No. 4 Luray to host No. 5 Buffalo Gap in Region 1B quarterfinal Nov. 14
By Randy Arrington
SHENANDOAH, Nov. 7 — Luray dominated Friday night’s rivalry game at Panther Field. The Bulldogs lead 49-0 by halftime and substitutes played most of the second half under a running clock. Two successful onside kicks in the first quarter got the avalanche rolling to a 55-6 Bull Run District victory to cap-off the regular season for both teams.
“Our guys here tonight, they did a good job of doing their job. Last week against Clarke, Clarke got some good runs on them because we had some guys trying to do other people’s jobs and not focus on what they have to do, and as you get to playoffs you have to stay focused on the small things,” said LHS head coach Lynn “Skip” Hamilton.
The Bulldogs are indeed now headed to the Region 1B playoffs, as fourth-seeded Luray (6-4) hosts No. 5 Buffalo Gap (4-6) in a quarterfinal round matchup at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 14 at Bulldog Field.
After a tough stretch with back-to-back losses to Class 2 state contenders Strasburg and Central, Luray has played strong football behind a powerhouse, three-headed rushing attack, and a grinding, hard-hitting defense. Arguably, the Bulldogs could be undefeated this season, with all four losses coming to larger schools, one in overtime.
Page County High School head coach James May acknowledged after Friday night’s regular season finale that the Bulldogs are playing solid football at the right time.
“Luray doesn’t have a really senior heavy team, but man they got some football players,” Coach May told PVN. “They got some really strong kids, and they were stronger than us and they kind of dictated the line of scrimmage tonight. They kind of surprised us. I thought we could do a little better than what we did.”
The Bulldog defense held the Panthers to less than 100 yards of offense. Page County’s 1,000-yard rusher Braxton Pettit, ended the game with negative yardage due to some bad snaps. Sophomore Logan Richards carried most of the load for Page, with 20 carries; but he only gained 23 yards. The Panthers went 1-for-4 through the air and gave up an interception — one of four fist half mishaps.
Luray had three more possessions in the first half than Page, due in large part to two successful onside kicks in the first quarter.
“We got a couple of lucky bounces there with our onside kicks, said Coach Hamilton. “You know, you think those are planned, but some of those, we just can’t kick that well and it turns in our favor.”
The Bulldogs would score on seven of eight first-half possessions, with the last being one play before the halftime clock ran out. Luray surpassed 300 yards rushing in the first half. In only two quarters, sophomore Caleb Cyphert rushed for 138 yards on seven carries (19.7 ypc), two touchdowns and a pair of two-point conversions. Senior Cason Bryant and junior Ryan Jenkins mirrored each other’s performance with 86 yards on seven carries (12.3 ypc) and two touchdowns each. Sophomore quarterback C.J. Jeffries went 0-for-3 through the air, but added another 24 yards rushing on four carries (6 ypc) and a touchdown.
Luray lead 49-0 at halftime, and that’s when Coach May said he learned something about his team.
” We have a lot of young guys, and they’ve bought into what we are doing,” Coach May said. “Just like tonight, it would have been easy at 49-0 at halftime to shut it down, but we came out, put a drive together and went down the field and scored.”
The Panthers opened the second half with a seven-play, 71-yard rive that consumed over five minutes. The surprising ending came when 6-foot, 280-pound senior running back Joshua Knott exploded through a pile of defenders to see open field ahead. The big fella then showed some wheels and sprinted 50 yards to the end zone for Page County’s only points of the game.
Senior Tanner Ellis would score Luray’s final points on their first possession of the second half after beaking loose for a 43-yard sprint of his own to the end zone.
Despite Friday night’s result and the season’s 2-8 mark, Coach May says he sees some things changing within the Panther football program, and with such a young unit, he sees the potential for progress. The Panthers end their 2025 season just one spot out of the six-team playoff in Region 2B.
“I think we kind of found that the offense fits our guys, and I think we really, we made a lot of progress this season,” Coach May said. “We were really close to having two 1,000-yard rushers… Pettit’s getting up to about 1,350 and Richards is going to be over 800…it’s been a long time since that’s happened here. I just think…we’re starting to get out of that loser mentality, and we’re really starting to grasp the fact that if we play hard, we can win.”
On Friday, Luray put up 377 yards of offense, earned 13 first downs, and committed no turnovers. However, the Bulldogs drew 11 penalties (eight in the first half), which held back what could have easily been a 400-yard-plus rushing night. Page County won the time of possession by almost four minutes, but the Panthers could only gain five first downs all night.
The lop-sided game allowed Coach Hamilton an opportunity to strengthen his team’s depth and get some reps for the younger players.
“We got some of the young guys in there that have been working hard in practice, and they deserve a chance to get out there…and I’m glad we got an opportunity to get them out on the field,” Coach Hamilton said.
Next up, Luray (6-4) hosts Buffalo Gap (4-6) next Friday in the first round of the regional playoff. The Bison come into the game having won three of their last five games, after a 1-4 start. They have wins over Bath County, Rockbridge, Staunton and Waynesboro. In Gap’s regular season finale on Oct. 31, the Bison lost to Stuarts Draft, 35-27. On Sept. 5, Luray lost at Stuarts Draft in overtime, 26-20.
“It’s now survive and advance…and I think we have a good shot,” said Coach Hamilton. “We’re relatively healthy. We got Chance Beahm back tonight. We didn’t play him a whole lot, just ease him back into it. Some other guys are starting to get healthy.
“As long as we play assignment football…like these guys say, ‘No quit, just grit’ we’ll see what happens. We’ve got a ticket to the dance and that’s all you can ask for.”
Region 1B — QUARTERFINALS ~ Friday, Nov. 14
- #8 Cumberland @ #1 Altavista
- #7 Surry @ #2 Sussex
- #6 Brunswick @ #3 Riverheads
- #5 Buffalo Gap @ #4 Luray
Football Standings
1. Altavista 23.3
2. Sussex 22.8
3. Riverheads 20
4. Luray 19.6
5. Buffalo Gap 18.2
6. Brunswick 14.8
7. Surry 13.7
8. Cumberland 13.5
9. Franklin 13.1
10. William Campbell 10.9
11. SMLCA 10.5
*updated 11/8/25
Region 1B Playoffs
• Quarter-final – November 14
• Semi-final – November 21
• Final – November 29
For schedules, rosters and results, check the Bull Run District website.
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