Reservation for (Region) 2
With both teams sitting at 3-0 in the region, Byrnes and Gaffney will play Friday night for the 5-A Region 2 championship. Byrnes hasn’t won the region outright since 2014.
There was no way that was the sound of rocks. Tony Ashmore refused to believe it.
As the former star running back for Byrnes rode with teammates toward Gaffney’s football stadium in 2000, his sophomore year, something kept pounding against the windows of the team bus.
Ashmore had heard tales of Gaffney fans throwing rocks at the Byrnes buses before games, but he never fully believed them.
Until he saw it for himself.
“At the old [stadium] in Gaffney, you’d have to go through a neighborhood to park the buses near the field,” Ashmore said. “So they’d throw rocks at our bus when we drove through. [Former Byrnes head coach Bobby] Bentley used to always tell us ‘Y’all make sure your windows are rolled up!’ whenever we’d pass through. They’d shake the bus sometimes, too.”
Ashmore was a part of the 2002 Byrnes squad that won a state championship. He states that it was his proudest moment as a Rebel.
But there was no matchup Ashmore treasured more than when Byrnes played Gaffney. Ashmore went 3-1 in his career against the Indians. Each game was memorable. Each matchup was cutthroat.
“Man, you’d have to be careful when you played against those guys,” Ashmore, who graduated in 2003, said of Gaffney. “Underneath piles for the ball, they’d always poke you in the eyes or try and scratch you. It was intense.
“I remember one year, we had a tight end named Ben Hall, who went on to play for Clemson. He went down after getting tackled, and some Gaffney players had ripped his helmet clean off his head by the time he got up from the ground. It was always like that.”
Former Byrnes star RB Tony Ashmore (left) has plenty of stories to share about the Byrnes-Gaffney rivalry. Ashmore was 3-1 vs. the Indians in his career with the Rebels.
Between the two programs, Byrnes and Gaffney boast a combined 19 state championships. Byrnes has 11 to Gaffney’s eight, but the Indians hold the most recent title, bringing home the championship in 2021. There’s a reason each matchup is always so intense: both programs know the stakes are high when lining up opposite one another. The stakes rarely aren’t high.
This Friday night, they’ll be high once again. Byrnes (8-1, 3-0 region) and Gaffney (7-2, 3-0 region) will renew their storied rivalry with the Class 5-A Region 2 title on the line. The Rebels will travel to The Reservation in a rematch of last year’s state quarterfinal. Byrnes fell 34-28 to Gaffney in that one.
And while rocks may no longer be thrown at buses, and eyes may not be getting poked at the bottom of piles, the intensity of the rivalry hasn’t changed.
“There’s nothing like Byrnes-Gaffney,” said Byrnes senior defensive end Chris Foster. “And going to their place makes it even more intense. It’s a really hostile environment over there. You can’t hear anything at all when their crowd is involved.
“You try to get the call, but you have to look at the hand signals because it’s so loud with all the fans, the band, everything.”
Foster was unfortunately unable to participate in last year’s Byrnes-Gaffney playoff matchup. He, along with teammate and friend Caleb Melton, was recovering from a car accident that sidelined both players for nearly five months.
He’s relishing the opportunity to get back on the field against Gaffney at least one more time before his Byrnes career closes.
“It hurt a lot not being able to be out there with my teammates in the playoffs against them last season,” said Foster. “I saw parts of the game where we were hurting, and I feel like if I were able to be out there, it would’ve helped.”
Multiple streaks can be broken this Friday for the Rebels. They haven’t beaten Gaffney at the Reservation since 2019. They haven’t won a region title since 2014.
And with the way both teams are playing this season, Byrnes head coach Reggie Shaw wouldn’t be surprised if Friday night isn’t the last time the Rebels and Indians meet this year.
“A lot of years, these two teams have to square off twice, once in the regular season and once in the playoffs,” said Shaw. “There’s always something on the line. Gaffney loves their football and they have a rich football tradition. We do as well. It’s two powerhouses facing off with two great fan bases that love to hate each other.
“It’s a great opportunity and blessing for us to go up there and play for a region championship. Our guys are beyond excited and locked in. It’ll be a long week, but we’re anticipating getting out there on Friday.”