Julie McCombs
Greer's Emanuel Kelly is on his way to scoring on a 65-yard touchdown after a pass reception from Mario Cusano.
Julie McCombs
Quez Nesbitt was a workhorse in Greer's offense against Riverside. His 24-yard touchdown run was part of his production that included over 200 yards rushing.
Julie McCombs
Tyler Wright wraps up the Riverside ballcarrier. Greer's defense held Riverside to 56 total yards.
Julie McCombs
Dorian Lindsey (12) helps bring down a Riverside runner. Lindsey also caught a touchdown pass on offense.
Emanuel Kelly scored on a 65-yard pass play and Hakeem Hoke recovered a fumble in the end zone as the Yellow Jackets dominated the game in the second half to even its record to 1-1. Riverside is 0-2.
The game featured Greer Head Coach Will Young and Riverside Head Coach Phil Smith being reunited from their coaching days at Greer. Smith also played for the Yellow Jackets.
A talented group of sophomores made an impact with quarterback Mario Cusano, completing 12 of 21 pass attempts for 205 yards, 3 touchdowns and running for one TD. Dorian Lindsey caught three passes for 70 yards and a touchdown. His caught Cusano's pass with one hand.
Here’s what coaches and players said about the game.
Greer Head Coach Will Young
“We’re still hurting ourselves up front but we’re still growing.”
“The defense played well. I thought (Hakeem) Hoke’s touchdown was pretty good.”
Phil Smith Riverside Head Coach (former Greer player and assistant coach)
“We had guys we put in the secondary in the second half. We had some discipline problems and some players didn’t start. When they did get in the game they didn’t seem to have their mind in it.”
“We had several busts in the coverage and that was disappointing. They are not doing things we taught them to do. I mean, we’ve been working on the same things since March.”
“I’m super proud of our kids and the way they played in the first half. It was hard to compete in the second half.”
“I walked through the new field house and thought that wasn’t here when I was a coach. I saw (Travis) Perry and told him, ‘It feels different walking on this side of the field. It was good being back here and I appreciate all the support the people gave me.”
Mazzie Drummond, Greer Offensive Coordinator
“We have so many skill players that have so much talent and we just let the kids make the play.”
“Our young kids are awesome and talented and they are pretty good kids, too.”
“Having Malek (Johnson) back in uniform and out here was good. He will be back in the lineup next week.”
“We want to be balanced because we don’t want teams to stack against one player. We’re trying to be balanced and creative. By being creative I mean get the ball to different people in different ways.”
“Quez (Nesbitt) is so talented in so many ways. He’s so much greater than anyone else. We preach to him that he doesn’t have to break every play for a touchdown.”
“The offensive line was much better tonight”
Jalen Stokes, a senior, started his first varsity game after having an outstanding performance against Seneca last week.
“I worked hard in practice and finally got my chance. I didn’t start in the 7-on-7s but kept doing what the coaches told me to do.”
“It was great getting to start my first game.”
Hakeem Hoke recovered a fumble in the end zone for his first high school touchdown. It gave Greer a 28-3 lead.
“It was amazing. I was happy getting the sack and saw the ball come out. I rushed to cover it and didn’t really think about it being a touchdown. When they called it a touchdown I held up my hand and said ‘yeah!’”
“We have worked hard in practice. When you lose (last week versus Seneca) you want to come back and win the next game.”
Mario Cusano threw 3 touchdown passes and scored the final TD on a 10-yard run with 6:41 left in the game.
“We like to give everybody a chance in our offense.”
He connected with former quarterback Dorian Lindsey on a 52-yard TD pass in the third quarter. “Dorian and I are close and we know what each other is doing.”
“I like the pressure (of being a sophomore) and do better with the pressure.”
“My touchdown (10-yard run) was a designed play and it opened up in the middle.”
“The offensive line got it together. We played harder this week. Quez (Nesbitt) gives it all every game.”
“I love playing in front of a lot of people. This is the most I have ever played in front of.”
Emanuel Kelly scored on a 65-yard reception and run in the third quarter for a 21-3 Greer lead.
“I had to score tonight. It was real close on the run. I was close to the sidelines and near the end zone I was tugged on by the defender at the end of the run.”
“We came out after halftime and didn’t want it to be as ugly (as the first half, 14-3 lead).”
“I love the sophomores. I tell them to step up and play hard.”
“I’m having a great time.”