Maroons make it past Buffaloes

By JIM CUNNINGHAM/Staff

Larry McCoy crashed over the goal line on the first play of overtime to propel the George Wythe Maroons to a 21-15 victory over the Floyd County Buffaloes Saturday night at FCHS.
The game was moved from Friday to Saturday night due to a day-long rain on Friday. The weather on Saturday was ideal for football (if not a little cool for fans) with temperatures in the 50s.
The action was hot and heavy on the field as two undefeated teams gave it all they had.
George Wythe improves to 3-0 on the season while Floyd County drops to 2-1.
George Wythe Head Coach Donnie Pruitt said his team made “tremendous defensive stands” throughout the game.
He said Floyd County probably thought it had the Maroons “on the ropes” after shutting out GW throughout the first half. “We were flat in the first half,” he said.
But the GW offense came to life in the second half while the defense maintained its intensity throughout.
The most important defensive stand came at the end of the rigorous game after the teams had played for more than two and a half hours.
GW took the first offensive possession in overtime (each team gets the ball at the 10-yard line with four downs to score) and needed only one play to score as McCoy swept around the right end for the touchdown.
Then the GW defense did its job by keeping the Buffaloes from advancing the ball on four consecutive plays to seal the win.
McCoy was the leading rusher for the Maroons with 93 yards on 15 carries, including three touchdowns. Seth White gained 65 yards on eight carries and quarterback Jacob Sharitz gained 36 yards on seven carries. Sharitz also completed nine of his 22 passes for 92 yards.
Making pass receptions for GW were Brandon Atwell with four catches for 48 yards, Brandon Davis with four catches for 37 yards, and Will Sawyers with one reception for seven yards.
GW punted on its first two possessions of the game and also forced Floyd to punt on its first series.
The Buffaloes, however, threatened on their second try by moving the ball from their own 40-yard line down inside the GW 10. Floyd had the ball first and goal from the GW nine, but the Maroons regained possession on downs after FC moved as close as the three-yard line.
GW lost its first fumble of the game on its next series, and the Buffaloes took over deep in Maroon territory at the GW 23 as the first quarter was winding down.
Floyd took advantage of the short field by using about four plays to score on a three-yard run by Moles. Weiss kicked the extra point to put Floyd up 7-0 with 10:54 left in the second quarter.
GW gave the Buffaloes another break when a Maroon fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and FC took over on the GW 35.
Floyd moved the ball inside the GW 15, but the Maroon defense came up big again, this time when Jordon Eller made an interception in the end zone.
GW was able to move the ball inside the Floyd 40, but had a pass intercepted to end the drive.
Neither team threatened for the rest of the half.
The Maroons forced Floyd to punt on its first possession of the second half and took over at the FC 40.
George Wythe then went on a scoring drive that was capped off on a three-yard run by McCoy.
GW lined up to kick the PAT, but Floyd was called for an offsides call. That prompted the Maroons to go for two points, which was converted by Sharitz on a quarterback keeper to put GW on top 8-7 with 8:26 left in the third quarter.
The Buffaloes nearly grabbed the lead back on their next series when they advanced to the GW six, first and goal, after 21-yard pass to Brandon Marshall.
But the GW defense came up big again and took over on downs with good pass defense.
Neither team’s offense moved the ball well for the rest of the third quarter. The Maroons expanded their lead on their first drive of the fourth quarter on a four-yard run by McCoy. Michael Jones kicked the extra point to put GW up 15-7 with 9:36 left in the game.
Floyd punted on its next possession but got a break when it forced GW to attempt a punt, which was blocked.
The Buffaloes took over at the GW 20 and took only a few minutes to score on a five-yard run by Bolt. Harris passed to Moles for the two-point conversion to tie the game at 15-15 with 1:38 remaining.
The GW fans got a scare when GW’s next possession was ended on an interception. Floyd then scored an apparent TD, but it was called back due to a penalty.
The remaining seconds ticked off the clock and the overtime period began.
After the game, Coach Pruitt said, “This one’s for Todd Blue.”

George Wythe 0 0 8 7 6 – 21
Floyd County 0 7 0 8 0 –15

Scoring:
FC – Moles 3 run (Weiss kick)
GW – McCoy 3 run (Sharitz run)
GW – McCoy 4 run (Jones kick)
FC – Bolt 5 run (Moles pass from Harris)
GW—- McCoy 10 run (kick failed)

Stats GW FCHS
First downs 14 13
Yards rushing 33-197 41-131
Yards passing 92 138
Comp-Att-Int 9-22-3 12-31-1
Fumbles-lost 3-2 0-0
Penalties-yds 3-35 7-41.5
Punts 3-36.1 3-41.2
(Stats courtesy of Kenny Sayers)
(T – 2:43)