The Spartanburg Vikings offense was unstoppable. Quarterback William Yex threw for 282 yards, Ladarius Jones rushed for another 179 yards, and Spartanburg defeated Gaffney 45-35 on Senior Night at the Reservation. The Gaffney loss means the Indians will begin the playoffs on the road at Northwestern, a place the Tribe hasn’t won since 1991.

The Vikings opened the contest with 14 unanswered points, taking just two minutes and thirty seconds off the clock. Gaffney’s offense finally kicked into gear in the second quarter, scoring 21 points as Cameron Rice found the end zone twice and Richard Sealey accounted for the other touchdown to tie the game at 28 at halftime.

Spartanburg’s Will Lawson connected on a 22-yard field goal attempt to hand the Vikings the 31-28 lead early in the third quarter. The Indians responded, mounting an 8-play, 56-yard scoring drive finished by Cameron Rice as he found the end zone for the third time handing Gaffney its first lead of the night. The final 12 minutes of play was much like the first as the Vikings scored 14 consecutive points with Ladarius Jones’ 20-yard touchdown carry capping off the scoring.

“I think they got a couple breaks tonight that we didn’t get and they done a few things offensively that we couldn’t find a way to stop,” said Gaffney head coach Dan Jones. “We said all along that anyone was as good as anyone else in this Region 3-5A and this season has certainly proved that.”

Gaffney wrapped up the regular season at the 6-4 mark on the season and 1-3 in Region 3-5A play. Spartanburg improved to 7-3 on the season and 3-1 in region play which placed them second in the final region standings.