varsity.roanoke.com

They may not share the same bloodlines, but there is a pair of backs named Harris running wild in Floyd.

Freshman running back Dorian Harris carried the ball 20 times for 156 yards and three touchdowns, and his backfield running mate Brandon Harris ran for 58 yards as Floyd knocked off Eastern Montgomery 27-12.

"I just followed my blocks. Coach has been telling me all week to find a seam and hit the hole, and I did," Dorian Harris said.

It was senior night for the Buffaloes (3-5, 2-1), who had not won a home game all season until Friday night. Coach Winfred Beale was proud of his team's effort in the last game on its own turf.

"We've struggled to win some close games, it's good to win one that we needed to," Beale said.

The Buffaloes defense was able to contain the Mustang's normally potent offense, holding quarterback Shawn Christian to 139 yards on just 10 completions.

Trailing by 14 points with nine minutes to play, the Mustangs (6-2, 1-2) were faced with a fourth down and 19 at midfield. Head coach Mark Poston elected to keep his offense on the field, and Christian delivered.

The Mustangs quarterback found Julian Stewart for a 39-yard completion to the Buffaloes' 11.

The comeback was not meant to be, however, as Christian fumbled two plays later, which was recovered by Floyd defensive end Matt Link at the eight-yard line.

"I thought we had a shot after Julian caught (the fourth down pass)," Christian said.

Despite a valiant effort from Eastern Montgomery, the 1-2 punch of Dorian and Brandon Harris, along with the contributions of Chandler Jones, kept the Buffaloes in front the entire game.

Dorian Harris did most of his damage in the first half, racking up 99 yards before halftime. Brandon Harris, however, ran for 46 of his 58 yards in the final two quarters.

"I give most of the credit to the line, they led the charge for me to run well," Brandon Harris said.

It was a disappointing loss for the Mustangs, who fell below .500 in the Three Rivers District after starting the season 5-0.

"We will win as a team and lose as team. Tonight we just got beat by a better team," Poston said.

Eastern Montgomery 0 6 0 6--12

Floyd County 6 7 6 8--27

FC -- D. Harris 3 run (kick failed)

FC -- D. Harris 63 run (Morales kick)

EM -- Wooten 31 pass from Christian (pass failed)

FC -- Bradford 6 pass from Cantrell (kick blocked)

EM -- Christian 24 run (run failed)

FC -- D. Harris 17 run (Bradford pass from Cantrell)

EM FL

First downs 9 16

Yards rushing 52 250

Passes C-A-I 10-19-2 9-13-1

Yards passing 139 75

Penalties-yards 6-55 8-63

Fumbles-lost 3-2 1-1

Punts-average 5-29 5-35

Individual statistics

RUSHING -- Eastern Montgomery, Shelor 14-43, Christian 15-9; Floyd County, D. Harris 20-156, B. Harris 13-58, Jones 12-48, Cantrell 5-minus-12.

PASSING -- Eastern Montgomery, Christian 10-19-2 139; Floyd County, Cantrell, 9-13-1 75.

RECEIVING -- Eastern Montgomery, Stewart 3-61, Wooten 3-47, Lilly 2-16, Shelor 2-15; Floyd County, Titus 4-49, Bradford 4-17, Peters 1-9.