Luray puts up 571 yards of offense in season finale
By Randy Arrington
LURAY, Nov. 8 — The Bulldogs scored on nine of 13 offensive possessions Friday night against Page County and added a 10th touchdown on special teams. Six different Luray players found the end zone in a 68-7 rout of their county rival at Bulldog Field.
The running back duo of junior Cason Bryant and sophomore Ryan Jenkins once again lead the ground attack for Luray. Bryant only carried the ball five times, but still racked up three touchdowns and 124 yards (24.8 ypc). Two of the touchdown runs by the junior were for 46 yards each. Jenkins had only four carries for 119 yards (29.8 ypc) and a touchdown. The sophomore broke away for a 53-yard touchdown on the Bulldogs’ third play from scrimmage and a 59-yard run in the third quarter.
The Panthers suffered a big blow midway through the first quarter when they lost senior star running back Ace Campbell to a disqualification on a personal foul. In his second carry of the game, Campbell went 38 yards to the end zone and posted Page County’s only score with 8:20 left in the first frame. Last week against Central, the senior running back put up 80 yards on 26 carries. In some games this season, Campbell has approached 40 carries for the Panthers.
The Luray defense was able to contain the Panthers’ other two senior running backs, as Jordan Hedrick had 68 yards on 11 carries and Kenseth Tharp gained only nine yards on 14 carries. Through the air, Page went 2-of-10 for only five yards, while the Bulldogs recorded four sacks — two from senior Timothy “Little Big Man” McClung. Sophomore Trey Guzy also had a good night on defense with several key stops.
The Page County offense struggled all night, picking up only five first downs and a total of 81 yards for the game. The Panthers punted or turned the ball over on downs on 11 of 13 possessions.
By contrast, Luray put up 571 yards of offense. However, Page County dominated the time of possession 32:07 to 13:52. The Bulldogs only ran 28 plays from scrimmage (compared to 52 for Page), but they got yards in chunks with six plays of 46 yards or more. The Panthers also won the turnover battle, as the Bulldogs gave the ball up four times in the first half (interception, two fumbles, mishandled punt). Page did not turn the ball over until a fumble late in the first half, and another early in the fourth.
Jenkins opened up the scoring on Luray’s first possession with a 53-yard touchdown run with 9:47 left in the first. After going three-and-out on their first possession, Page County answered back with Campbell’s 38-yard run to the end zone 87 seconds later to tie the game at 7-7.
It took Luray only two plays to retake the lead. Sophomore quarterback Ayden Haddock hit junior Chance Beahm for a 49-yard pass that set up a six-yard touchdown run by Bryant. The Bulldogs lead 14-7 with 7:24 left in the first quarter. After Page turned the ball over on downs, Luray extended its lead two plays later on a 46-yard touchdown run by Bryant. The Bulldogs went up 21-7 with 4:41 on the clock. Following a Panther punt, Luray added one more score in the first frame when Beahm ended a three-play drive with a 66-yard touchdown run. The Bulldogs lead 28-7 after the first 12 minutes.
Luray began to play around with their roster and allowed McClung to run the ball, throw the ball, and catch the ball. The stout senior’s throwing ended with an interception early in the second quarter, but his running gained positive yardage and his receiving resulted in a 15-yard touchdown just before the half. McClung also had two sacks on defense.
LHS senior Drayvin Stevens scored the Bulldogs’ only other touchdown of the first half, as he reversed field and returned a punt 40 yards to the end zone with 8:15 left in the first half. Jenkins broke loose for a huge run of 60-plus yards late in the second quarter, but he fumbled the ball at Page’s 17-yard line. It would be the second time that Luray fumbled inside of three minutes. The Bulldogs still held a 41-7 advantage at halftime.
The second half went much quicker than the first, as the teams split nine possessions in the final two quarters as opposed to 18 in the first half. Bryant ended a three-play drive with another 46-yard touchdown run on Luray’s opening possession of the second half. Two minutes later, junior Nick Cubbage capped off a two-play drive with a seven-yard touchdown run. Five minutes after that, Haddock found the end zone from five yards out, as Luray lead 62-7 heading into the fourth quarter. Stevens scored the final touchdown of the game from nine yards out with 7:25 left.
Haddock finished the night 2-for-3 in passing for 64 yards and a touchdown. The sophomore also rushed for 20 yards on four carries and a touchdown.
Both teams finish the season at 2-8 and actually only missed the Region 2B playoffs by one spot. The top spot in the region playoffs will go to either Bull Run champion Clarke County or James River District champion Buckingham. Both teams are 10-0. Strasburg (9-1) and Riverheads (8-2) are likely to be the third and fourth seeds, respectively. Stuarts Draft (7-3), Fort Defiance (5-5), Central (4-6) and Madison (4-6) will likely round out the field.
For schedules, rosters and results, check the Bull Run District website.
•••
RELATED ARTICLES
Bulldogs put up fight against Falcons, 43-20
Bulldogs fall, 42-0, to undefeated Rams
Bulldogs dropping down to Class 1 next year
Bulldogs drop district opener, 48-33, at Madison
Panthers fall, 52-30, to Raptors
Panthers stack back-to-back wins to reach .500
Bulldogs outrun by Cougars, 31-0
Bulldogs manhandle Dragons, 35-6
Be the first to comment