Hurricane Helene did more than damage Greer’s landscape – it also washed out the Yellow Jackets 2024 football season.

Greer Coach Will Young reflected, "We were building momentum and starting to play the right way after a strong second half against Hillcrest and beating Byrnes for the first time in years. Then we had to take two weeks off because of the hurricane, and everything went out the window. The team went backwards, especially with our discipline, and we could not get back to where we were. That hurt big time. It is disappointing and frustrating because we should have finished up a much better team than we did."

The Yellow Jackets drew piles of penalties and had three players ejected in games that followed Helene. The bitter ending of the 78-5 season included 150 yards worth of yellow flags in the playoff loss at South Pointe.

"The penalties are embarrassing. I don’t like the way we have been playing football, and we have got to fix it because I can’t live with that," Young declared. "We have to do a better job of coaching, and that will be start during the off season."

Greer will graduate 18 seniors, the largest class since the Covid pandemic left the program diminished for several years. "We have to replace starters at many positions including three kids on the offensive line, Blake Taylor, Eduardo Garcia-Duran and Tyler Jones, and two on the defensive line, Isaiah McCoy and Kaleb Nelson," Young noted. "We are graduating our running back Nick Holmes, who did a heck of a job this season. We lose quarterbacks Kaden Rowland and Ty Breeze, and two great receivers in Brock Diggins and Max Hannon, plus linebackers Brody Diggins and Quamaine Dodd, and defensive backs Jaylen Vereen and Kaden Robinson."

The good news, Young said, is the Yellow Jackets "have a good nucleus returning" so 2025 will not be a complete rebuilding year. "Our jayvees were 7-2 this year, and some good kids are coming up from that team. The problem is they are small, and need to get bigger and much stronger. A number of them like to hang out in the weight room, but they haven’t been doing much weight lifting in there," he said.

Young is excited about rising sophomore quarterback Dawson Fowler, saying "Fowler is way ahead of where he should be for his age, and could be one of the best we have ever had at that position. We also have some good young running backs coming along in Calvin McCoy and AJ Jackson. We return two dynamic receivers in Mikey Williams and Chance Todd, as well as Chase Free and Noel Sitton in the secondary, Paden Armstrong and Kendall Powell on the defensive line, and Sammy White at linebacker. We have our entire kicking corps coming back including Tucker Hudson who averaged 33 yards punting, which is something we haven’t had in a long time. We have an excellent place kicker in Wills Ryan and Parker Burns who is a kickoff specialist.

The off season is already under way with packing up the equipment and planning an awards ceremony in early January. "Next semester, we will have a fourth block schedule for the kids to lift weights and start throwing and catching. We probably will have a morning practice in March before spring ball in May," Young said.

Greer faces another brutal schedule opening with Boiling Springs, followed by Belton-Honea Path, Hillcrest and Byrnes leading into region competition. "Several teams won’t play us, including some in our town, and that makes scheduling very difficult," Young said. "So we are looking at starting or summer work a little earlier, and we might change how we operate in the summer to be better prepared."

The Yellow Jackets were enjoying their best football season since 2018 until they were swatted out of the playoffs by South Pointe, 57-16, in frost bitten Rock Hill.

“I had expected us to play better than we did, and that was disappointing,” confessed Greer Coach Will Young afterwards. “I thought we might have a shot going into the game, but we never stopped them defensively,” he said. On the other side of the ball, “We got in the red zone four times in the first half and did not do much with those opportunities.”

Delayed by the unending construction on I-85 during the long ride home, Jacket Backers also had time to grieve over costly turnovers and 125 yards in penalties in the longest first half of the season, some 140 minutes. “We have not played disciplined football all year, and had a kid ejected last week. Hopefully our younger kids will see how this did not work,” Young said of the yellow flags. He added, “My heart goes out to our seniors (18 will graduate), but we have to move on.”

Young also gave credit to the Stallions, relating, “They did not surprise us. We knew they were good offensively, especially running the ball. Their quarterback, Cameron McMillon is a special player, and we could not contain Mason Pickett-Hicks.” Arguably the smallest running back Greer has ever faced on the playing field, Pickett-Hicks scooted like a waterbug for touchdowns on runs of 75, 41 and 20 yards to set a South Pointe career record of 25 scores in a season.

The Yellow Jackets got off to a flying start by recovering an on-side kickoff after winning the coin toss. Quarterback Ty Breeze lofted a 37-yard pass to Mikey Williams on the first play, moving Greer to the 11-yard line. But the Stallions stopped Greer as cold as the low 40’s temperature and forced Wills Ryan to kick a 29-yard field goal.

Greer’s 3-0 lead lasted only a few seconds. The first South Pointe play from scrimmage was a 71-yard touchdown pass from McMillion to Jordan Collins, and Lorenzo Cardarelli kicked his first of nine extra points. Aided by 25-yards in penalties against Greer, the McMillon-Collins combo delivered a 29-yard touchdown barely three minutes later.

The Yellow Jackets fought back with a long drive that reached the Stallions nine -yard line before fizzling out.

South Pointe capped the first quarter with a 22-yard scoring pass from McMillion to Dailan Duncan, and Pickett-Hicks slithered 22 yards to score on a fourth-down run early in the second quarter.

Greer advanced to the Stallions 27-yard line on a 36-yard pass from Breeze to Williams but South Pointe defender J’zavien Currence picked off a pass to end the threat.

The Yellow Jackets stopped the Stallions at their own 19-yard line and mounted an 81-yard scoring drive capped by Breeze’s 20-yard keeper that cut the lead to 28-10 with 2:41 remaining in the half.

The game got away from Greer over the final seconds of the half when Pickett-Hicks raced 75 yards to score, and McMillon delivered a 29-yard touchdown pass to Collins to make it 42-10 at intermission.

South Pointe put up two third quarter scores to launch a running clock. Greer managed a final cheer when Breeze hooked up with Chance Todd on a 40-yard touchdown pass in the fourth period.

The Stallions, 10-2, move on to face Daniel in the third round. Greer’s 7- 5 record was highlighted by their first win over Byrnes since year 2000.

Could Greer Shock the world again? That question is on the mind of every Jacket Backer this week as Greer prepares for a second-round playoff match with South Pointe. In 2019 the Yellow Jackets went to Rock Hill as decided underdogs, and came home with a 21-14 upset victory. Then, as will be this Friday, the temperatures were in the mid-30s. Thus, the stage is set with the same scenario when Greer, like David, battles the Goliath scoring machine that just bombed Blue Ridge 77-0.

"South Pointe has scored over 500 points and given up something like 100 this season," Greer Coach Will Young said of the 9-2 Stallions. South Pointe opened the season with a 26-25 loss to Spartanburg, and later fell to Northwestern, 28-14, in the fourth game. Since then, the Stallions have won seven straight games, scoring an average of 50 points per game while winning the Region Three title.

"They throw it like Daniel. They play defense up front like Boiling Springs. They have one of the best secondaries we have seen, and they run it like we used to with Quez Nesbitt," Coach Young said.

South Pointe runs the spread offense with junior quarterback Cameron McMillon, 6’4" 235 pounds, "who is excellent. He can really sling it," Young said. "They have an outstanding running back in Mason Pickett-hicks, a 5-8 170-pound senior, who reminds me of Nesbitt. Their offensive line is ginormas on the right side and about like us on the left side. There is not a lot of weakness there.

"Defensively, they will give us a bunch of different looks, like we have been seeing, out of a 4-2-5. They are big and strong on the defensive front with great speed everywhere else."

Looking for a way to pull off the upset, Young figures, "We have to execute better than we did against Fountain Inn. We started that game really poorly, and if we do that this week, we won’t have a shot. But if we get off the bus and play early, and move the chains that will help both sides of the ball."

Young could not account for last week’s slow start, saying, "I have no idea why we started that way unless the kids thought because it was a round one game it was going to be easy. But I was proud of the way the kids played in the second half and fought their way back to get the win. That was good, but we can’t start like that at South Pointe We have to be ready to play."

Greer has good and bad news personnel wise. Isaiah McCoy, a key player on the defensive line, is expected back this week after being injured two weeks ago. Another defensive lineman, Kaleb Nelson, will not be playing after being ejected from the Ft. Inn game.

No one left Dooley Field early while Greer survived a 28-21 cliffhanger over Fountain Inn to kick off the 4-A playoffs.

The Yellow Jackets rallied from 14 points behind in the second half on the strength of three fourth down conversions, and then held off a last-ditch Ft. Inn comeback as time expired.

Greer began the night like the lead turkey in a Thanksgiving parade. "It was the worst first half we have played all year, and I have no idea why" declared Yellow Jackets Coach Will Young after Greer was in a 21-7 hole at intermission.

Despite having lost starting defensive lineman Kaleb Nelson who was ejected, Greer managed to right the ship with an attitude adjustment at halftime. "The kids were griping and moaning at halftime, thinking the game was over," Coach Young said. "We told them they were going to have to quit doing that because there was still a lot of football to be played, and we can play a lot better. It was big that we didn’t give up."

The visiting Fury scored on their first possession, a clock-eating 80-yard drive capped by quarterback Sam Holliday’s seven yard run. Then the visitors needed only two plays to go up 14-0 late in the quarter on a 49-yard pass from Holliday to Zach Madden.

Greer got on the scoreboard late in the second period when Ty Breeze delivered a clutch fourth down 20-yard pass to Mikey Williams to keep a drive alive. After finding Brock Diggins on a 19-yard pass, Breeze scored on a one-yard run with1:43 left in the half. Instead of resting, however, the Fury roared 80-yards to the end zone before halftime to go back on top by 14 points.

The Yellow Jackets scrambled back when the offensive line began opening huge holes for Holmes and the defense began getting off the field. Greer started the third quarter with an 80-yard drive. Nick Holmes picked up a clutch first down on fourth-and two at the 26-yard line and later scored on a nine-yard carry.

After giving up a pass interception that led to a missed Fury field goal attempt, Greer closed the gap with another 80-yard campaign. Holmes launched the drive with runs of 30 and 18 yards. The Yellow Jackets converted a fourth-and-eight on a 24-yard pass from Breeze to Diggins who went up between two defenders to make the grab at the Fury six-yard line. Holmes scored on a one-yard carry, but a high center snap foiled the extra point try leaving Fountain Inn ahead 21-20 with 4:41 remaining in the game.

Greer quickly forced a punt and headed back toward the end zone with a drive highlighted by Holmes’ 23-yard run. Holmes scored on a one-yard burst, and the Yellow Jackets added a two-point conversion on a pass from Breeze to Chance Todd to claim the lead with just :59 seconds left in the game.

Fountain Inn staged a thrilling finish when Holliday launched an 18-yard pass to B.J. Cureton and then uncorked a 49-yard bomb to Madden who was pulled down at the Greer five-yard line by Quamaine Dodd with :15 seconds remaining. But two Holliday passes fell incomplete over the final seconds.

"Giving up that long pass at the end was scary, and we go back at it next week," Coach Young noted, adding, "This win was good four our kids because Fountain Inn was a good football team."

Greer will take the first step on a murderous highway to the state 4-A finals by hosting the Fountain Inn Fury at Dooley Field on Friday at 7:30 pm. A win would give the Yellow Jackets the privilege of hitting the road to battle the likes of South Pointe, Daniel and Westside in the weeks ahead.

Comparisons are difficult since neither Greer nor Fountain Inn have played a mutual foe. Both are 6-4 overall. "Any team that makes the playoffs is pretty good, and Fountain Inn is good," declares Greer Coach Will Young. He figures the Fury "could be a cross between Seneca and Pickens," Region II teams that the Yellow Jackets defeated.

Fountain Inn is similar to Greer offensively. "They run the spread with a tight end sometimes and H back. The offense operates around the quarterback, Sam Holliday, a sophomore who can run. He also throws well to a couple of really good receivers Zach Madden and B.J. Cureton," Young said. "They have a good running back in Bojack Johnson, also sophomore. The offensive line is good and big all-around including Jackson Njioku, 6-3, 319-pound senior at left tackle, McKenzie Frazier, 250-pound senior at left guard, and Jacob Cotham, 5-10 170-pound senior at center."

The Fury, coming off a season-capping 35-14 win over Laurens, operates out of a basic 3-4 defensive alignment featuring up front Chase Lundy, a freshman, and Tison Garrett, a junior, "who play with high motors," Young said. Tank Graham, a senior, "runs really well at linebacker, and they have a really good cornerback in Isaiah Gresham, a senior, and a good safety in Ben Ruwe, a sophomore."

Young plans to bring up 15 to 20 jayvees for the playoffs to fill out the scout team and provide depth for the injury-riddled varsity. "This move also is a reward for doing the right things and to give them some experience," Young explained.

Two defensive starters Isaiah McCoy and Lewis Bussey, are doubtful after being injured in the win over Travelers Rest.

Greer was already missing quarterback Kaden Rowland and back-up running back Calvin McCoy, both out for the season. Ty Breeze, a senior, and freshman Dawson Fowler split duties at calling signals last week, and Young said "neither kid separated himself. Both threw the ball well. Ty ran a little better, and he is a senior. But Fowler is way advanced for his age. Now we will have to wait and see how they do in practice this week."

"Since this is the playoffs, we will try to make practice special by tweaking some things this week," Young concluded.

Fountain Inn could be considered Greer’s oldest rival since the two schools first clashed on the football field 102 years ago in 1922 with the Yellow Jackets winning 25-12. Over time, the teams played four more times with Greer winning 49-0 in 1949 in the last game before Fountain Inn was closed and consolidated into Hillcrest High in 1957. The new Fountain Inn High School was built some 64 years later in 2021.

Greer capped the regular season with auditions for America’s Got Talent in a 51-0 romp over Travelers Rest. Yellow Jackets showed off an array of skills while wrapping up second place in the region as a launch pad into the 4-A playoffs.

The contest was postponed when Hurricane Helene hit on Sept. 27, and five weeks later many Jacket Backers were missing from the stands, apparently still suffering from storm shock.

"I was hoping our kids would come out and play sharp, and they did for the most part," declared Greer Coach Will Young. "This win gives us a little confidence and momentum going into the playoffs."

He reflected, "We played pretty well offensively, especially our offensive line. Defensively we were a little slow in the beginning but managed to play better later on. We won’t win in the playoffs without good defense, so we got to make sure they keep coming along." Young added, "We also had a couple of unsportsmanlike penalties that were very disappointing. We still have not fixed that which is disappointing to me."

Greer’s sixth win was costly as starting defensive lineman Isaiah McCoy went down with an injury. The Yellow Jackets were already without quarterback Kaden Rowland who is out for the year, and his absence led to an audition featuring senior Ty Breeze and freshman Dawson Fowler.

"This game gave us a chance to make sure we are using the right one in the playoffs. Both kids are really good, and Dawson, who is very young, has a great future," Young explained.

Breeze started for the second straight game, and threw touchdown passes of 36 and 38 yards to Mikey Williams and Max Hannon respectively. He also posted a nine-yard touchdown run to start the game and wound up with 43 yards on three carries. Fowler delivered a seven-yard touchdown pass to Nick Holmes and later hooked up with Brock Diggins on a 32-yard scoring pass. He also unloaded a 62-yard bomb to Diggins to set up a score, and hit on five of eight passes for a total of 127 yards.

Junior Mikey Williams showed off speed and agility when he returned a punt 45 yards for a touchdown and took a short pass to the house from 32 yards out. Brock Diggins reeled in three passes for 97 yards and a touchdown.

"Nick Holmes was Nick Holmes," noted Coach Young of the senior running back who scored twice while rushing for 49 yards on nine carries. "We were able to play A.J. Jackson, (filling in for the injured Calvin McCoy), "and he is going to be a good running back for us," Young noted. "I hate it that you can’t bring up more jayvees in these games in case you lose somebody to injury. It would have helped if could have played some of those kids tonight, even though they played last night."

Defensive lineman Aiden Jones and linebacker Sammy White, back after missing the Daniel game with an injury, led the defense in individual tackles with six and five, respectively. Wills Ryan kicked seven extra points.

While enjoying a 21-0 lead late in the first half, Greer’s defense shoved the Devildogs ten yards backwards to their own three-yard line in three plays to force a punt. Jordan Howard stepped backward out of the end zone without kicking to give the Yellow Jackets a two-point safety. After taking the ensuing kickoff, Greer scored on the next play, Breeze’s 36-yard pass to Williams, to make it 30-0 at halftime.

Greer implemented the running clock by scoring three third period touchdowns despite having only three plays from scrimmage. The quarterback audition was just as brief in the fourth period when the Yellow Jacket ran only five offensive plays.

The "G" on the uniforms had never been associated with Gaza until the Yellow Jackets were carpet bombed into rubble like a Middle East village in the Daniel Lions den. Greer went down 48-21 in the region title battle under Daniel’s air raid assault as Grayson Clary completed an amazing 28 of 32 passes for 354 yards and five touchdowns.

"We didn’t play well defensively obviously," acknowledged Greer Coach Will Young. "Our defense has got to get off the field, but we rarely stopped Daniel. The only stop we got in the first half nearly turned into a touchdown. Daniel is very good at what they do offensively, which is very different from what we do."

Daniel deployed an array of receivers including five who caught touchdown passes: seniors Malaki Nix, Quint Crumbie, and Jason Bish; sophomore Elijah Lipsey and freshman Trey Wemby. Young figured, "We may have played too soft in the secondary. I think we are going to have to look at lining up and taking chances in the secondary."

The Yellow Jackets were playing without three starters including quarterback Kaden Rowland. Ty Breeze stepped up "and did a pretty good job," said Coach Young. "Ty has to get used to the pass rush, and he got happy feet sometimes. We controlled the line for the most part except for their pass rush, which was pretty good. And Nick Holmes ran the ball really well," he added. Holmes rushed for 169 yards on 24 carries, scoring twice in the process.

Daniel needed 11 plays to score on an opening drive of 71 yards. Greer responded with an 80-yard ground march featuring Holmes and Breeze who scored on a nine-yard keeper to make it 7-all.
The Lions ended the first quarter by taking a 10-7 lead when Bruce Brown kicked a 40-yard field goal. Daniel added touchdown early in the second period.

Refusing to quit, the Yellow Jackets mustered a 78-yard scoring drive to cut the lead to 24-14. Greer then forced the Lions to punt for the first time, taking over at their own 35-yard line with 1:16 left in the half. Breeze got away on a 19-yard run and then hooked for with Mikey Williams on a 40-yard play only to have the scoring threat nullified by a penalty.

Coach Young said the turning point came when Greer collected the second half kickoff and failed to score. "If we could have taken the ball and driven it like we did to start the game That would have put us back in it. Instead, Daniel was able to relax and do what they are good at, which is really frustrating. You almost had rather have someone run the ball own your throat then to nickel and dime you to death passing," he said.

The Lions put the game out of reach with three third-quarter passing touchdowns to make it a 45-14 affair.

"But our kids never quit," Young noted. The Yellow Jackets regrouped for a final drive of 80 yards that included a pass of 31 yards from Breeze to Brock Diggins and a 22-yard completion to Holmes.

Despite having Greer’s five game winning streak snapped, Young is looking ahead. "Now we have to move on to Travelers Rest which fits what we are good at defensively, but I had rather be playing a team that throws the ball a lot to get us ready for the playoffs," he concluded.

Greer, missing several key pieces, faces an uphill battle for the Region I, 4-A title at Daniel on Friday night.

Both teams enter the contest with 4-0 region records, and, despite having a make-up game yet to play, should finish as the top two to earn a home game to open the post-season playoffs on Nov. 15.

The Yellow Jackets are without quarterback Kaden Rowland, running back Calvin McCoy, and linebackers Sammy White and Brodie Diggins. "White could be back, but we won’t know for another day or two," said Greer Coach Will Young. "But we don’t expect the others back until maybe the playoffs."

He plans to promote a pair of jayvee freshmen, Ashton Martin, who saw action at linebacker at Pickens and Dawson Fowler at quarterback to back up Ty Breeze who subbed for Rowland for much of the Pickens game. Qua’von Wilson, a sophomore, will step in for Diggins at linebacker. The good news is that a pair of offensive linemen, Namir Lee and Eduardo Garcia-Duran, who missed the last two games, are expected back this week.

Daniel, a team that has advanced to the state finals several times in recent years, is 7-1 this season, losing only to non-region power J.L. Mann, 28-23. Having pinned a couple of 30-point losses on Greer the past two seasons, the Lions "are no doubt quite a challenge," Coach Young said. "This is another typical Daniel team that is well coached and does not make many mistakes."

Young said the Lions are "100 percent spread offensively with some air raid stuff thrown in. Their quarterback, Grayson Clary, is excellent, although he is just a sophomore. They have a senior running back, Spencer Conn, who also plays linebacker and has been selected for the North-South All Star game. At times they bring in Tremaine Davis who is a speed guy and Kareem Shaw, a sophomore, who played a good bit against Blue Ridge last week."

He noted Daniel’s offensive line is good, "but not as big as last year."

According to Young, the Lions operate out of a 4-2-5 defensive alignment. "They are very athletic up front and solid at linebacker. Their secondary is smart and never out of position."

After last Tuesday’s game against Pickens, the Yellow Jackets practiced heavily for Daniel on Thursday, "trying to get ahead for Monday and starting to break in some back-ups," Young said, before the team enjoyed a long weekend.

Greer beat Pickens the way a NASCAR wreck takes the checkered flag minus four fenders and the hood. On the way to winning 42-21, the Yellow Jackets lost four starters to injuries and a fifth was sidelined as the result of a controversial scuffle.

Starting quarterback Kaden Rowland went down with an ankle injury midway in the second quarter with the Yellow Jackets knocking on the door at the Pickens 19-yard line. Before the half was over, Greer had lost running back Calvin McCoy and linebacker Sammy White to apparent concussions. Wide receiver Mikey Williams was shaken up by a late hit after catching a pass early in the fourth quarter, and linebacker Brody Diggins was ejected at the end of the final Blue Flames scoring drive. Meanwhile, starting left tackle Eduardo Garcia-Duran was on the sidelines after having been ejected in a previous game.

Playing the make-up game on just three days’ rest was not a factor in creating the battle scars, according to Greer Coach Will Young. "I really don’t think the quick turnaround was an issue. Now we have ten days off, so hopefully that will give the kids time to recover," he said.

Despite improving to 4-0 atop the region and 5-3 overall, Young was less than pleased with the performance. "We lost our composure on the field and got unnecessary penalties too many times tonight. There’s no way we can beat Daniel if we continue to play like that," he warned.

The Yellow Jackets grabbed an early lead on their first possession when Rowland found Williams on a 48-yard touchdown pass, and Wills Ryan booted the extra point.

Pickens responded with a 78-yard march to pull even. Going for a first down on a fourth-and-one play, the Blue Flames handed the ball to Carter McCollum who shot through the middle of the line and out-ran the Yellow Jacket secondary to score from 49 yards away. Ethan Briley kicked his first of three extra points to make it a 7-7 draw with 1:39 left in the opening period.

Greer roared back into the lead three minutes later with a quick drive featuring a 35-yard pass from Rowland to Williams. Rowland eventually scored on a one-yard dive, but a high center snap foiled the extra point attempt.

Rowland went down on Greer’s next possession at the Blue Flames 22-yard line and the drive fizzled. Meanwhile, the Yellow Jackets defense was shutting down Pickens without another first down in the half, and the offense soon began clicking again with Ty Breeze at the helm. The senior transfer quarterback guided a four-play scoring blitz after a short Blue Flames punt. McCoy got the points on a 14-yard slant, and Greer added a two-point conversion on a pass from Breeze to Williams to make it 21-7 at halftime.

Young praised Breeze saying, "he played really well, but he has a lot of things to clean up, like some reads and being late with too many passes."

The Yellow Jackets took the second half kickoff and drove 70 yards to score in 11 plays. Breeze covered the final 16-yards on a quarterback keeper and Wills’ extra point made it 28-7.

Pickens refused to fold, and stayed alive with a clock-eating 70-yard drive. The Blue Flames scored on fourth down at the six-yard line when quarterback Brooks Dow rambled into the end zone on a broken pass attempt.

Greer answered with another touchdown march highlighted by a 21-yard pass from Breeze to Williams who was injured on a late hit out-of-bounds at the two-yard line. That amounted to a one-yard penalty, and Nick Holmes plunged into the end zone on the next play shoving the lead to 35-14.

After Kaleb Nelson sacked Dow to force a Pickens punt, Greer took advantage of a short field to cruise 40 yards to the house, scoring on a 16-yard pass from Breeze to Brock Diggins.

Pickens avoided a complete embarrassment by posting a late touchdown that was set up on a 54-yard pass from Dow to David Bolden with a penalty against Greer tacked on. Bolden scored on a two-yard carry with 1:54 remaining in the game.

The same determined effort that carried Greer to landmark win over Byrnes enabled the Yellow Jackets to knock off previously unbeaten Seneca 21-13.

Greer’s defense exemplified the determination with four clutch stands to turn back potential Bobcat touchdowns. Meanwhile, the offense delivered just enough points when Nick Holmes took the ball to the house three times during a 125-yard performance.

"I’m happy for the kids. That was a good football team we beat, but we still have a lot of work to do," Greer Coach Will Young declared afterwards. But there was progress as another key to the Yellow Jackets’ moving to 3-0 in the region and 4-3 overall, was far fewer penalties and mistakes.

Young underscored the fact that "our defense bowed their necks for the most part when Seneca got in the red zone, and that’s what wins games. Offensively we had a decent first half, but didn’t in the second half, and part of that may be because we had to shuffle the offensive line with two kids out."

The Yellow Jackets’ first defensive stand occurred early when Seneca took the opening kickoff and drove to the two-yard line. There, a high center snap on a wildcat play led to a 10-yard loss, forcing a 28yard field goal by Ethan Sullivan.

The Bobcats lead did not last long. Greer came right back with a 79-yard scoring drive launched by a clutch 17-yard pass from Kaden Rowland to Brock Diggins. Holmes scored on an 18-yard end sweep, and Wills Ryan kicked the first of his three extra points.

Forcing a Seneca punt, the Yellow Jackets mounted a 13-play march to the end zone capped by Holmes’ one-yard plunge that put Greer ahead 14-3.

Then the momentum turned. When Greer again forced Seneca to punt, Calvin McCoy fumbled the catch, and the Bobcats recovered at midfield. Seneca drove to the 13-yard line where Greer’s defense held ,and the Bobcats settled for another field goal.

"We had a little momentum and the fumble punt sucked the wind out of it. But you gotta move on from it," Coach Young said. "Our defense played well, but the defense needs to get off the field."

Max Hannon brought the second half kickoff out to the 40-yard line to launch Greer’s winning touchdown drive. Hannon soon reeled in a 30-yard catch on a clutch fourth-down pass from Rowland to set up the score. Three plays later Holmes crashed into the end zone for the touchdown that put the Yellow Jackets up 21-6.

Refusing to fold, the Bobcats responded with Amari Verner’s 43-yard kickoff return and quickly advanced to the nine-yard marker. But the Yellow Jackets held fast and took over on downs at the four.

After an exchange of punts, Seneca drove 76 yards for a touchdown. Verner broke free from 11 yards out to score, and the Bobcats added the extra point to pull within eight points with 5:34 remaining in the game.

When three straight penalties forced Greer to punt again, the Bobcats mounted a final threat. Quarterback Gavin Toma completed a fourth down pass to Cole Kanagy at the Greer 40-yard line to keep the visitors’ hopes alive. But the Yellow Jackets defense regrouped and had Seneca facing a fourth-and-ten. Toma the launched a desperation pass that sophomore Chase Free intercepted in the end zone.

"That interception was big. Free was in coverage where he was supposed to be, and that interception gave us a great stop to end the game," Young concluded.

Greer will host unbeaten Seneca in the first key showdown of the Region II, 4-A season. With both teams off to 2-0 starts in region play, the winner will take a great step toward grabbing the title and a prime playoff slot.

"Seneca is very solid, offensively and defensively," said Greer Coach Will Young. "They are the best region team we will have faced so far."

The Yellow Jackets, 3-3 overall, have played a much more rugged non-region schedule, "so that is very different," Young said. At 6-0, Seneca has reeled off wins over Walhalla, West Oak, Woodmont, Powdersville, Travelers Rest and Berea. The Bobcats walloped Berea 42-0 in a win comparable to Greer’s 63-0 trouncing of the Bulldogs.

Greer leads the rivalry with Seneca, that dates back to 1936, 20-12-1. The two teams met several times in the playoffs in the 1990s and most recently split a four-game series 2010-2013.

Young said the Bobcats run a spread offense and like to throw the ball. "They have an excellent quarterback in Gavin Thomas and a couple of good receivers in Richard Brooks and Jeremiah Hunter plus a really good running back in Payson Jones," Young noted. He added, "their offensive line is not bad either."

He said Seneca uses a 4-2 defensive array with a big defensive front and some man coverage in the secondary. "Avery Butler, 6-2, 294 pounds, is their best tackle and their other big guys are Jarvis Lewis, Dorsett McCauley and Chester Jefferson," Young said. He noted the Bobcats corners Jalen Vickery and Elias Mcgee are very athletic."

"Although Seneca has a very good kicker in Ethan Sullivan, they have done some water bucket stuff and fake kicks on extra points and field goals."

Young said the Bobcats "will be a challenge for our secondary, but we are improving there, especially Kaden Robinson who has come on lately, as well as Jayleen Vereen, Chase Free and Noel Sitton."

Veteran wide receiver Brock Diggins, who was injured in the season opener, is expected back at full speed this week. "We also might get Namir Lee back on the defensive line, but it could be another week for him."

Bright spots in the win over Blue Ridge included quarterback Kaden Rowland "who played his best game yet. Calvin McCoy ran well for us, and our offensive line played well. But our defense stayed on the field too long, and we have to be better there," Young said.

Since two games were postponed by the effects of Hurricane Hellene, the reshuffled schedule has the Yellow Jackets doing a quick turnaround to make a road trip to Pickens next Tuesday night, Oct. 22. Young plans to bring up some younger kids from the jayvees, "and we will have a helmets only practice on Saturday, pads on Sunday afternoon and a walk-through on Monday." After the Pickens game, Greer will have ten days off before hitting the road to play Daniel on Nov. 1.

Greer, seemingly suffering from a Hurricane Helene hangover, managed to make a 49-21 win over rival Blue Ridge into a disappointing Friday night showing at Dooley Field.

"The only reason we won is because we have better athletes," bluntly declared Greer Coach Will Young afterwards. He explained, "We did not play well. We were very sloppy on both sides of the ball, and we had a lot of dumb penalties that we hadn’t had this year. I don’t know if the two-week layoff had anything to do with it, but the penalties for unsportsmanlike conduct and personal fouls were very disappointing. We won’t win next week or the week after if we continue to play that way," he warned.

The Yellow Jackets were as rusty as an outhouse tin roof while being hit with 13 flags for a whopping 155 yards. Two penalties figured directly in Blue Ridge touchdowns that "kept them in the game," Young believes. Greer’s offense helped to mitigate the flags by piling up 520 total yards while the defense limited Blue Ridge to 161 yards. The much sharper Tigers drew only six flags, including four for delaying the game, for 28 yards.

Blue Ridge took the opening kickoff and launched a time-consuming drive that ended abruptly when Yellow Jackets linebacker Sammy White intercepted a pass with the Tigers nearing the Red Zone.

Greer quickly took a 7-0 lead on two big plays, a 55-yard pass from Kaden Rowland to Mikey Williams, and a 35-yard toss from Rowland to Chance Todd in the end zone. Wills Ryan kicked his first of seven straight extra points.

Blue Ridge ate up the rest of the first quarter with a 10-play march highlighted by a 30-yard pass from Gavin Forrester to Emerson Steenrod. Forrester, who befuddled Greer with quarterback runs, scored on a four-yard carry. Coach Young noted, "Blue Ridge runs the buck sweep with the quarterback. We knew it was coming, but we kept overrunning it with our back-side linebacker." Mitchell Bobbitt booted the extra point that knotted the game at 7-all.

A scoring flurry capped the first half. Nick Holmes set up Greer’s go-ahead touchdown with a 19-yard burst and then scored from one-yard away at the 4:27 mark of the second period. The Yellow Jackets quickly gained daylight with passes of 28 and 30 yards from Rowland to Todd that built the lead to 21-7. A 15-yard penalty on the touchdown set up a long-distance kickoff that Blue Ridge’s Jacorey Dodd returned 76-yard to the house to cut Greer’s lead to 14-7 with 1:55 remaining in the half.

Taking the ensuing kickoff, Greer traveled 68 yards to score in just over a minute. Rowland delivered a 43-yard strike to Max Hannon to set up a one-yard Holmes touchdown run for a 28-14 lead at intermission.

The Yellow Jackets opened the second half with a 73-yard scoring drive that included a clutch fourth down pass of 23 yards from Rowland to Brock Diggins. Calvin McCoy got the points on a one-yard smash.

Before falling to 0-2 in the region and 2-3 overall, Blue Ridge went the length of the field to score, aided by a 15-yard penalty that nullified a Greer pass interception. Forrester flipped a three-yard pass to Tyson Hicks for the touchdown that trimmed Greer’s lead to 35-21 open the fourth quarter.

The Yellow Jackets, improving to 3-3 overall and 2-0 in the region, tacked on a pair of late scores. Holmes capped a 65-yard drive with a three-yard scoring run. Then Noel Sitton picked off a Blue Ridge pass at Greer’s 48-yard line, and the Yellow Jackets scored four plays later when McCoy turned the corner on as 26-yard end sweep for a touchdown.

After a month in the meat grinder, Greer was rewarded with a refreshing visit to the Berea spa to start the Region II, 4-A phase of the season. The Yellow Jackets barely lifted a finger to bring home a 63-0 win in the no-contest that was not as close as the score indicates.

"The kids set a standard last week of what they want to be his year, and to do anything less than that would be a disservice to themselves," declared Greer Coach Will Young of the lopsided game. "We showed up and played like we are capable. If you don’t perform well, you take a step back after beating Byrnes last week, and we didn’t do that."

Yellow Jackets safety Noel Sitton set the tone for the walk in the park when he intercepted two passes in the opening five minutes. One pick led to the first and winning touchdown as Greer jumped ahead 7-0 two minutes into the game. Three minutes later, Sitton returned his second interception 40 yards to the house, and the rout was on. "Sitton has done it in practice," Coach Young said. "He works real hard and has started to come on for us."

Greer led 28-0 by the end of the first quarter as Nick Holmes scored twice and Calvin McCoy got in on the house calls. Caden Rowland opened the second quarter with a 21-yard screen pass to Max Hannon for a touchdown.

The Yellow Jackets defense heeled the Bulldogs who never crossed midfield, getting only one first down that was not the result of a penalty. The hosts completed three of 13 passes for 11 yards, but lost a net 27 yards on the ground as the result of tackles for loss by Lewis Bussey, Sammy White, Aiden Jones, and Qua’von Miller who recovered a fumble. Bussey, White, Quamaine Dodd and Kendall Powell combined to smother Berea quarterback Caden Sizemore in the end zone for a safety. "Our defense is super talented, and we hope they can continue to improve. But we don’t have much depth in the D-line, so we could not substitute a lot there tonight," Young explained.

Not all was perfect. "Penalties and extra point kicking are continuing to be sore spots," Coach Young observed. Greer was flagged a dozen times for 110 yards. Several penalties nullified big gains in the kick return game including Mikey Williams’ 75-yard punt return for a touchdown in the first quarter. The Yellow Jackets also misfired on two extra point attempts. "We’re kicking great in practice, but we have to be able to do it on Friday nights," Young said.

With Greer leading 47-0 at intermission, the running clock was invoked in the second half and sent the Bulldogs spiraling down the drain in a hurry. Even in the limited amount of playing time, "we were able to get our younger skill players some experience, and they played well," Coach Young noted. McCoy who scored on a 65-yard sprint in the third quarter and Miron’tae Harris rushed for 110 yards in the second half.

Back-up signal caller Ty Breeze delivered a 29-yard touchdown pass to Chance Todd in the first half and scored on a 29-yard quarterback keeper to start the second half. "Ty showed he can run, which we knew all along," Young said.

With two members of the offensive line out with injuries, there were no reserves to substitute. Instead, Young said "we just shuffled them around to give them some looks at different positions. Center Blake Taylor even played some at tackle, but I’m not going to grade them on that.

"After the first month we have had, this wasn’t a bad change. But we’ve got to keep getting better because we have some tough games ahead," Young concluded.

Aiming to take another step forward in the Region II 4-A race, Greer returns home Friday night to host Travelers Rest.

"Travelers Rest is a much better team than we played last week, so we have to step up and play well," declared Greer Coach Will Young. "They jumped out to a quick lead against Seneca, scoring on a couple option runs last Friday."

He said preparation will be challenging to stop the Devildogs’ rarely-seen Double Wing offense. "There’s a lot for our kids to take in and understand, especially going against the triple option they run out of that offense."

Adding to the difficulty, Young said, "is that we are not a good practice team. There is not the same level of intensity as we have on Friday nights, and our coaches keep emphasizing the big picture. They have to practice well to get better if we are going to be competitive down the road. If they don’t get that, we will be sitting at home for an early Thanksgiving."

Young said Travelers Rest, 1-3 overall, "mainly likes to run, and their quarterback Eli Cofield, does a good job with the option. They have a good, quick running back in Isaiah Gross, and a solid offensive line."

Defensively the Devildogs operate out of a 4-3 base "with a very good line, much better than we saw last week," Young said. He singled out Preston Garraux and Alex Roberson at ends, and Deron Collins at tackle. "They also have good linebackers in Aiden Garrett and Oliver Rowland," Young added.

The Yellow Jackets continue to be without two injured starters, receiver Brock Diggins and offensive lineman Namir Lee who will be sidelined for several more weeks. "The good news," Young said, "is we got Tyler Jones back in time to play at Berra, so the offensive line is nearly back to normal."

After a couple more missed extra points last week, Young hopes to get the kicking game closer to normal. "I have some ideas we will work on in practice this week. We need to get back to having automatic extra points and being able to kick a field goal inside the 20-yard line. Those will be big for us down the road when a game may be decided by a point or two," he concluded.

After a win over Byrnes, Greer is riding wave of momentum into the Region I 4-A opener at Berea on Friday night. But, with the goal of advancing into the post-season playoffs, this will be the biggest game yet for the 1-3 Yellow Jackets. "We need to win every game from here on out. Our kids who have been around know what’s coming in November," declares Greer Coach Will Young.

Berea is 2-1, having defeated Southside and Carolina while losing to Landrum. The Bulldogs run a balanced spread offense "with a really good quarterback in Amazay Robinson, a senior," Young said. Berea’s ‘go-to’ guy is junior wide receiver Caden Sizemore. In addition to returning kicks, "they bring Sizemore into the backfield to run a version of the triple option and the jet sweep," Young said. He added, "Berea also has a great kicker in Elvis Hernandez.

"They operate out of a 3-3 stack defense with some pretty decent kids on that side of the ball."

He said the film of the Byrnes game revealed "we did some good things, but we have got plenty of work to do. We are not nearly the team that we should be."

Young referenced special teams, describing the kicking game as an "eyesore." He explained, "at different times, there were problems with the snapper, holder and kicker. There were problems with failing to return a couple of kickoffs and giving up a punt return for a touchdown when we lost contain and our kids were not running fast enough."

Young acknowledged, "it is easier to fix things after a win, although we should have won that game 31-0. We got down in the red zone three times and did not come away with a point. Those mistakes have to be eliminated if we are going to be really good."

"Our defensive line played well against Byrnes, but that has to be an everyday deal. That is not asking too much because they have the talent. They just need to do it.

"Offensively Kaden Rowland had his best game at quarterback, and we are finding out he can run. Chance Todd is developing into a really good player, but he has to continue improving. We are hit and miss in some spots, and other teams see that because you can’t hide it. We just have to get better in those spots."

Coach Young expressed disappointment for the lack of support from Jacket Backers who failed to show up. "I realize people are disappointed in the way we started, but you can’t give up so quick this day and time. Everybody wants it done right away and it just doesn’t work that way. People should understand we played some really great teams early. That’s because the 5-A teams right around us, Eastside and Riverside, refused to play us, so we had to go elsewhere. While we were having a freaking tough four weeks of beating our heads beat in, folks have to ask, ‘Are they getting better?’ And I would say ‘yes.’ There is an easy thread to see the kids have been improving and deserve to have eyes on them."

"Our kids could have just shut it down, but they came back to work. We are still not a great practice team, but hopefully they will learn. Wednesday was one of our best days, with the kids swarming, like they played the fourth quarter against Byrnes. It is especially important that our defensive line and linebackers challenge our offense on a daily basis from here on out," he concluded.

Jacket Backers stayed home in droves Thursday night and missed witnessing a generational football triumph when Greer downed Byrnes 18-10. Not only was it Greer’s first win of the season, it also was the first time the Yellow Jackets have defeated the Rebels since 2000.

"At some point our kids have got to win a game nobody thinks they can win. Last year it was Indian Land in the playoffs, and this year Byrnes. Doing it early is a plus," said Greer Coach Will Young. He added, "Nobody came out to watch the game which is pretty disappointing. Probably nobody will think we can beat Daniel down the road either, but we will be working on that. We are going to be a good football team. I don’t know if we are one yet, but we are going to get there," he vowed.

While getting stung for the third time by a swarm of Yellow Jackets, the Rebels defense did shine by stopping three Greer scoring threats inside the ‘Red Zone.’

Greer’s defense was equally successful. Coach Young observed, "Our guys were flying around making things happen. Our defensive front has a ton of ability, and it has taken a lot for coach (Marko) Jones to get it out of them, but they are showing it a little. Our secondary is improving too, with a couple of new kids in there."

The Yellow Jackets held Byrnes to 24 yards net rushing and 122 yards passing. Linemen Lewis Bussey and Paden Armstrong combined for three quarterback sacks. Bussey recovered a fumble, and Noel Sitton had a pass interception. Linebacker Sammy White had seven individual tackles while Brody Diggins, Jayleen Vereen and Andrew Hansen had six tackles apiece.

Young praised Greer’s offensive line, relating, "We had a ‘Come to Jesus’ meeting this week, and I told them we weren’t playing like Greer teams normally play football. Tonight, the kids played a lot tougher, even though we were down to our fifth guy because of injuries." The offensive line enabled Greer to post 18 first downs on 354 total yards. Nick Holmes led the way with 149 yards on 21 carries.

The eight-point victory margin could have been much wider but for Greer’s mistake-plagued kicking game. The Yellow Jackets missed a field goal and two extra point attempts, gave up a punt return for a touchdown, and fielded two kickoffs for zero yards inside their own 15-yard line.

Greer capitalized on a big break to stun the Rebels early in the game. Sitton picked off a pass on Byrnes’ first possession at the Yellow Jackets’ 20-yard line, and four plays later quarterback Kaden Rowland launched a 72-yard touchdown pass to Mikey Williams. A poor center snap foiled the extra point try with Greer leading 6-0.

Byrnes stopped Greer on downs at the 30-yard line on the Yellow Jackets’ next possession. Then Bussey recovered a Rebels fumble, and Greer advanced to the eight where a fourth down field goal attempt went wide of the uprights.

The Rebels grabbed the lead in the second quarter when Ta Lik Dawkins returned a punt 85 yards to the house and Jon Cummings booted the extra point.

Late in the half, Greer advanced to the Rebels’ 13-yard line where Byrnes defender Jonathan Montgomery intercepted a Rowland pass and returned the pick to the Yellow Jackets’ 39-yard line. Byrnes then marched to the one for a first down with time running out in the half. Greer’s defense rose up and dropped Dawkins for a five-yard loss, and a field goal try failed as the half ended.

Taking the second half kickoff, Greer drove to the end zone in nine plays with Holmes scoring on a six-yard carry. A two-point conversion pass failed, but the Yellow Jackets had forged ahead 12-7.

The Rebels came back with a clock eating drive that traveled to the five for a first down. The Yellow Jackets held when Armstrong sacked Caine Rogers for a nine-yard loss, and Byrnes turned to Cummings who kicked a 29-yard field goal that made it 12-10.

Greer put the game away late in the fourth quarter when a Byrnes fake punt failed at the Rebels’ 42-yard line. Rowland led the charge, reeling off a clutch 21-yard gain on fourth down, and later scoring on a three-yard quarterback keeper. The extra point kick failed, but the Yellow Jackets held an eight-point lead with 1:52 remaining. Greer’s defense sent Byrnes reeling backwards on their final possession that began at midfield and lost 29 yards with the aid of a 15-yard penalty.

One losing streak is coming to an end Friday night when Greer hosts old rival Byrnes at
Dooley Field.

Neither team has put a "W" on the board this season. The Rebels have lost to a pair of
Yellow Jackets hives, T.L. Hanna and Irmo, and Greer could make it three stings in a row.

But Greer is 0-3, having lost to teams that Coach Will Young says "are comparable to
Byrnes. They all have great defensive lines and throw the ball well." That is bad news for
Greer’s shell-shocked secondary.

Rebels junior quarterback Caine Rogers, completed 24 of 38 passes for 276 yards and four touchdowns at Irmo.

The old news is that Byrnes has won 16 straight games against Greer. The Yellow Jackets
were last victorious was in the year 2000, before Byrnes’s enrollment ballooned to triple the size
of Greer’s student body. The only time the Yellow Jackets have come close was a 23-14 battle in
2022.

Coach Young noted, "We had a chance to beat Hillcrest last week, and I would say
Byrnes is more like Hillcrest than B-HP and Boiling Springs with a really big line and the things
they do offensively. Their quarterback throws like the kid from Boiling Springs and they have a
really good, quick running back in Ta Dawkins who also catches passes out of the backfield.
Defensively they run a 3-4 base, but they did some weird stuff against Irmo. Their best defensive
lineman is Jaidyn Ferguson, a senior, who had two sacks against Hanna one against Irmo."

The goal for the Yellow Jackets "is to prepare better and continue to improve. I thought
our quarterback, Kaden Rowland, took a big step forward when he led the team the length of the
field for our last touchdown against Hillcrest, and I hope that continues."
 

Young said injuries will keep three Yellow Jackets out of action including leading
receiver Brock Diggins, kicker Wills Ryan and offensive lineman Tyler Jones.

Despite coming out the short end, Greer left Jacket Backers with more hope than gloom
and doom in the 28-21 loss to Hillcrest.

The Yellow Jackets finally lived up to their expected potential to be a factor in 4-A
competition down the road. The signs included breaking the first big play touchdowns of the
season; staging a goal line stand; and mustering a 99-yard touchdown drive that had the Rams
taking a knee to run out the clock.

Not that all was rosy. When unbeaten Hillcrest launched a withering air attack, the
Yellow Jacket secondary appeared to be driving through a hail storm with the top down. By
intermission, Hillcrest had completed 15 passes for 269 yards.

Greer Coach Will Young found plenty of positives. "Hillcrest scored 55 points last week,
and they didn’t do that tonight. We played more physical up front. Kaden (Rowland) played
better and was really getting the ball out on time in our last drive. Nick Holmes also played well,
other than the fumble late in the game. His long touchdown run was amazing.
But it is really tough when you don’t come out with a win. It has been a frustrating three
weeks for us," he added.

The game opened like a re-run of the first two losses when Hillcrest took the opening
kickoff and mounted a 14-play scoring drive. Facing third and 13 at their own 29-yard line, the
Rams got going with a 29-yard pass from Kaleb Sutton to Weston Willis and eventually scored
on Brayden Johnson’s two-yard dive.

After forcing a punt on the Rams’ next possession, Greer was backed up at the 10-yard
line. Holmes burst through the left side of the line and raced 90 yards to the house. Parker Burns
kicked the extra point to pull the Yellow Jackets even at 7-7.

Hillcrest came right back with another air raid when Sutton found Ny’jai Harris on a 42-
yard pass. He later hooked up with Willis who scored from 19 yards out when the Yellow
Jackets muffed several opportunities to bring him down.

But Greer quickly retaliated when Mikey Williams returned the ensuing kickoff across
midfield, and Rowland launched a 47-yard touchdown bomb to Chance Todd to make it 14-all
early in the second quarter. The downside was the quick scores put Greer’s defense was on the
field 12 minutes longer than Hillcrest. The Rams took advantage to pull back ahead 21-14 when
Sutton delivered another short pass to Willis who scampered 76 yards through the Greer
secondary to score.

The long-suffering Yellow Jacket defense managed to stop another threat when the first
half ended with the Rams on the Greer five-yard line.

Greer took the second half kickoff and advanced to the Hillcrest nine where, on fourth-
and-four, Burns attempted a 26-yard field goal that was wide of the uprights.

Hillcrest gained some breathing room late in the third quarter when Sutton, facing a
fourth and seven, rambled 27 yards to score on a keeper that upped the lead to 28-14.
Greer responded with Todd’s 25-yard kickoff return, followed by a quick first down.
Holmes then broke a 15-yard run only to lose the ball on a fumble at the Hillcrest 31-yard line.
From there, the Rams ate the clock with a march the opposite end of the field, arriving at
the four-yard line with a first down. There, the Yellow Jackets mounted an amazing goal line
stand, taking over at the one four plays later.

Rowland quickly led Greer the length of the field, opening the drive with a 23-yard strike
to Max Hannon and completing six more passes along the way. Holmes scored on a one-yard
carry with just :47 second left in the game.

"We were still in it, and had a time out in our pocket in case we recovered the on-side
kick," Young said. But the Rams came up with the kickoff, and Sutton ran out the clock by taking a knee on the next two plays.

NEXT UP: Byrnes vs Greer, 9/13/24 at Dooley Field

Greer’s battle to avoid becoming the pumpkin role in the Pumpkin Spice Season continues Friday when 5-A power Hillcrest invades Dooley Field.

The undefeated Rams follow Boiling Springs and B-HP teams that romped past the Yellow Jackets in the opening games. Hillcrest, having thrashed Laurens and Clover, "is another very good team like the first four on our schedule," warns Greer Coach Will Young. He said Greer’s 0-2 start "is very frustrating for everyone. But we have been here before, and I believe we will come out good on the back end if we keep working and improving."

Injuries have not helped the Yellow Jackets with leading receiver Brock Diggins sidelined for another seven weeks, taking the glitter off the passing game. The good news, Young said, is that wide receivers Chance Todd and Tucker Hudson will be back in uniform Friday night. "Sometimes you don’t realize the talent is there until you are without. To have three receivers, all who play the same position, down like we did against B-HP, is a hairy situation and quite a challenge," Young noted. "Then during the game we had some guy get dinged up and several kids were cramping. We have played in hotter weather, so avoiding cramping is a matter of the kids staying hydrated on their own at home before games."

Hillcrest, like Boiling Springs and B-HP, is led by another good quarterback, Kaleb Sutton, who threw for 164 yards in the 55-20 win over Clover last week. "They have a really good receiver in Weston Willis who had five catches for 139 yards and two touchdowns in their win over Laurens," Young noted.He said the Rams’ offense "is a lot like ours. They run the zone and throw a little bit, so we will have to be prepared for everything."

Hillcrest operates out of a 3-4 defense, "and they have some kids who can really run, especially their inside linebacker, Caleb Costantino. He is their leading tackler and a go-to guy."

As for the Yellow Jackets, Young commented, "overall we didn’t play that badly last week, except for a few busted plays. Our run defense was okay. It is a matter of continuing to work and fine tune what we do."

Greer’s 37-7 loss to Belton-Honea Path was far from ordinary since it enabled the Hive to
sell the game film for a TV reality freak show. That was on top of an extra helping of bad luck
that began when Greer scheduled a B-HP team with Marquise Henderson, arguably the fastest
Bear to ever wear the uniform.

To make matters worse, the Yellow Jackets were without two starting receivers, Brock
Diggins and Chance Todd. "We knew it was going to be a challenge with a different crew of
receivers, as far as lining up and knowing what to do," said Greer Coach Will Young. "Still, I
was disappointed we couldn’t sustain drives. We got down there and couldn’t do anything with
the opportunities.

"We were anemic offensively," Young explained, "The kids played hard, but we just don’t have
enough guys making plays. We have got to figure out how to handle that, because this is
different than what we are used to around here. We’ve got a lot of work to do."

Greer’s defense stuffed the Bears twice early on. Then Yellow Jackets sophomore Calvin
McCoy was clobbered when catching a punt, and the visitors’ Tajeh Watson-Martin rambled 40
yards to the house with the ensuing fumble. This was the third in a string of three punts. The
Bears were penalized back to 12-yard line on the first kick, and Greer lost a huge amount of
ground on offsetting penalties when Mikey Williams returned the second kick 35 yards. The
third punt was no charm for Greer either, although Trevion Harrison Johnson blocked the Bears’
extra point attempt.

Greer’s prospects went from bad to worse when Henderson took a pitch and raced past
the Greer secondary for a 60-yard touchdown on the next B-HP play from scrimmage.

The Yellow Jackets then mounted their only first half threat with a 65-yard drive that
fizzled at the Bears 26-yard line when a fourth-and-one pass went astray.

B-HP quickly went to the opposite end of the stadium, scoring on another freak play.
Henderson, trapped in his own backfield, managed to flip the ball to quarterback Noah Thomas
who rambled 45 yards to the end zone to make it 20-0 at intermission.

The unbeaten Bears resumed scoring early in the second half when Henderson, again
trapped behind the line, reversed field and zoomed past the Greer defense on a 55-yard
touchdown run.

When the Yellow Jackets later stopped the Bears on their own 29-yard line, Christian
Bridwell came on and kicked a 29-yard field goal.

After putting up nothing but goose eggs for seven periods into the season, Greer gave
Jacket Backers something to cheer about when running back Nick Holmes galloped 22 yards for
a touchdown on an off-tackle play. Sophomore Parker Burns kicked his first career extra point
that closed the gap to 30-7 with 9:43 left in the game.

Having been poked, the Bears responded angrily less than two minutes later when
Thomas uncorked a 30-yard pass to Watson-Martin who was alone in the Greer end zone.

The Yellow Jackets mounted a final threat when Kaden Rowland hooked up with
Williams on a 45-yard pass, and McCoy scooted to the 20-yard line only to fumble two plays
later.

by Leland Burch

Coach Will Young has downloaded the ‘Find My Stinger’ app in an effort to revive the crushed Yellow Jackets. Greer had no sting in the 43-0 season-opening loss at Boiling Springs. 

Young explained, "Our kids were in the right places most of the time, but were just not aggressive. The offensive line had no nastiness, and you need some of that. But going out and playing aggressively is up to the kids."

The non-region mountain climb will not be quite as steep this Friday night when Greer opens its home season against Class 3-A power Belton-Honea Path at Dooley Field.  "There are times you lose to an opponent that is just better than you, and last week was one of those times," he said. 
Although not in the same category as Boiling Springs, the visiting Bears "are a very good football team," Young warns.

The Bears romped to a 45-14 win over Broome last week with running back Marquis Henderson leading the way. The Clemson commit returned a kick and caught a pass for a pair touchdowns. "He’s the real deal," Young said. "Clemson doesn’t give scholarships to just anyone."

Young said B-HP "mostly runs the ball, which they do really well, although after seeing our pass defense last week, they might start throwing it more." He said the Bears employ a power offense with a big line up front, tight ends and an H back. "They like to run the power and the buck sweep."

"Defensively Belton-Honea Path is very solid with some big bodies – 290 pound kids - up front along with good linebackers and decent corners."

Greer will be working on everything in practice including a few tweaks to the offense after the Yellow Jackets posted only 93 net yards last week. But no major changes are planned. "Grade-wise we weren’t that bad last Friday. There were very few busts and missed assignments, and we gave up three sacks and a safety," Young recalled. "Hopefully everything slows down for the kids this week. We have to improve in every area, and I believe we will."

B-HP is one of the few teams that has an edge in games played with Greer, leading the series at 6-5. The Yellow Jackets defeated the Bears in 2021, but lost playoff games to B-HP in 2004, 2010 and 2014.

Boiling Springs defeats Greer
By Leland Burch

The Yellow Jackets are looking up - from flat on their backs - after falling into a black hole, a 43-0 season opening loss at Boiling Springs.
"We didn’t do a lot well," understated Greer Coach Will Young. "We have lot of work to do, and not much time to get it done." He added, the next step is "to figure out what we are really good at, and that’s hard to find."
Young also noted, "we knew going in that Boiling Springs was really good – this is
probably their year."

The Yellow Jackets confirmed Young’s worst fears by having no answer for Bulldog quarterback Lincoln Huskey. The four-year starter completed 13 of 17 passes for 273 yards and
four touchdowns. "We had kids in our secondary getting lost in coverage, and not having their eyes where they are supposed to be," said Young of his ‘Iron Dome’ which deflated into a nylon hairnet.

A bright spot for Greer was defending against the run as the Yellow Jackets limited Boiling Springs to a net 50 yards on the ground. Boiling Springs’ defensive front pounded the Yellow Jackets line into mush, sacking
quarterback Kaden Rowland six times including a safety. Greer had just 93 yards of net offense and made only one trip across midfield. That was late in the first period when the Bulldogs stopped
Greer on third-and-three at the17-yard line by dropping Nick Holmes for a loss and then sacking Rowland on the next play.

The turning point actually came shortly after the kickoff when Greer nearly stopped the Bulldogs offensive machine. Huskey had completed a pair of passes but the hosts were facing
fourth-and-seven at the Greer 38-yard line. Huskey managed to avoid a sack and scrambled for eight yards and a first down to keep the drive alive. The Bulldogs opened playbook when wide receiver Eli Mobley took a pitchout and then turned and threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Huskey who had sneaked into the Greer secondary.

The Bulldogs quickly forced a Greer punt and put together a 47-yard drive of just three plays, scoring on a 13-yard pass from Huskey to Kyle Patterson to gain a 13-0 lead.
The Yellow Jackets then rallied with their only drive, which included a 24-yard touchdown pass from Rowland to Mikey Williams that was nullified by a penalty. The Bulldogs built a comfortable lead in the second quarter when Huskey scored on a one-yard run after completing a 31-yard pass to Grayson Crowe. The tab went to 22-0 when John Michael Simmons and Jase Seesholtz combined to sack Rowland in the end zone for a safety. With just :49 seconds left in the half, Huskey found Patterson with a 21-yard touchdown pass that made it 29-0 at intermission.

The Bulldogs’ air raid unloaded touchdown bombs of 53 and 49 yards in the third period. Trailing by 43 points put the Yellow Jackets so far behind the running clock was invoked to
mercifully wrap up Greer’s worst season opening loss since 1937. During the rapidly fleeting fourth quarter, Boiling Springs’ defense intercepted a pair of Greer passes. That left Rowland with an 8-16-2 throwing total for 79 yards.

Greer’s ground game had a net of only 14 yards, although Coach Young found some hope in "our zone runs which were pretty good for the most part. We didn’t run any counters well, though. And there were times when we should have thrown the ball sooner, but Boiling Springs has a very good secondary," he concluded.

Like starting swimming lessons by jumping into the deep end of the pool, Greer will plunge into the 2024 season on the road at 5-A power Boiling Springs.

"They are extremely formidable, one of the best teams in their region," declares Yellow Jackets head coach Will Young. He said the Bulldogs will have "the best defensive front we have seen, by far. Unlike a typical high school defensive line, they play hard all the time and don’t take plays off. This will be a huge test of manhood for our offensive line."

Boiling Springs is no slouch offensively either, returning quarterback Lincoln Huskey who threw for 182 yards against the Yellow Jackets last year. "He is going to sling it Friday night, and if we make a mistake, Huskey will make us pay," Young warns. The Bulldogs also return top running back Javen Chhim who rambled for 157 yards in the 31-14 win over Greer. 

"Some think it would be better to start off with an easier game so we could throw the back-ups in there and let them get some reps. But no one else would play us," Young said of the season opener. "Besides, games like this will help us get better for the region part of the schedule."

As for the Yellow Jackets, Young said "I think we have a good nucleus in place, although we have not had nearly the number of practices as in previous years because school has started so early. We have only had 17 days on the practice field together, compared with 28 days in the past."

Even with fewer days, Coach Young said pre-season drills have gone well. "Our scrimmage at Gaffney went well from a physical standpoint, although neither team was ready for a game at that point. Then we started fast against Powdersville, slacked off in the middle and finished well. At Chapman last Friday, we started slow with some dropped passes, but we came from behind to score twice to win, which was nice."
Young observed that quarterback Kaden Rowland "has gotten better entering his senior year, but he still has things to do. Most of our offensive line are veterans, and they will be okay. Our defensive front has some big guys who can run, but they have to improve at pass rushing."

The kicking game is a mixed bag with wide receiver Brock Diggins taking over the punting duties, while sophomore Parker Burns is subbing for veteran pace kicker Wills Ryan is sidelined for several weeks. Otherwise, there are no major injuries entering the opening game.

Leland will have a post game article and interview with Coach Young every Saturday!