Luray finishes 6-5, improvement from 2-8 last season, six seniors graduate
By Randy Arrington
LURAY, Nov. 14 — Friday night’s Region 1B quarterfinal at Bulldog Field was exactly what one would expect from a four/five seed matchup in the postseason. The teams were evenly matched, both ran similar offenses, both had stiff defenses, the game stats showed no clear dominance, and victory would come down to who made fewer mistakes.
No. 5 Buffalo Gap came in at 4-6, while No. 4 Luray was 6-4. The two teams battled hard on both sides of the ball, grinding through long, sustained drives. Each team only had five offensive possessions during the entire game. While Gap committed a costly turnover at the start of the second quarter, it would be two mishaps by the Bulldogs in the second half that would ultimately secure the fate of the game.
“This is part of life and how you handle this…it goes with what we’ve been saying all year, ‘no quit, just grit’…we just came up on the short end of the stick tonight,” LHS head coach Lynn “Skip” Hamilton said after Friday night’s postseason loss. “Hats off to Buffalo Gap. I knew it was going to be tough. They are a hard-nosed team and their coaches are pretty darn good.”
The one Bison that made the biggest impact was senior Isaac Goff, who recorded all three scores for Gap — all in the second half, all within about 13 minutes of game time. Not only did he lead all rushers with two touchdowns and 151 yards on 18 carries (8.4 ypc), Goff also snagged an interception on defense midway through the fourth quarter and ran it back 50 yards for a pick six that capped the game’s scoring for both teams.
The first round playoff loss stings a Luray program that finished 2-8 a year ago, and expected a little more out of the 2025 season.
“We only graduate six, so hopefully they use this as motivation,” Coach Hamilton said.
The Bulldogs began the region quarterfinal fired up and opened up the game with a 13-play, 59-yard drive that consumed nearly seven minutes off the clock and ended with a one-yard plunge into the end zone by Ryan Jenkins. The junior running back — a 1,000-yard rusher on the season — would score Luray’s only touchdown and finish the night with 71 yards on 16 carries (4.4 ypc).
Luray would only get the ball one more time in the first half. While the Bulldogs’ second drive went 15 plays, covered 69 yards and consumed nearly nine minutes…it would stall out 16 yards short of the goal line. Gap declined a holding call to take over on downs.
The Bison were able to move the ball on both of their first half possessions. However, on the 11th play of its opening drive, Gap fumbled the ball deep in the red zone. It would be their only turnover of the game, but it stalled out their best opportunity to score in the first half. Luray lead 6-0 at halftime.
Buffalo Gap opened the second half with a nine-play, 56-yard drive that took four minutes before Goff scored his first touchdown from four yards out with 7:56 left in the third. Luray’s following drive went 12 plays, but only covered 39 yards and stalled out in the red zone. Gap declined holding penalties against Luray on third and fourth downs, as the Bulldogs were already behind the sticks. The Bison then went from their own 10-yard line to the end zone in a dozen plays over 5:41. Goff scored his second touchdown from two yards out and Gap lead 14-6 with 7:38 left in the game.
Thirty seconds later, Goff grabbed an interception and sprinted 50 yards back to the end zone for a pick six that put the score at 21-6.
Being down by two scores, Luray continued to go to the air in their third and final possession of the second half. The Bulldogs were 4-for-9 in passing for 57 yards during the game. However, while Luray went 1-for-1 in the first half and connected on two throws during that final drive, the final possession would end in a second interception, this time snagged by junior Brandon Argenbright.
“I just told those guys there at the end, approach life with a ‘no quit, just grit’ attitude and good things are going to happen…tonight we just came up on the short end of the stick,” Coach Hamilton said.
The Bulldogs won the time of possession, holding the ball nearly seven-and-a-half minutes longer than the Bison. Luray had 213 yards of offense and picked up 13 first downs. They rushed for 156 yards and threw for 57. The Bulldogs committed two turnovers and were penalized six times, but only for 15 yards.
The Bison put up nearly 300 yards of offense, but were penalized twice for 20 yards. Gap rushed for 277 yards, threw for 19, and picked up 17 first downs, while only committing one turnover. Gap got solid perforamnces from junior Jaden Humphrey, who gained 65 yards on 10 carries, and junior Cooper Reed, who picked up 57 yards on 12 carries.
Among its six seniors leaving the program, Luray may feel the toughest loss in running back Cason Bryant, who gained 68 yards on 14 carries Friday night (4.9 ypc).
“Cason Bryant, the maturity that he has shown this year, the leadership he has shown, is going to carry him well onto his next phase when he graduates high school and moves on,” Coach Hamilton said. “He wants to be an electrician…I think he will do great.”
Chance Beahm has also contributed to the team’s success, but he battled injuries during his senior campaign.
“Chance Beahm just never quits…awesome kid,” Coach Hamilton said. “That hamstring injury flared up again tonight…he gives it his all.”
This past week, nine Bulldogs were named to the Bull Run All-District team. With a core of solid players who gained great experience this season, Coach Hamilton believes that the Bulldogs are rebuilding a program that will truly live by the motto “no quit, just grit”.
“I mean we had a great run this year. We went from 2-8 to 6-4 and were in two games that were close that we probably could have won,” he said after Friday night’s postseason game. “If they just keep the ‘no quit, just grit’ attitude, hopefully we can continue with that and just build on it.”
For schedules, rosters and results, check the Bull Run District website.
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