Julie McCombs
Mario Cusano is trapped in the Greer backfield,
Julie McCombs
Wide receiver Dorian Lindsey gets a reassuring tap on the helmet from Greer Head Coach Will Young.
Julie McCombs
Daniel defenders have a firm grip on this Yellow Jackets ballcarrier.
Julie McCombs
Greer defenders fend off blockers.
The water tower overlooking Dooley Field bathed in gold with the state championship years in black lettering won’t have to be repainted for the 10th straight year.
Daniel ended Greer’s football season Friday with a 41-10 victory in the third round of the Class AAA state playoffs. It was the deepest that any Greer team had advanced into the playoffs in Head Coach Will Young’s nine years.
It was the biggest crowd in recent memory, according to some Greer fans, as both bleachers on each side of the stadium was full.
Greer was hit broadside with a display of power and speed the Yellow Jackets haven’t experienced all in one game this season.
“Things happened to us all year that didn’t happen tonight,” Young said. “I thought we got behind the eight-ball in the first half. We dug a hole and couldn’t come out of it.”
Daniel reeled off 34 unanswered points in the first half to deflate Greer. A trio of running backs led by Jae’lon Oglesby, a Shrine Bowl selection and Clemson commit, ran up 266 total yards on the ground. Oglesby had 119 yards rushing and one touchdown, Jared Dillingham scored 2 TDs while carrying the ball 18 times for 78 yards, and Austin Barnes accumulated 62 yards and one touchdown.
“I’m hurt,” said senior Emanuel Kelly. “I wanted to go out with a win (state championship).
Greer all-time rusher Quez Nesbitt and Kelly were neutralized by the Daniel defense. Greer was held to a net 15 yards rushing on 16 carries. Nesbitt was the only Greer player with positive rushing yardage – 62. That included a 52-yard run on Greer’s first possession that ended at the 8-yard line. That was Nesbitt’s lowest of the season. Kelly only handled the ball on one carry for minus three yards.
“They brought two spurs down and forced us inside,” Young said. “We couldn’t get outside. We had to throw the ball and we’re not at that stage yet, although we will be.”
Sophomore quarterback Mario Cusano, who started all 13 games, threw 31 passes, completing 16 but had two attempts intercepted. His 15-yard scoring strike with 1:13 left in the game to Dorian Lindsey, another sophomore, was the only points for Greer outside of Nick Roberson’s PAT and his 24-yard field goal in the first quarter for the Yellow Jackets’ only lead.
Cusano found Kelly streaking past a Daniel defender in the first quarter but the wide receiver uncharacteristically dropped the ball. Cusano also found Tay Woods open sprinting across the middle in the second half but that pass was also dropped.
The senior class includes Nesbitt, the all-time leading rusher, Kelly, who set a record for the longest kick return in school history (99-yards), Rolland Nall, offensive tackle who has only played high school football and Malek Johnson who was a starter his freshman year. “We had a pretty good senior class. They could have folded at halftime tonight,” Young said.
Young played his high school football at Daniel and continues to have strong ties with the town and athletic program. “They have a good program and are a good football team,” Young said. “I’m just disappointed we lost. I never want to end the season in that fashion.”