By John Epps
Leonard Price Field
Gilbert, SC
September 22nd, 2023
Lower temperatures and high intensity were the storylines at Leonard Price Field Friday night, where Gilbert surged for a 49-27 victory over Saluda. A scoreless first quarter opened the way for a testy 26 minutes of football and 76 points - that saw the Gilbert Indian offense open up this game for a packed hometown crowd.
Neither offense was able to get traction until the Tigers got on the board early in the 2nd quarter when Drew Arant dropped a beautiful pass right over the Saluda defender and into the hands of Vic Gaines for a 15-yard touchdown, capping off a 4:11 – 62-yard drive. Saluda would provide offensive flair on their second TD, with a halfback toss, pitched to a crossing Arant in the backfield. Arant would set his feet and unload a deep ball to JT Lott for a 34-yard score. Lott redeemed himself from a dropped TD in the 1st quarter by staying focused on the tipped pass and pulling into his chest after a few bobbles as he lumbered into the endzone. The Indians would quickly respond with success through the air as well. Gilbert quarterback, Drake Braddock, took control with pinpoint passing and finished the 1:02 scoring drive with a 27-yard strike to Ethan Haus. The Indian defense then forced a 3 & out from Saluda to get their offense back on the field with good field position at their own 45. Gilbert was cruised down the field, with Braddock finding his other tight end, Connor Gooding for an 11-yard touchdown. The extra point would give Gilbert their first lead at 14-13. At this time it seemed that Gilbert had finally come alive and could ride this momentum into the locker room before taking control of their smaller 2A opponent in the 2nd half. Arant and the Saluda offense had other plans though; the Tigers would respond with a 60-yard scoring connection between Arant and a wide-open, sure-handed, Hunter Renfrow-esque Josh Uhlar. Gilbert appeared to signal for a fair catch on the ensuing kickoff, but muffed the ball, which was recovered by Saluda in Gilbert territory. The officials would huddle on the call, which resulted in no penalties or fumble, but a re-kick that was secured by the Indians this time. While Saluda took the lead into the locker room, the controversy of the fumbled kickoff would spill over into the 2nd half.
The 3rd quarter would begin with a dash of salt into Saluda’s wound, when Gilbert pooches the kick that would be fumbled by Saluda and recovered by the Indians at the Saluda 40-yard line. The first play from scrimmage would be a perfectly executed wheel route by Gilbert running back, Jaylen Jay, as he caught Braddock’s pass to cruise 40 yards down the Gilbert sideline untouched to reclaim the lead for the Indians. Once again it seemed like this would be a turning point where 3A Gilbert would pull away from the less deep 2A Tigers. Once again, I was incorrect. Saluda’s Brayden Williams would field the kick at the 11 yard line like a 1st baseman waiting for a bunt to roll foul. Once the ball was fielded, it was off to the races, as Willams would streak past the Gilbert defenders for 89 yards and reclaim the lead. The Indians would put together a solid drive to answer with a Krew Morris 7-yard run, and give us the 5th lead change of the evening. The Gilbert specials teams would strike again, as they pooched another kick to the same location as before, with the same fumble recovery result. Sticking to the script, Gilbert would draw up the same wheel route for a big 20-yard gain. Shortly after, Jay would punch it in from 3 yards out to give Gilbert a 35-27 lead. Saluda would threaten, but the drive would end with a Gilbert interception by Eli Mayers at their own 2 yard line. Gilbert would punish Saluda for not covering Jay on the wheel route out of the backfield once more, this time for a 52-yard TD. The Tigers would not go away though, but Gilbert would break up a 4th down pass in the red zone to keep Saluda off the scoreboard.
The beginning of the end would come when some chirping by Saluda players near the Gilbert sideline resulted in something I had never seen before: 3 personal fouls charged to one team, as the refs would march the ball 45 yards into Saluda territory. This would be too much for Saluda to overcome, or forget. Gilbert would add one more final touchdown on the first play of the 4th quarter, but the game would be called on Saluda’s next drive. With 10:07 remaining in the game, the officials would again flag Saluda players during an injury stoppage for comments, this time to the officials themselves. The flag would draw some of the Saluda coaching staff on the field and result in the officials putting this game to rest. We of course cannot comment on what was said on the field, but you could certainly sympathize with the frustration that came from the Saluda sideline.
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