On the ensuing kickoff, Greer muffed the kick catch out of bounds and they would have to start at their own 4 yard line. From there, the Jackets would start one of their most impressive drives of the season, as they would go 15 plays over that 96 yards and take 7:47 off the clock when Adrian McGee got the final yard for the touchdown and the game’s final points. With the victory, Greer is now 8-0 on the season and 5-0 in the Peach Blossom Conference. The Yellow Jackets will host the Southside Tigers, now 7-1 (4-1 in the region) after edging Blue Ridge 20-14.

Greer came out blazing on both offense and defense. On their 2^nd drive, Mario Cusano threw a short pass to Troy Pride at the 20 and the senior Shrine Bowl player outran everyone for an 80 yard score. Nick Roberson, who was a perfect 5/5 on PATs, made the kick and it was 7-0 with 5:14 to go in the 1^st. Those two would hook up again to complete a 60 yard drive when Cusano threw a post route to Pride for a 36 yard TD. Chapman would get a drive rolling aided by a 3^rd down penalty and reach the Greer 15 yard line, but while scrambling right, Bailey tried to fit in a throw and Pride reached up and grabbed it for the interception at the 6. On the next play, McGee broke loose on a 89 yard run to the Chapman 5, then Cusano followed a jumbo set across the right side to make it 21-0. The Jackets would score just before the half to go ahead 28-0 as Cusano found Dorian Lindsay on a 40 yard bomb.

Even though the Jackets lost the turnover margin 3-1, they were able to overcome it because their offense had statistically one of the best games of the year. Greer gained 583 yards on just 62 snaps, a staggering 9.4 yards per play. And if you want balance, how about 296 yards rushing and 287 passing? Cusano accounted for 434 yards of offense with the 287 passing yards and 145 rushing, while McGee ended the night with 147 yards on the ground. Pride and Lindsay both had big receiving games, and Troy had 6 grabs for 141 yards & 2 TDs, while Dorian had 8 catches for 124 and the touchdown.

The Sims and Karr Financial Solutions Players of the Game for Greer was Troy Pride on offense, with his two early TD catches and his big interception. On defense, freshman linebacker Quack Cohen was given the honor.

Hopefully we’ll see you next week at Dooley Field in a game that will most likely be for the Peach Blossom championship with Greer sitting at 5-0, and the Tigers the only one loss team at 4-1. It’s also Senior Night for the Jackets. So please come out to support the Jackets as they continue to roll on down the 2015 schedule. And again, we’d love to have you in a Dooley Field seat, but if you can’t be there the Yellow Jacket Sports Network will try to make you feel like you are. Congratulations to the 8-0 Greer Yellow Jackets for the 35-21 win over Chapman!

Final Chapman Game Stats - click here

Mario Cusano passed for 287 yards and five touchdowns Friday night at Berea to lead the Greer Yellow Jackets to a 61-0 win against the Bulldogs. He completed passes to eight different receivers on the night including a TD pass to Adrian McGee, Troy Pride, and Ramone Ramage, along with two to Dorian Lindsay, the 2nd one a 36 yarder with only one second remaining in the first half. The Jackets led 42-0 at that point, then McGee made a spectacular interception & return for a score just 50 seconds into the 2nd half. The defense would add another score with a safety, before Ramage would get his 2nd TD of the game on a pass from Brice Green. Nick Roberson would close out the scoring with a 27 yard field goal. The Greer rushing attack has been leaned on most of the season, but tonight it was the air attack for the Jackets. Out of Greer's seven offensive TDs, all but one was through the air, with the lone rushing TD an Adrian McGee 15 yard run with 8:54 to go in the 2nd quarter that would put Greer ahead 21-0. With the 287 yards through the air, Cusano is now over 5000 yards in career yardage as a Greer player. "After the game Cusano said "I'm blessed to be here and play for Greer High. I'm blessed to play with such great receivers and a great line. And I'm blessed to get 5000 yards, but let's get some more."

Final Berea Game Stats - click here

The #3 ranked Greer Yellow Jackets improved to 6-0 on the season with a 48-7 Homecoming victory Friday night over the Eastside Eagles. In the process, they claimed sole possession of the Peach Blossom Conference lead with a 3-0 mark, as every team in the region has at least one loss except the Jackets. The Eagles had come in as one of the bigger stories of the Upstate with a 4-1 record and actually led Greer 7-6 into the early part of the 2nd quarter. That's when Jake Arrowood pinned the Eagles at their own one yard line with a great punt. After three plays and two yards, Eastside punted the ball from the back end line to Troy Pride at the 27 and the Greer senior went untouched for the touchdown. The two point run by Mario Cusano put Greer back on top 14-7. Just about five minutes later, Eastside would be forced to punt again. Pride would field this one at the Jacket 33 and run to his left where the Eagles were closing that side off. Pride reversed his ground and after receiving two crushing blocks, including the final one by Adrian McGee that set him free, and Pride would finish off the 77 yard return that put Greer up 20-7 at halftime.

Final Game Stats - click here

'

Greer fights through injuries to overpower Devildogs

Two great things came from the game Friday night. The game got played and the Jackets won. Not to say there weren't some positives, there were plenty. But a cool, soggy night in Travelers Rest helped slow down a Greer offense that had been rolling, & possibly played a part in several injuries for the #3 ranked Yellow Jackets. With the rain blowing sideways on several occasions during the game, the Jackets led just 13-7 at halftime, & only that much because of a 43 yard run by Troy Pride with just 9 seconds to go in the 2nd quarter. Pride added two 3rd quarter TD runs, the second an 84 yard run on the first play of a drive, to put Greer ahead 28-7. The Devildogs got good field position on the kickoff, then got their longest play from scrimmage on the night, a 50 yard QB run on the zone read and scores 2 plays later. But the Jackets clinched it with two Mario Cusano runs in the 4th quarter to set the final at 41-13. Greer is now 5-0 on the season, 2-0 in the Peach Blossom region, while TR falls to 3-2 and 0-2.

Final Game Stats - click here

Big night by Adrian McGee helps Jackets past Vikings...

Greer took care of Emerald 39-20 Friday night at Dooley Field in the opening game of the Peach Blossom Conference for both teams. In what turned out to be pretty much an offensive battle with both defenses struggling with the other team's offense, Greer jumped out to a 17 point lead, getting their stops early in the game and kept a comfortable working margin the rest of the night. Once Emerald realized that they could run the ball, and perhaps they couldn't pass it against Greer's defense, the two teams matched up fairly even the rest of the contest. The Jackets are now 4-0 on the season and 1-0 in the Peach Blossom Conference. Emerald is now 2-2 and 0-1.

After an early stop, the Emerald punter dropped the snap and was tackled by Tyrek Smith at the 25. Five plays later, Adrian McGee would score on a 3 yard run & Nick Roberson would add the point after to give Greer a 7-0 lead just 3:47 into the game. Another stop gave Greer the ball at their own 25, but not detered the Jackets went those 75 yards in 8 plays, the final one a 32 yard pass play from Mario Cusano to Dorian Lindsay. Lindsay's catch was named the Greer Chamber Big Play of the Game, as he went high up over a defender to snatch the ball for the TD. Early in the 2nd quarter, a 71 yard drive stalled at the Viking 8 yard line, but Roberson booted a 25 yard fied goal to put Greer up 17-0. From there, the two teams swapped a pair of TDs each, with Emerald getting two long runs from tailback Willie Reynolds, while the Jackets got a 2 yard run by McGee and another scoring pass from Cusano to Lindsay, this one from 26 yards, and the Jackets led 30-14 at halftime.

Greer would receive the 2nd half kickoff and would make it six for six on getting points. The Jackets moved the ball to the Viking 18, and from there Roberson kicked his longest field goal of the season thus far as his 36 yarder split the uprights with ease to give Greer a 33-14 margin. Emerald would close out a 65 yard drive when QB Dreek Jones used some hard play action to open up a seam for WT Myles Williams on 3rd down and the two connected on a 23 yard pass play for the score. Troy Pride blocked the extra point for Greer & the score stood at 33-20 midway through the 3rd quarter. But it didn't take long for the Jackets to score again as they went 68 yards on just 3 plays, McGee doing the honors with a 41 yard run to make it 39-20. The Vikings later broke a big play and appeared to be on their way to a score, but Troy Pride stripped Reynolds of the football at the Greer 3 yard line and the ball bounced into the end zone. After digging out the pile, the Jackets had it and took over at the 20. From there both teams would move the ball fairly well, but neither could get to the goal line the rest of the way. On the evening, Greer running back Adrian McGee would finish with a season high 225 yards rushing and two TDs.

The Sims & Karr Financial Solutions Players of the Game for Greer was the offensive line for offense, and Tyrek Smith got the honors for his good play on defense. Next week the Jackets will hit the road to face the 3-1 Travelers Rest Devildogs who after a 3-0 start, took one on the chin tonight from Chapman. Jacket fans have turned out with some great support in the last three games at Dooley Field and will now be on the road for four of the last six regular season games. So we'll ask that you come to TR if you can to support the Yellow Jackets! 

Final Game Stats - click here

Game Wrap-up presented by Greer State Bank

Prior to tonight's game there had been 20 Jacket Bowls with both Union County & Greer having ten wins each, so Van Brannon called it "the rubber match" on the Grand South Bank Yellow Jacket Tailgate Show. In typical Jacket Bowl fashion, a large crowd turned out to see the game and as usual, they saw a terrific football game that wasn't decided until the clock hit 0:00. With the game tied at 28, Greer got a 53 yard touchdown off a throw and catch from Mario Cusano to Troy Pride with 1:03 remaining in the game. And after Nick Roberson added the extra point the Greer defense, running low on fuel got a sack on the Union County 43 yard line and time expired for an exciting 35-28 win tonight at Dooley Field. With the win, the #3 ranked Jackets are now 3-0 on the season and will begin Peach Blossom Conference play next week.

Greer opened the game with a 14-0 lead the first TD a 21 yard pass to Alex Syphert, and the 2nd a 59 yarder to Zach Glidden. Roberson went 5 for 5 on extra points on the evening. Union would cut the gap in half just before intermission with a 16 yard scramble by Union QB De'airrius Smith. But Greer would come out fast again in the 3rd quarter as Troy Pride caught a short Cusano pass, but cut through some fluff and outran everyone for a 61 yard score to make it 21-7. But Union County would forge a tie with two straight scores on drives of 80 yards on two more Smith runs. Union County forced a stop and looked poised to take their first lead of the game, but a nifty interception by Dorian Lindsay and susequent return to the Union 13 set the Jackets up to move back ahead. Going with a jumbo package for three straight plays, the Jackets slammed it in the end zone with McGee taking it in. McGee made another important play in the game with Union at the Greer 5 with 7:07 to go by grabbing a tipped ball for an interception. But Union got it right back and drove down for the game tying score with just 3:06 remaining when Smith hit WR Shi Smith with a 13 yard pass. The extra point wasn't pretty as the snap was low and the ball put down crooked, but kicker Jacob Crocker chunked it over the crossbar to tie things up at 28.

On the game winning drive, Greer got the ball at their own 21 with just under 3 minutes in the game and converted a 3rd and 1, a 3rd and 5, and faced 3rd and 12 when Cusano found Pride for the 53 yard pass & the winning points. The Sims and Karr Financial Solutions Players of the Game were Pride on offense, McGee on defense, and a special teams ribbon to Andrew Messer for kicking it into the end zone on four of five kickoffs, pinning the visiting Yellow Jackets at their 20 to start their drives. Greer will host the Emerald Vikings next week at Dooley Field as Peach Blossom Conference play kicks off. These two teams are among the preseason favorites in the league, so please come out to see a great game at beautiful Dooley Field.

Congrats to the Greer Yellow Jackets for an exciting win, and also to the Greer fans who packed Dooley Field to see Greer take Jacket Bowl XXI by the score of 35-28!

Final Game / Team Stats - click here

Final Game Stats - click here

The Greer Yellow Jackets went on the road tonight to kick off the 2015 football season against one of their oldest and toughest rivals, the Clinton Red Devils, and came away with an impressive 40-8 victory. These two teams, meeting for the 48th time, had played twice last season. Greer trailed in both, but came back to win each, first on opening night then again in the first round of the playoffs. Tonight there was no such drama. Greer turned away the Red Devils as DJ Sitton and Adrian McGee made a tackle at the one yard line to thwart Clinton's opening drive. The Jackets then went 99 yards in eight plays, the last being a 26 yard scoring pass from Mario Cusano to Dorian Lindsey. Nick Roberson's PAT gave Greer an early first quarter lead at 7-0. Clinton hit a 60 yard pass play that set up the Red Devils again inside the 10, but once again Greer's defense would get a 4th down stop. The Jackets led 13-0 at the break when McGee scored on a 10 yard run capping a 63 yard drive.

The 3rd quarter was a big one for the Jackets. After recieving the opening kick, Greer quickly marched down the field going 58 yards in just six plays and McGee got his 2nd TD on a one yard plunge. The two point conversion was good on a pass to Zack Glidden, but an unknown pentalty erased that and Greer led 19-0. Just four minutes later the Red Devils were punting again and this time Troy Pride returned in 60 yards for a touchdown. Roberson made it 26-0 with the extra point . Lindsay got the ball back quickly with an interception for the Jackets and once again they took advantage of the opportunity. Despite two holding calls along the way Greer reached the end zone on a 6 yard Cusano run to make it 33-0 with still 3:45 to go in the quarter. Clinton finally put together a scoring drive as they went 80 yards in 8 plays. QB Charlie Craven hit Tay Cook with a 22 yard pass, then the Red Devils converted a two point try. But on the ensuing kickoff, McGee scooped up a squib kick at the 40, then using his running back skills in extreme traffic early in the return, broke free just past midfield and outran the angles to paydirt for a 60 yard kickoff return. Roberson closed out the scoring for the night with the PAT to make it 40-8.

Coach WIll Young was pleased with his team and the effort they gave in game 1. "We worked hard & played hard, that's the thing I was most pleased with. We got a win, and we got some good film to watch, so that we can learn how to use tonight to get better. Our offense, moved the ball, we hit some big plays, and our defense nearly shut out a team that scored 30 last week. So all around, I'm pleased with the way we started tonight". The Sims and Karr Players of the Game tonight were Travigea Ware from the defensive tackle spot and Adrian McGee on offense with over 100 yards rushing and three TDs. Next week the Jackets will host the Riverside Warriors at Dooley Field for their home opener. Hope to see everyone next week! Congrats to the Jackets on a great 40-8 win at Clinton!

Final Game Stats - click here

All games start at 7:30 PM

August 28 - at Clinton - WON! 40-8

September 4 - Riverside - WON! 49-6

September 11 - Union County - WON! 35-28

September 18 - EMERALD - WON! 39-20

September 25 - at TRAVELERS REST - WON! 41-13

October 2 - EASTSIDE - WON! 48-7

October 9 - at BEREA - WON! 61-0

October 16 - at CHAPMAN - WON! 35-21

October 23 - SOUTHSIDE  - WON! 48-14

October 30 - at BLUE RIDGE - WON! 32-7

November 13 - *Travelers Rest - WON! 45-13

November 20 - *Union County - Lost 39-22

* denotes State 3A Playoffs