Gaffney stifles Mallard Creek in NC/SC high school football border battle
Gaffney High’s redemption tour made a successful second stop.
Andrew Ruppe’s 82-yard interception return for a score in the fourth quarter shut the door on Mallard Creek in a 24-7 Indians win on the Mavericks’ home turf. Ruppe’s pick-six came during a critical stretch. Mallard Creek had cut Gaffney’s (3-1) advantage to 17-7 and was challenging early in the fourth quarter after Travis Fox blocked a punt and returned the ball to the Indians’ 25.
“Whenever you can beat a team that came into our house last year and whooped us it’s big seeing that we’ve got the team that can do it this year,” said Ruppe, a linebacker. “First game of the year last year we got killed by South Pointe and this year we beat them. It lets our players see that we have a chance that we are that team that can go all the way this year.”
Ruppe certainly did his part for a Gaffney defense that had most of the answers to Mallard Creek (1-2) by stopping the Mavericks on four fourth-down opportunities, including a first-half drive inside their 10. The Indians limited Mallard Creek to 190 yards total offense.
“If your team’s got momentum moving the ball or stopping (the opposition) with three-and-out, it’s a big part of the game,” said Ruppe, a linebacker. “Momentum, it’s 90% of it. We’re up 17-0 and they score, that changed the whole entire game around, so getting the momentum back was big.”
Mallard Creek (2-2) recovered from a scoreless first half on its first possession of the third quarter, capped by Evan Rembert’s 38-yard strike to Benjamin Black to pull the Mavericks within 10 points. Fox’s punt block on the next possession put them in position to draw closer, but Ruppe’s interception – the first of two Gaffney picks – slammed the door.
“We know as a defense we’ve got to lock down, we’ve got to shut everything down because they can go to their deep threat guys, they can run the ball because they’ve got a good o-line that going seal everybody off,” Ruppe said. “As a defense, we’ve got to put as much pressure as we can on the quarterback, get in our gaps and get the guy off the ball.”
Three who made a difference
Andrew Ruppe (Gaffney): Linebacker made the play of the game with his pick-six turned a suddenly competitive ear on its ear.
Jaiden McDowell (Gaffney): The running back kept the chains moving, especially in the second half. He finished with 124 yards in 17 carries.
Benjamin Black (Mallard Creek): The receiver blew past Gaffney’s secondary to snare a 38-yard scoring pass from Evan Rambert to pull the Mavericks within 10 points in the third quarter.
Worth mentioning
▪ Gaffney didn’t turn the ball over while the defense came up with a pair of interceptions.
▪ Gaffney quarterback Riley Stanton completed 15-of-21 passes for 131 yards and a score.
▪ Gaffney’s 194 yards rushing outgained Mallard Creek’s offense overall.
What’s Next?
Gaffney hosts Northwestern.
Mallard Creek hosts West Charlotte Thursday for the Queen City 3A/4A opener.
Scoring Summary
Gaffney: 7 10 0 7 – 24
Mallard Creek: 0 0 7 0 – 7
G — Jamarcus Smith 41-yard pass from Riley Staton (Jake Spadavecchia kick)
G — Spadavecchia 33-yard field goal (Spadavecchia kick)
G — Zion McBeth 51-yard run (Spadavecchia kick)
MC — Benjamin Black 38-yard pass Evan Rambert (Samer Alhussan kic)
G — Andrew Ruppe 82-yard interception return (Spadavecchia kick)
