By Brian T. Smith
Assistant Sports Editor / Bristol Herald Courier
Published: December 8, 2007

BY BRIAN T. SMITH
BRISTOL HERALD COURIER
Salem, Va. – Buffalo Gap junior running back Pickle Nuckols pushed his way into the end zone, and Clintwood’s hopes were gone. Shoulders sagged. Helmets hung low. The Greenwave would have to wait another year before they could try and lay claim to their first state championship since 1978.
Nuckols was a monster, racking up 217 yards and a TD on 32 carries, and he led Buffalo Gap to a 28-19 win over Clintwood in a VHSL Group A, Division 1 state championship game on Saturday afternoon at Salem Stadium before an estimated crowd of 7,000.
Second-best isn’t what the Greenwave (9-5) wanted. But it’s a shining symbol of how far Clintwood came this season.
“I’m already looking back,” said Greenwave junior running back Chris Robinson (21 carries, 129 yards). “We got through so much this year. We all stuck together – just like last year. Nobody thought we’d be here, you know? We’ve all come a long way.”
Clintwood was within 14-13 at halftime, but the Greenwave had no answer for a Bison rushing attack that chomped up yards and ate up the game clock.
Buffalo Gap (14-0) ran 44 times for 362 yards, and the Bison used a number of long drives and big plays to slowly pull the championship away from Clintwood.
Greenwave quarterback Heath Counts was 6 of 13 for 126 yards, one touchdown and an interception. Nick Robinson caught both of Counts’ touchdown passes, and picked up 50 yards on three receptions.
Buffalo Gap quarterback Travis Morris was 4-of-9 passing for 48 yards, one TD and one interception. Morris also added 99 yards and two rushing touchdowns on 10 carries.
The Bison found the end zone first. Morris turned a quarterback keeper into a 3-yard score when he managed to evade three approaching Greenwave defenders and cross into the far-left corner of the end zone.
But Clintwood immediately bounced back, marching 78 yards in under 4 minutes. And when Derek Robbins barreled his way 10 yards – running straight, cutting left and then stumbling – into the end zone with 6 minutes, 53 seconds left in the second quarter, it was 7-6 Bison.
Clintwood then took a 13-7 lead when quarterback Counts connected with Nick Robinson for a 28-yard touchdown with 1:23 remaining in the first half. Buffalo Gap’s defense bit hard on Counts’ play-action fake, Robinson had a full-yard lead on his defender, and Counts threw a perfect arcing spiral into Robinson’s outstretched hands.
However, a major Clintwood defensive meltdown allowed the Bison to take a 14-13 lead into halftime.
Buffalo Gap drove nearly 80 yards in under 1:30, and Morris hit Josh Wenger for a 15-yard touchdown with just 3 seconds left in the second quarter. Morris rolled right, faced very little pressure from the Greenwave’s defensive line, and found Wenger wide open in the end zone. Even more perplexing was the fact that Wenger was loosely surrounded by three Clintwood defenders, yet none of the three made a considerable effort to deflect Morris’ underthrown pass.
“They just executed better than us,” said Greenwave coach Rick Mullins. “They made some plays and we didn’t.”
Clintwood’s defensive breakdowns late in the first half carried over to the third quarter.
Morris turned a simple misdirection keeper into a 69-yard touchdown on the Bison’s first play from scrimmage in the second half, as he ran through a huge hole in the left side of the Greenwave’s defense, cut upfield, and raced untouched down the left sideline to put Buffalo Gap up 20-13 with 11:35 left in the third period.
A Clintwood fumble at the Bison’s 38-yard line added to the Greenwave’s sudden struggles.
Yet Clintwood freshman defensive back Trey Meade appeared to bail his team out of serious trouble when he ended another long Bison drive by jumping high in the air to intercept a pass by Miller in the Greenwave’s endzone with 4:35 left in the third quarter.
Clintwood was unable to convert on Meade’s get-out-of-jail card, however.
The Greenwave faced 4th-and-2 at the Bison’s 5-yard line, and an option run to the right side of the field was stopped cold.
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Buffalo Gap 28, Clintwood 19
Buffalo Gap 0 14 7 7—28
Clintwood 0 13 0 6—19
Scoring Summary
BG—Travis Morris 3 run (Ian Rosenfeld kick)
C—Derek Robbins 10 run (Devin Elswick kick)
C—Nick Robinson 28 pass from Heath Counts (kick failed)
BG—Josh Wenger 15 pass from Morris (Rosenfeld kick)
BG—Morris 69 run (Rosenfeld kick)
BG—Nuckols 8 run (Rosenfeld kick)
C—N. Robinson 22 pass from Counts (two-point conversion failed)
Individual Stats
Rushing – BG – Nuckols 32-216, Morris 10-99, Joe Workman 2-35, Michael Johnson 1-12; C – Chris Robinson 21-99, Counts 4-13, Derek Robbins 8-49, Devin Elswick 4-18.
Passing – BG – Morris 4-9-1-48; C – Counts 6-13-1-126.
Receiving – BG – Wenger 3-35, Johnson 1-13; C – Ryan Lyle 2-34, N. Robinson 3-50, Alec Osborne 2-32.
Team Stats
First Downs: BG 18, C 18; Rushes-Yards: BG 44-362, C 37-221; Passing Yards: BG 48, C 126; Comp-Att-Int: BG 4-8-1, C 6-13-1; Fumbles-Lost: BG 0-0, C 2-1; Penalties-Yards BG 2-25, C 1-5; Kickoff Returns-Yards BG 2-17; C 4-65; Punt Returns-Yards BG 1-3; C 0-0.

BY BRIAN T. SMITH
BRISTOL HERALD COURIER
Salem, Va. – “You’ve done a great job. A great job! Pick your heads up. You’ve got a lot to be proud of.”
A Clintwood sideline coach said the words, and the Greenwave listened.
Helmets lifted. Hands clapped. Words of encouragement were passed around.
Clintwood had lost the Group A, Division 1 state championship to Buffalo Gap. But in terms of everything else – the stuff that matters; the things that last – Clintwood had done just fine.
“We’re winners, we’re winners,” said Greenwave coach Rick Mullins, holding back tears. “We kept our composure and we had a number of chances to win it. We made drives. We played strong. We’re winners.”
Clintwood quarterback Heath Counts was thinking the same exact thing minutes later. While Mullins hoisted a second-place trophy high in the air for a large sea of green-clad fans to admire and salute, Counts was full of pride and resilience.
“We never quit,” Counts said. “We worked and stayed together and we really tried. We could have quit but we didn’t. We’re a team and we played like a team through everything.”
The Greenwave have four state championships to their name. A fifth one eluded them on Saturday. But Counts still plans to add another to his school’s trophy case before he leaves Clintwood.
“I’d much rather be state champions,” Counts said. “It’s a great feeling to come this far. I’m proud of everything we’ve done. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to be back here again next year.”