varsity.roanoke.com

Stephanie Klein-Davis | The Roanoke Times

Floyd County quarterback Luke Harris has helped the Buffaloes to a 13-0 record and Saturday's state title game.

FLOYD -- The saying among Floyd County football brethren this season has been that the team's seniors "drive the bus."

The coaches provide the road map, occasionally with the counsel of players; the most experienced athletes take the wheel.

Senior quarterback Luke Harris has been flooring it.

Floyd County's 13-stop travelogue has brought the undefeated Buffaloes to Salem Stadium for Saturday's 4:15 p.m. VHSL Group A Division 2 championship against defending champion Gretna.

Harris is the man the rest of Floyd's players want in the driver's seat.

"He makes things happen, you know?" senior flanker Craig Slavicek said.

Added center Benji Allen: "He can make something out of it no matter what it was. The reason is, he's an awesome athlete. I mean, he's great. Seriously. It's incredible. Most people wish they had that kind of talent, but they don't."

Lebanon coach John Adams needed no convincing after a Harris-led miracle earned Floyd a 14-13 victory in last Saturday's Division 2 semifinal.

"He's a gutsy dude," Adams said minutes after he watched Harris complete a 21-yard pass on fourth-and-20, followed by an 8-yard game-tying TD pass to Christian Rodrigue with 6.8 seconds left to cap an 82-yard drive.

Harris has put up prodigious numbers to go with his Houdini escape acts this year: 3,102 yards total offense, 20 touchdowns scored, 19 thrown. One more scoring pass in his last game will put him in rare company with only 10 other players in VHSL history to have at least 20 TD tosses to go with 20 scored.

The fraternity that includes such luminaries as Ronald Curry of Hampton, Vic Hall of Gretna, and Jacob Phillips of Bath County.

Furthermore, Harris is also the leader of the Buffs' defense, a shrewd read-and-react safety and a sledgehammer of a hitter.

"Obviously, we have a lot of faith in Luke," said flanker Brett Holman, who has caught 52 of Harris' passes -- 10 for TDs. "He knows what to do with the ball. He knows where to get it and when to get it there. He's real easy to work with."

Harris has that quality that's hard to define but easy to see.

Twice in produce-or-perish occasions of the season -- in a 15-14 win over George Wythe in the Region C Division 2 final and against Lebanon last week, Harris orchestrated hard-to-believe comebacks with just a few heartbeats game time left.

Against the Pioneers last week, Harris did it essentially on one leg after spraining his ankle scoring the first TD of the game in the first half.

"He hurt is foot in that game, and he still came out here and carried us," center Allen said.

Floyd County coach Winfred Beale tried to give Harris a break on defense, resting him from those duties through the third quarter. That was about all Harris could stand.

"It was killing me to watch," he said. "I felt like I should be out there."

Harris took it sort of light in practice this week, planning all the while to be ready for duty on both sides of the ball against the Hawks (12-1).

Mild of manner and pious, Harris never fails to talk about his teammates first, his linemen in particular. Such was the case after the winning march against the Pioneers.

"They stepped it up and allowed me to get my reads, see my receivers," he said. "They've done it all year."

There's no end to his praise for his receiving corps.

"They just keep making the plays," he said.

All hands on deck: Nine in all have caught passes, Three others besides Holman have 22 or more catches. Four have over 100 or more yards worth of grabs. Ethan Griffith, who had two receptions in 2007, has 37 this year. Tight end Daniel Bradford has caught 32 and scored seven TDs.

"You don't see too many tight ends who have that many touchdowns," said David Turpin, Floyd County's offensive coordinator.

Not many passing attacks have triggermen like Harris.

"We're not the fastest guys. We're not the biggest guys. But we're intelligent folks and you've got a guy with a pretty strong arm, he's athletic, he makes good decisions," Turpin said.

Basically, the quarterback's a great, level-headed teammate.

"He'll get mad, but he won't panic," Allen said.

Such apparently was the case when Harris threw a late interception in the regional final against George Wythe, an intended screen pass snagged by 6-foot-3, 275-pound defensive lineman Stephen Lester III.

With Lester lumbering forward at full speed, Harris was running wide open when he hit him. Both players went down as if they'd just been hit in the chest with a large stone. Lester didn't progress another inch. The 6-foot Harris was outweighed by almost 100 pounds. The sound of that collision won't soon be forgotten by anybody who heard it.

There's something about the guy.

That's why Floyd County battled from near doom against George Wythe in the Region C final and Lebanon last week and is now a state finalist.

"He's sort of like a Montana or Elway, isn't he?" Beale said. "He can take you in the last minute down the field and score. Not many quarterbacks can do that."