Saturday, October 11, 2008
Harris paves way for Buffs
FLOYD -- After struggling, scraping and peeling himself off the turf throughout the first half Friday night, Luke Harris never wavered.
Neither did his team.
Upstart Glenvar stifled Floyd County for much of the first two quarters, but the hosts got it going after the break. Getting three rushing touchdowns and a passing score from Harris, the Buffaloes pulled away for a 35-6 victory in the Three Rivers District opener for both teams.
"He's the real deal," Floyd coach Winfred Beale said of his senior quarterback, who completed 12 of 19 passes for 170 yards. "He's one of those guys where it's instinctive. It's not coaching; it's him just sensing the feel of the field and making the plays when he's got to make 'em."
He didn't at intermission, either, despite facing more pressure from the Highlanders (4-2, 0-1) than he'd seen all season. Harris sat down with offensive coordinator David Turpin and crafted a third-quarter game plan that changed the momentum for good, helping the Buffaloes to their first 6-0 start since 2004.
A 37-yard connection to Brett Holman on the first play after the break got the team moving, and Harris capped the five-play drive himself with a 1-yard touchdown keeper up the middle.
"We used to be a run-dominated team, but we throw when we need to," Harris said. "When it's clicking, we just keep going."
And they did. Harris intercepted a pass on Glenvar's ensuing drive. Less than 3 minutes later, he dove into the end zone from four yards out to make it 21-0 Floyd.
"He's a great football player," Glenvar coach Kevin Clifford said. "I thought the first half we did a pretty good job containing him -- and we said it all week we needed to contain him -- but he did a great job in the second half."
Defense ruled the first half, but the Buffaloes finally broke through on their fourth drive. Facing fourth-and-10 from the Glenvar 13-yard line, Harris rolled to his right and fired over the middle to an open Holman, who hauled in the pass in the end zone.
The Buffaloes also got a boost from running back Chandler Jones, who played for the first time this season after breaking a bone in his foot. He finished with a game-high 77 yards, including a 25-yard bolt on his first carry.
"That started the game off right for me, gave me some confidence," Jones said.
Glenvar got 92 receiving yards from Jonathan McGhee, who scored the team's only touchdown midway through the third quarter on a 62-yard pass from Kyle Horne.
But Harris soon added a 13-yard touchdown run to put the game out of reach.
The Buffaloes, who had allowed an average of 26 points a game in their past three outings, held the Highlanders to just 38 total yards and three first downs in the first half. Glenvar has eclipsed 40 points three times this season.
Glenvar 0 0 6 0--6
Floyd County 0 7 14 14--35
FC-Holman 13 pass from Harris (Weiss kick)
FC-Harris 2 run (Weiss kick)
FC-Harris 4 run (Weiss kick)
G-McGhee 62 pass from Horne (kick blocked)
FC-Harris 13 run (Weiss kick)
FC-Holman 47 run (Weiss kick)
GL FL
First downs 5 21
Yards rushing 24 250
Passes C-A-I 5-10-2 12-19-0
Yards passing 117 170
Penalties-yards 3-25 7-70
Fumbles-lost 2-0 2-1
Punts-average 6-37 2-35.5
Individual statistics
RUSHING -- Glenvar, Hill 9-29, Woods 7-4, Bolden 1-(-1), Horne 6-(-3), Parkman 6-(-5); Floyd County, Jones 11-77, J. Harris 13-65, Holman 2-43, Bonham 10-39, Link 3-24, B. Harris 1-3, Van Blerk 1-1, Carr 1-(-1), Team 1-(-1)
PASSING -- Glenvar, Horne 3-5-1-85, Weeks 1-1-0-24, Holshouser 1-3-1-8; Floyd County, L. Harris 12-19-0-170
RECEIVING -- Glenvar, McGhee 3-92, Parkman 1-17, Clay 1-8; Floyd County, Holman 4-68, Rodrigue 4-48, Griffith 2-28, Cantrell 1-14, Jones 1-(-5).
