varsity.roanoke.com

Eric Brady | The Roanoke Times

Floyd County's Nathan Weiss takes down Gretna quarterback Jayme Barksdale during Saturday's state title game in Salem.

The cheers from the press box side of Salem Stadium were more deafening after the high school football game than at any time during it.

Gretna beat Floyd County 35-20 in the state Group A Division 2 final Saturday, but you'd never have known that was the outcome, judging from the way the black and gold-clad faithful that almost filled that side of the stadium reacted when their team walked off the field for the last time in 2008. The Buffaloes had 13 victories, the most in school history, but couldn't overcome the Hawks' speed and athletic ability.

"We're proud of you! We're proud of you!" went up the chant from the Floyd County grandstands as a small dusting of snow fell through the dark of early evening.

Talented Floyd County teams fell similarly short in championship losses in 1999 and 2001, but the flair and determination of the current group really seemed to capture their fans' imagination in a special way.

"That grit, that determination, has been their trademark all year long," Floyd County coach Winfred Beale said. "That's the heart of a champion. Our kids fought. I'm so proud of them. I wouldn't trade them for anything in the world."

The Buffaloes outscored Gretna 20-14 in the second half after appearing to be buzzard bait following a 21-0 halftime score.

Quarterback Luke Harris, slowed by a sprained ankle and a soft cast, completed all six of his passes in a 62-yard scoring advance to start the second half. Harris threw a 31-yard TD pass to Ethan Griffith to finish that possession, the first of two six-point catches for the lanky senior wide receiver. Griffith had six catches for 94 yards, giving him 43 catches for the season. He had two catches as a junior.

"We just decided to commit to the pass in the second half," Harris said. "I think we realized we could throw a little at the end of the second quarter so we just came out throwing."

Harris completed 24 of 39 passes for 265 yards and three TD's. That was doing something because much of the yards Floyd County's receivers were able to gain after the catch during the season were not available against Gretna.

All the speed the Hawks have on defense enabled them to get to and shut down many Buffs plays before they ever really got started.

"At halftime, everybody talked about how this was the last time we were going to be together," Griffith said. "We're such a family on the team and this was the last time we were going to get to play together. We picked it up and just tried to have some fun. We didn't worry any more how athletic and fast they were and that turned out well for us."

Griffith conceded that advance reports about the defending state champs might have had some of the Floyd County players intimidated at first.

"They were faster than we were and we knew that," he said. "But we hit harder than they do, and we knew that. We just came out in the second half and started lighting them up a little bit."

Three times, the Buffaloes defense stopped Gretna on red-zone chances.

Early in the fourth quarter, quarterback Jayme Barksdale was stopped on fourth-and-goal from the 1.

"On that last goal-line stand, they could have gotten in and scored 42, but we didn't want to let them," Floyd County defensive lineman Benji Allen said. "That was big. That's a good way to finish out our senior year."

Floyd County had 21 first downs to the Hawks' 19 and had the ball over a minute more in time of possession. Defensively, Gretna did what it could to get to Harris. He was sacked twice, hurried often, and hit on almost every passing play.

"We don't have the size to just sit there a let people pound on us," Gretna coach Chris Thurman said. "So we blitz and play a lot of man to man. We knew we could let the Harris kid set up and throw darts. If he did, we'd have been in big trouble. I'll give it to him, that kid's tough."

In the end, a three-TD deficit was insurmountable.

"We just didn't have an answer for their offense," Floyd County defensive back Brett Holman said.