Gap is on hostile ground

SWOOPE — There wasn’t much more that Buffalo Gap could do.

The Bison were perfect through the regular season, winning the Shenandoah District title, but in the end ratings are all that matter. Gap finished the season as Region B, Division 1’s No. 2 seed, while William Campbell took the top spot with one loss against a Division 4 school from North Carolina.

As a result, the Bison are on the road today in Naruna for the region finals on a field about as hostile as a cornered rattlesnake.

“It’s going to play to [William Campbell’s] advantage since it’s their field, but it’s still 100 yards long.,” said Buffalo Gap coach Rob Maxwell.

The Bison have done well on the road, outscoring their opponents 225-62 during the regular season. The Generals have outscored visiting teams 223-60. During the regular season William Campbell won by a shutout five times, but four of those blankings were on the road. The Generals lost their only game of the season at home against Thomasville. The Generals’ four wins at home were against Gretna (34-18), Appomattox (58-7), Dan River (43-7) and Chatham (74-0).

Gap’s wins on the road were against Parry McCluer (55-22), James River (34-19), Covington (49-6), Wilson Memorial (35-9) and Luray (52-6).

“We had to overcome some injuries early in the season,” Maxwell said. “You are playing for something you want to be doing at the end of November. It’s a great group of kids that play hard every week. I can’t say enough good things about them.”

Buffalo Gap hasn’t changed its game plan much since the season began in August, and Maxwell doesn’t plan to start now. Pickle Nuckols has been the workhorse on offense accounting for 1,810 yards and 30 touchdowns on the ground. Michael Johnson has also been a force on offense with 423 receiving yards with six touchdowns and 313 rushing yards with seven touchdowns.

“[We’ve] got to ride the horse that brought us here,” Maxwell said. “If we can’t do what we do we are not going to win anyway.”

Michael Johnson also leads the team defensively with 95 tackles and seven interceptions. Logan Huff has had 89 tackles and Daniel Wise has recorded 68. Tyler Cassady has been the main Bison threat on the defensive line recording 23 sacks. Matt Wenger has put 19 sacks in the stat book.

“We’ve got some young kids that played both sides. They’ve come a long way. We don’t look back but just play with what we got,” Maxwell said.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.