varsity.roanoke.com

FLOYD — After having its life flash before its eyes in the final minute of regulation Friday night, Christiansburg wasn’t about to leave anything to chance.

The Blue Demons held Floyd without a score to start overtime, then got a 27-yard field goal from Patrick Rasnake on first down to beat the Buffaloes 17-14 in the season opener for both teams.

“That was something we talked about in the preseason,” said Christiansburg coach Tim Cromer of the decision not to run a play from scrimmage in the overtime. “We had done it in an overtime game in ’04 and missed the field goal, but that’s always going to be our philosophy.”

It was the first time the Blue Demons had led all night, and Floyd did them a favor by allowing the game to get to overtime.

A 33-yard completion to Daniel Bradford on third-and-18 had given Floyd a first-and-goal at the Christiansburg 8-yard line with 1:46 left.

For more than 47 minutes, virtually every Matt Hollandsworth pass attempt had found its way into the hands of Bradford, who tied a school record with 10 receptions for 125 yards.

The Buffaloes might have been lulled into thinking that the Hollandsworth-to-Bradford connection could do no wrong.

“Could have,” said veteran Floyd coach Winfred Beale, who called for a Hollandsworth rollout on first down.

Hollandsworth looked to lob the ball to Bradford again, but Christiansburg linebacker Jared Looney stepped in the way and came up with an interception at the 1-yard line. Looney has a penchant for big plays, having intercepted a lateral and returned it for a touchdown against Patrick Henry in 2008.

Beale said he had no regrets about the play call.

“Not at this point, you don’t,” Beale said. “It’s always a little bit different in hindsight, but no, we don’t second-guess ourselves. The fans in the stands are probably doing that.”

“Our philosophy has always been to be the aggressor.”

Beale’s hope was that Floyd would win the coin flip to start the overtime, but Christiansburg won the toss and elected to play defense for the first series in overtime.

Hollandsworth dropped back on first down and was sacked by Christiansburg defensive lineman Aaron Linkenhoker for a 7-yard loss. Two subsequent passes — one incomplete and the other for a 2-yard loss — left Beale with little choice other than to send out Nelson Morales for a 36-yard field goal attempt that fell short.

Beale figured that Christiansburg would send out Rasnake.

“I would have done the same thing,” Beale said.

He might not have known that Rasnake, a senior, had never attempted a field goal in his high school career. However, he had more than enough leg on a kick that might have been good from 40 yards.

“There was a lot of pressure on me,” said Rasnake, admitting that he wouldn’t have minded the Blue Demons taking the ball down to the 2- or 3-yard line.
Floyd, which opened the 2008 season with 13 straight victories before losing in the Group AA Division 2 championship game, had gone into halftime with a 14-7 lead, but the statistics weren’t nearly that even.

At one point, the Buffaloes had run 38 offensive plays to Christiansburg’s 12, and Floyd’s time of possession in the first half was 17:28 — almost three times the Blue Demons’ 6:32.

“We felt we were in pretty good shape at the half,” Cromer said, “and, yet, I felt like I was talking to an empty room. I told ’em to turn around and look at the scoreboard because, being down 14-7, we were really fortunate.”

Not as fortunate at they were in the end.

Christiansburg    7    0    7    0    3 — 17
Floyd    14    0    0    0    0 — 14
F — Bradford 6 pass from Hollandsworth (Morales kick)
C— Weller 1 run (Rasnake kick)
F — Jones 1 run (Morales kick)
C — Wills 2 run (Rasnake kick)
C — Rasnake 27 FG
    CH     FC
First downs    11    23
Rushing     31-161    44-134
Passes C-A-A    3-10-0-23    15-25-1-138
Fumbles-lost     1-1    2-1
Penalties Christiansburg    8-64    4-14
Punts-average    4-32.2    2-23.0
Individual statistics
 RUSHING — Christiansburg, Fisher 9-84, Snell 4-47, Lee 9-31, Weller 2-4, Miller 1-2, Wills 5-(minus 7).Floyd, Jones 24-73, Hollandsworth 11-42, Carr 3-25, Link 1-3, Harris 2-2, Bradford 1-(minus 3), Team 1-(minus 1),
 PASSING —Christiansburg, Wills 3-10-0-23. Floyd, Hollandsworth 15-25-1-138.
RECEIVING — Christiansburg, Broome 1-14, Beal 1-8, Fisher 1-1. Floyd, Bradford 10-125, Peters 3-25, Jones 1-(minus 10), Carr 1-(minus 2).