Searching for the magic

The magic isn’t there. At least not yet.
The Buffaloes suffered another frustrating football loss, falling to George Wythe 18-10 at Floyd Friday, September 18. Last year the Buffs had a pair of comeback one-point victories over the Maroons.
Floyd seemed to have some magic on the game’s opening drive. Matt Hollandsworth moved the chains on a fourth and one carry.
Then, on a near-impossible third and 39, Dorian Harris ran 43 yards for a first down at the Wythe 24. On third and four, Hollandsworth hit Daniel Bradford with a seven-yard pass to the 11.
On yet another crucial conversion, on fourth and two, Hollandsworth scrambled and hit Bradford on a three-yard touchdown pass. Nelson Morales kicked the PAT as Floyd led 7-0 at 5:17.
Wythe responded with a long drive that stretched into the second quarter. Randy Divers ran for ten, and on fourth and two, Tristan Boysaw ran for five.
On third and 16, Brandon Atwell ran for 14, and Boysaw converted another fourth and two with a five-yard run. Aaron Wheeler converted a third and two with a carry to the five.
A sack by the Buffs helped stop the drive at the nine. Atwell kicked a 24-yard field goal and Floyd led 7-3 at 9:16.
The Buffs came back with a good drive, as Harris ran for four yards on third and three, and Hollandsworth hit Cole Peters with a 16 yard pass to the 36. Hollandsworth hit Bradford with a 12-yard completion to the 22.
The Buffs gave the ball up on downs with 4:35 left. Then the Floyd defense forced a three and out at 2:46.
Floyd punted the ball to the Maroons at 1:05, but on the next play Bradford intercepted a Boysaw pass and returned it to the Wythe 39. The Buffalo hurry-up offense quickly entered scoring range when Hollandsworth hit Caz Cantrell for 15 yards and Bradford for 13 in the closing seconds.
Morales kicked a 31-yard field goal with one second left, and Floyd had a 10-3 lead at halftime.
The Maroons opened the third with a strong drive, and Wythe controlled the clock with a 17:04 to 6:56 advantage. Floyd would have only one first down in the second half.
After a touchback on the kickoff and a holding penalty, the Maroons went 87 yards for the go ahead touchdown. Atwell had runs of 17 and 22, while Divers had carries for 11 and seven.
A 12-yard carry by Wheeler gave Wythe first and goal at the one. The Buffs held for three straight plays, but on fourth and goal at the two, Atwell ran around the right side for the touchdown.
After a bad snap on the conversion kick, Atwell picked up the ball and hit Divers down the middle for a two-point conversion. That made it 11-10 at 5:36.
Floyd got its only first down of the half on the next possession and then stuck Wythe at the 14 on a punt. The Maroons picked up three first downs, including the only pass completion of the game as Boysaw hit Divers on a 36-yard strike at the 13.
Wythe gave the ball up on downs at the nine with 6:03 left in the game. A three and out forced a punt, and Atwell l returned it 41 yards to the Floyd 24.
Wheeler got a first down on an eight yard carry to the 11, and Atwell got a first and goal on a carry to the one. Wheeler scored from there, and Atwell kicked the PAT, putting Wythe up 18-10 with 1:03 left.
The Maroons intercepted a Hollandsworth pass at their eight with 32 seconds remaining and ran out the clock.
Rushing: Hollandsworth 9-13, Jones 7-16, Harris 10-076, Team 1-(-22), Bradford 1-2, Link 1-3
Passing: Hollandsworth 9-17 84 yards 1 td, 1 int. receiving: Bradford 7-52 1 td, Peters 1-16, Cantrell 1-15
Punts: Peters 3-126 (41.0) kick returns: Harris 1-35, Weeks 1-13, Coartney 1-20, Jones 1-37
Tackles: Hollandsworth 3-0, Baker 1-1, M. Harris 1-1, Cantrell 5-2, Coartney 6-4, Link 2-2, Bradford 5-7, B. Harris 8-2, Lewis 1-5, Conduff 1-0, Whitlock 5-4, Vaughn 7-5, Peters 1-7 For loss: Cantrell 1-2, Coartney 1-2, Link 1-3, B. Harris 1-1, Whitlock 2-6, Peters 1-4 interception: Bradford