Darian Grubb

After leading an ungrateful Tony Stewart to a NASCAR Sprint Cup championship — and getting fired for his efforts — Floyd County’s Darian Grubb landed a crew chief gig with Joe Gibbs Racing and will helm Virginian Denny Hamlin‘s efforts next season.

Grubb replaced Mike Ford as crew chief of the #11 FedEx Toyota.

Stewart showed a lack of gratitude and class after winning the championship and then axing the crew chief who took him to the Chase in each of the the Stewart-Hass Racing team’s three years of existence.

The folks at Gibbs say they’re happy to have Grubb on board.  Grubb, from all reports, is happy as well.

So are we. Joe Gibbs Racing is a class operation.  So is Denny Hamlin’s new crew chief.

Related articles

• JGR tabs Darian Grubb for Denny Hamlin (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Title-winning crew chief Grubb lands with Hamlin (sportsillustrated.cnn.com)
• JGR names Grubb as Hamlin’s new crew chief (espn.go.com)

Floyd County High School closed out a difficult football season with a 61-14 pasting of Auburn Friday night, ending 2011 with a 3-7 overall record and 2-3 in district play.

Dorian Harris led the night with 91 yards and three touchdowns and Tristan Vest piled up 86 yards and two TDs.  Quarterback Gus Underwood was 5-6 in passing with 144 yards and Matt Hollandworth hauled in three passes for 127 yards.

Full story and more photos in next week’s Floyd Press.

Here’s some video highlights with sights and sounds from the game.

Both the girls and boys cross-country track teams at Floyd County High School qualified for the state meet Wednesday at the regional finals near Hillsville.

The girls team finished second and boys clocked it at third.

Both teams posted strong showings.

More photos and a complete story in next week’s Floyd Press.

Powerhouse Radford was expected to roll over Floyd County with ease on a cold, windy Saturday after weather postponed the Buffaloes final home game of the season from Friday night.

But the outcome proved as unpredictable as the winter October blast.

The scrappy Buffaloes held the Bobcats scoreless in the first half and went into the locker room tied 0-0.

Radford scored first in the second half but Floyd County used a turnover to score late in the fourth quarter to send the game into overtime.

Roger Mannon’s full story and more photos in Thursday’s Floyd Press.

Floyd added a field goal in overtime but Radford scored and won 13-10.

Shots from Tuesday night’ home FCHS volleyball finale.

Floyd County High School’s varsity football team rolled over Eastern Montgomery 55-0 Friday night.

More photos and Roger Mannon’s story in next week’s Floyd Press.

Volleyball is always a fun sport to photograph. It has lots of action and a healthy dose of passion from players, coaches and fans.

There’s also beauty and grace in the young athletes who compete in the sport.

It’s a tough, often rough-and-tumble game that showcases the competitive nature of the players and the intensity of the game.

Floyd County High School’s varsity volleyball team has struggled this season, scoring its first win recently but the JV team has scored some impressive wins and lost a 2-1 nail biter against Giles Thursday night.

The success of the JV team holds lots of promise when the young players move up to the varsity squad.

But win or lose, the passion of the players comes through each time I watch them play and have the pleasure of photographing them in action.

Which means I have as much fun as the players on the court.

And while it may be a sport limited to young women in Virginia high schools, it’s not a genteel game.

In other words, it’s no place for sissies.

More photos in next week’s Floyd Press.

After a morning of rain — sometimes hard-driving downpours — the skies cleared Friday afternoon and things looked good for Floyd County High School’s homecoming came against Fort Chiswell.

But the skies opened up again right as the game started and fans headed under umbrellas and hoods and any protection they could find.

The rain also put a damper on Floyd County’s offense and defense as Fort Chiswell jumped out to a 14-0 lead.  After a penalty call wiped out a long touchdown pass the Buffaloes finally got on the board by recovering a fumble and scoring shortly afterwards but the point after failed when the kicker slipped on the wet field, leaving the score at 14-6.  Another drive stalled with a fumble and Fort Chiswell added a field goal to lead 17-6 at the half.

Still, Floyd County was in striking distance, trailing 17-12 when the game entered the fourth quarter but Fort Chiswell broke the game open with a touchdown pass, an intersception return for a touchdown.

Final score: 30-12.

Floyd has next Friday off, giving them two weeks to prepare for a road game at Glenvar.

Roger Mannon’s full story and more pictures in next week’s Floyd Press.

First quarter touchdown

If you believed the high school prognosticators, Floyd County didn’t have a chance against George Wythe Friday night.

But the Buffaloes jumped out to a 7-0 lead with a touchdown on their first possession and lead 13-7 after a touchdown pass from quarterback Gus Underwood.

Underwood threw three TD passes, including a 57-yarder in the fourth quarter but GW overpowered Floyd County and won the hard-fought game 31-19.

Floyd heads into next week’s homecoming game against Fort Chiswell with a 1-3 record but a good effort against George Whythe Friday night, coming off a 62-0 pasting against Patrick County last week, showcases the team’s potential.

The team improves each week and has rebounded from lopsided losses against Christiansburg and Galax in the first two games of the season.

Stay tuned. There’s still plenty of football to come.

See you at homecoming next Friday.

The stats told the story in Floyd County’s crushing 49-0 loss to Christiansburg in Friday’s home opener.

Yards rushing: Minus 8. Total yards for Dorian Harris, last year’s leading rusher in the region: 25 in 10 carries.  First downs for the Buffaloes: Just two.

The Buffs recovered two Blue Demon fumbles but couldn’t capitalize. The Christiansburg powerhouse steamrolled FCHS in every way.  Even when an errant opening play snap flew over the head of Christiansburg quarterback Brenden Motley he turned it into a 15-yard gain and first down.

It was that kind of night and Christiansburg wanted to make it worse, attempting offside kicks when they lead 14-0 and 36-0.  They failed on both attempts — rare missteps.

A scary moment in the second quarter when FCHS Senior Peter Martin went down in a play.  A Floyd County Volunteer Rescue Squad ambulance removed him from the field and transported him to a hospital after emergency workers immobilized him for a tingling impression in his neck but he had feeling and movement in his arms and legs.  No additional information available as this was written.