Luray posts 469 yards of offense, including 310 yards in second half
By Randy Arrington
LURAY, Sept. 12 — After two tough losses to talented teams, the Luray Bulldogs captured their first win of the 2025 football season over the visiting Dragons of William Monroe on Friday night, 48-27, at Bulldog Field. Luray racked up 469 yards of offense, with 310 of those yards coming in a dominant second-half performance.
Junior running back Ryan Jenkins once again lead the way on the ground, averaging nearly 11 yards per carry after recording 163 yards on 15 touches and two touchdowns. Sophomore Caleb Cyphert also posted a 100-yard game and averaged nearly 12 yards per carry after gaining 106 yards on just nine carries. Senior Chance Beahm only had two carries, but he made the most of them — racking up 91 yards, including a 74-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Senior starter Cason Bryant finished with 54 yards and a touchdown on just five carries after leaving the game early with an ankle injury.
“Our offensive line worked hard in the off-season to get stronger and open up holes for these guys, and our running backs…I mean Cason and Ryan are just two big backs and they are just pounding in there,” LHS head coach Lynn “Skip” Hamilton told PVN after the game. “You saw when Cason went out on that ankle injury on that horse collar tackle he got, we can substitute in Chance Beahm or Mason Cubbage with a little different speed and a little different dynamic that they bring to that position, and it just opens up different things.”
The Bulldogs scored on its first seven offensive possessions until Coach Hamilton substituted freely in the fourth quarter. Luray only turned the ball over once — a fumble midway through the fourth — but they were penalized 10 times.
Friday night’s non-district matchup with Class 3A William Monroe was close in the first half. While Luray got touchdowns on all three possessions, the Dragons scored on two of three. The visitors opened up with an eight-play drive covering 61 yards and consuming just over four minutes. Sophomore running back Rashad Brock accounted for 57 of those yards, including a 36-yard breakaway on the first play from scrimmage. Brock punched in the first score from eight yards out to go up 7-0.
Luray then put together its own 10-play drive covering 70 yards and consuming 4:27 off the clock. The Bulldogs split the carries among its three main running backs — Jenkins, Bryant and Cyphert — but it was Bryant who hit the end zone from 19 yards out and added a two-point conversion to take the lead, 8-7.
A successful onside kick gave Luray the ball back, and they converted for another score just three plays later. A 39-yard run by Jenkins set up a two-yard touchdown run by junior quarterback Ayden Haddock, who also added the two-point conversion for a 16-7 lead.
Bryant racked up a third down sack during Monroe’s next possession, which forced a punt. The Bulldogs then suffered a first down sack as senior Bryse Fitzgerald and junior Josh Watson combined in a big stop for the Dragons. Despite the sack and two big penalties, Luray still mounted a 10-play drive ending with a seven-yard touchdown pass from Haddock to Beahm to go up 22-7 with 6:01 remaining in the half.
Monroe then closed out the first half with a 14-play drive covering 57 yards, ending with a 13-yard touchdown pass from junior Lucas Shifflett to his favorite receiver all night, junior Deonte Welcher. That duo connected on seven of the Dragons’ nine receptions on the night for 79 yards through the air. While William Monroe featured three different quarterbacks during the night, they ended the game with 91 yards through the air on 9-of-13 passing. Brock caught the two passes not grabbed by Welcher.
Luray dominated the second half and put the game out of reach before the final period. The Bulldogs scored three times in the third quarter on just 12 plays (and only four plays for the first two scores). Jenkins opened the half with a 55-yard touchdown run on the first play. Following a Dragon fumble — their only turnover of the game — Luray scored in three plays, with Cubbage scoring from five yards out and Jenkins adding the two-point conversion. A William Monroe three-and-out was then followed by an eight-play drive covering 89 yards, including a 17-yard run by Beahm and a 15-yard touchdown run by Cyphert. Luray lead 42-14 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Dragons completed a 10-play drive early in the fourth as Brock added his second touchdown to bring the score to 42-20. Two plays later Beahm’s 74-yard run extended Luray’s lead to 48-20. Following a Luray fumble — their only turnover of the game — the Dragons added the final scoring as Welcher caught a 33-yard touchdown pass for his second score. Luray closed out the 48-27 non-district win in victory formation.
After two tough losses to open the season, Coach Hamilton said the victory was great for team morale.
“We played two good teams in East Rock and Stuarts Draft and for the most part we think that it was us that prevented us from winning. I mean they had great athletes on those two teams, and you gotta make the plays when you need to make ’em, but we had turnovers and we had penalties at inopportune times,” he said on Friday night. “But this game right here, we had a little adversity in the first quarter, let them score first, but our saying is ‘No quit, all grit’ and they just hung in there and did a good job of fighting through, and we had good offensive numbers and some good defensive plays.”
William Monroe gained only 123 yards on the ground. Brock had 94 of those yards on 14 carries and two touchdowns. He also caught two passes for 12 yards. The Dragons picked up 91 yards through the air, as Welcher had seven receptions for 79 yards. Overall, Monroe had 214 yards of offense. They were penalized seven times and only turned the ball over once.
By comparison, Luray had 469 yards of offense, with 447 on the ground among eight different ballcarriers. Through the air, Haddock went 3-of-6 for 22 yards.
Many stats were similar for the two teams, as they both ran almost the same amount of plays, possessed the ball for almost the same amount of time — Monroe actually had the ball for 22 seconds more than Luray — both had one turnover, and Luray only had three more penalties.
William Monroe (0-3) will now host the Mountaineers of Madison County of Friday night at 7 p.m.
Luray (1-2) will hit the road this Friday to face off with Rock Ridge at 7 p.m. While a lot went right this week for the Bulldogs, Coach Hamilton says they need to tighten their defense after giving up some big gains on sweeps and screen passes in the flat.
“We need to work on our defense a little bit, tighten down that sweep play they were running. We’re not closing down the gaps to slow them down to allow flow to get to that, we need to work on that better,” he said. “Rock Ridge runs a spread offense and they’ve got a dynamic back, and we’ve got to get ready for that wide open offense.”
For schedules, rosters and results, check the Bull Run District website.
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