Through five weeks of the 2018 Kentucky high school football season, Gavin Spurrier and South Warren have been quite successful.
The Spartans – who are off to a 5-0 start to the campaign – are one of four area teams that still sports a perfect record. And, not only is Coach Brandon Smith’s club undefeated, but also playing nearly perfect football.
“So far, this season has been successful,” the South Warren senior quarterback Spurrier said. “Our main goal has been to get better every day and, at this point, I feel like we’re doing a great job focusing on that goal.”
As the Spartans have been dominating week-by-week, a big reason for that success is because of the way Spurrier has been performing.
The grandson of legendary Hall of Fame coach Steve Spurrier – and the son of current Washington State wide receivers coach Steve Spurrier, Jr. – Gavin has played nearly perfect through five weeks.
With five games in the book thus far, Spurrier has passed for 817 yards and 15 touchdowns – with just one interception – while completing 51-of-67 passes, which comes out to 76 percent. The quarterback’s best outing of the season came last week in a 41-7 win at Grayson County, as Spurrier tossed five TD passes to three different receivers.
“Individually, I am having a pretty good year,” Spurrier said. “Our offensive production has been sparked by great receivers and an offensive line that will do anything to keep me protected. It’s also easy to have a strong passing game when you have a running back that can be a threat any down.”
One of the best traits about Spurrier – an outgoing, well-mannered student-athlete – is how quick he is to speak so highly of his teammates that help him be successful.
While Spurrier has been putting up impressive numbers, so have two of his offensive colleagues in running back Cameron Harrison and wide receiver Tanner Gallahair.
Harrison – an explosive athlete that has played nearly every position – has unloaded for 387 yards and four TDs on the rushing end and reeled in three receiving scores and 133 more yards in the air.
“I have been truly blown away by Cameron Harrison’s performance. Last year he was a starting wide receiver and we knew he was a great athlete, but I don’t think anyone knew how it was going to transition to the backfield,” said Spurrier. “His ability to break tackles, hit the right holes and catch out of the backfield has been monumental. He is such a humble player and a great leader.”
Along with Harrison’s production, Gallahair has emerged as Spurrier’s main wideout target with 197 yards and three TDs.
“Tanner Gallahair has also been a huge addition to our offense. Our team is extremely blessed he came here, and his production has been impressive. He runs tremendous routes and has a knack of getting open. He also has some of the best hands on the entire team.
“The combination of both of them has been a very positive result.”
South Warren’s five wins this year haven’t been hard to get.
The Spartans – who are winning their games by an average of 32.8 points – rolled to a 49-17 win over Hopkinsville in their season opener, followed that up with a 39-22 win over Warren Central and then earned a 36-14 victory at defending Class 4A state champion Franklin-Simpson.
In the past two weeks, South Warren has allowed just seven points and cruised to a pair of wins against Central Hardin (59-0) and most recently at Grayson County (41-7).
As the Spartans have been blowing out their opponents, their starters have yet to play a complete game this season. And, with that, Spurrier said he and his fellow starters must maintain their endurance level and be able to play a full game when needed.
“We still have yet to play four full quarters,” Spurrier said. “We need to make sure our conditioning is up to par with a full game.”
While South Warren’s schedule hasn’t been the toughest yet – or seemed to be – competition is about to step up.
The Spartans next host Rocky Mountain High School from Fort Collins, Colorado on Friday at Spartan Stadium before taking on Ravenwood High School from Brentwood, Tenn. on Oct. 5.
Following those two outings, South Warren will clash with crosstown rival Bowling Green and close out its regular-season on the road at Owensboro Catholic.
“For us to continue to dominate, we need to focus every day in practice,” said Spurrier. “Our coaches are some of the best in the state in creating a game plan and getting us ready to face our opponents.”
South Warren and Rocky Mountain will kickoff at 7 p.m. Friday and will be streamed live on STBNTV.com as part of The Sporting Times Broadcast Network.
