1,000+ yards of combined offense and seven lead changes in fourth quarter
By Randy Arrington
LURAY, Oct. 10 — In a back-and-forth battle that went down to the final seconds, the Luray Bulldogs showed what they are truly made of against Madison County on Friday night. The Bull Run District opener for both teams produced more than 100 points, more than 1,000 yards of total offense, and featured seven lead changes in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs punched in the final score with 11 seconds left on the clock to clinch a homecoming victory over the Mountaineers, 54-49.
“It feels awesome,” LHS head coach Lynn “Skip” Hamilton said after the game. “Our slogan this year is ‘no quit, just git’…no matter what happens, we’re just going to keep fighting until the last second comes off the clock. They just lived that moment right there, it’s awesome.”
Luray rode to victory on the shoulders of junior Ryan Jenkins, who scored five of the Bulldogs’ eight touchdowns. The 6-foot, 200-pound, bowling ball-style running back came into Friday night’s homecoming game leading the Bull Run District with 778 yards and eight touchdowns through just five games. Against the Mountaineers, Jenkins added another 181 yards to his total on 27 carries (6.7 ypc).
Jenkins scored three times in the fourth quarter, each one helping Luray regain the lead. He scored from one yard out to start the quarter, broke a nine-yard run to go up by four points with just under three minutes left, and then launched an inspiring, tackle-breaking grind into the end zone from 14 yards out to earn the go-ahead winning score with just 11 seconds left on the clock.
“Of the ‘no quit, just grit’ attitude, he exemplifies that to a tee,” Coach Hamilton said.” In the weight room, he lead the team…he’s just one of the strongest running backs we’ve ever had come through here, and he’s just no quit. [At the end of the game] We were just going to run and try to get the first down, and then we were going to kill it and stop the clock and take it from there, and he would not be stopped. So, I mean…I’m glad he’s on our side.”
Madison County got a tremendous performance from the top passer in the Bull Run, as senior Aaron Finchum threw for four touchdowns, amassing 401 yards and completed 55 percent of his passes (18-of-33). The strong-armed, 6-foot tall quarterback entered the game with 920 yards passing on the season, with 10 touchdowns and five interceptions. Finchum gave up one interception through the air, and picked up another 22 yards on the ground on four carries.
“That quarterback is probably the best quarterback we’ve seen all year,” Coach Hamilton commented after the game. “I know we’re going to see the Central quarterback later down the road and Strasburg is just as good next week, but that one pass they had for a touchdown… the guy only had a step on our guy and he just dropped that ball in there perfectly.”
Finchum’s top two targets were the district’s top receiver, senior Stephan Turner, who hauled in six catches for 158 yards and two touchdowns, and the No.5 receiver in the district, senior Elijah Myers, who recorded six catches for 209 yards and two touchdowns.
“I told our guys this wasn’t goig to be easy, watching game film on them I said they are athletic,” Hamilton noted.
On Friday night, Luray jumped out to an early 12-0 lead in just five plays. A Madison three-and-out was sandwiched between a four-play drive ending with Jenkins’ first touchdown from four yards out, and a one-play drive that saw sophomore running back Caleb Cyphert break away for a 57-yard touchdown run. Cyphert was the most efficient part of Luray’s running attack, as the sophomore posted 189 yards on just 13 carries for an amazing 14.5 yards per carry. Cyphert broke four runs of 22 yards or more.
Madison got on the board on its next possession during a five-play, 64-yard drive that ended with a 44-yard touchdown reception by Turner. Luray answered back with its own five-play, 59-yard rive ending with a 37-yard touchdown run by Jenkins. The Bulldogs lead 18-14 at the end of the first.
The Mountaineers would then post back-to-back scores around a Luray three-and-out, with two rushing touchdowns by senior Jr Payne Cory from 4 and 11 yards out, respectively. Cory proved to be the only ground game that Madison showed, as the senior recorded 78 yards on 12 carries (6.5 ypc) and three rushing touchdowns.
Madison held a 28-18 lead until the final seconds of the first half when Finchum gave up his only interception of the night to Luray senior Chance Beahm. The senior defensive back picked off the pass at the Luray 5-yard-line and weaved his way 95 yards down the field for a “pick six.” Junior Hunter Painter snagged the two-point conversion pass from junior quarterback Ayden Haddock to bring Luray within two at the half, 28-26.
Madison would only run seven plays in the third quarter and gain only eight yards and no first downs. Luray sustained one 13-play drive that covered 53 yards, but stalled out at the 18 yard line after a bad snap on a fourth and four. However, the scoreless third quarter lead to fireworks in the fourth.
“We made defensive adjustments to try to take away what they were doing, and those worked…and then it also helped the fact that we had that long drive,” Coach Hamilton said. “I told the boys, we have to get back to who we are…which is four yards a carry, let’s just bleed this clock…and in the third quarter we had that.”
Luray scored on all four possessions of the final frame, with three from Jenkins and one from Cyphert. Jenkins capped off a five-play drive and bulled in from one yard out to give Luray a 32-28 lead. That first score was set up by an 82-yard pass reception by Beahm on the first play. Beahm was injured on the play and it would affect the Bulldog’s defensive secondary the rest of the way.
Two plays later, Madison’s Myers hauled in a 47-yard touchdown reception from Finchum to give the Mountaineers a 35-32 advantage. Four plays later, Cyphert scampered 47 yards for another Luray lead at 40-35. Three plays later Turner grabbed a 55-yard touchdown reception to make it 42-40, Madison. Five plays later Jenkins bulled in from nine yards out to go back up 46-42 with 2:47 left in the game.
Madison answered one last time in just three plays as Cory scored from three yards out. The touchdown was set up by a 68-yard reception by Myers. The Mountaineers lead 49-46 with only 1:39 on the clock.
Luray’s final drive would last seven plays, starting with a 21-yard pass reception by Cyphert. Two plays later a 14-yard run by Haddock got the ball to the Madison 23. Four plays later, Jenkins kept his head down and legs churning 14 yards into the end zone for the winning score. Cyphert converted another two points for a 54-49 lead with 11 seconds on the clock. After the kickoff, Madison had only eight seconds to run one play. A pass to Tuner went for good yardage, but the clock expired and Luray sealed its homecoming victory.
“It just shows [the boys] what we’ve been saying. No matter what happens, you just keep fighting and keep fighting, and if you do, good things are going to happen,” Coach Hamilton said. “The fact that we can back… I mean we were down…that interception return at the end of the first half by Chance was just awesome, that kinda lit a fire under us. And then we had a couple of stops coming out [in the second half] and we were able to score and take the lead… and then we had some injuries in the secondary, to Chance, and they took advantage of some matches. They’d motion out and we’d have a linebacker on a guy that’s really fast.”
The Bulldogs had nearly double the first downs of Madison on the night and posted a total of 552 yards of offense, including 446 yards on the ground. In addition to Jenkins and Cyphert, senior running back Cason Byant added 72 yards on 12 carries (6 ypc). Haddock went 3-for-7 through the air for 106 yards.
Madison put up 503 yards of offense, with 401 coming through the air and 102 on the ground. For the game, the two teams combined for 1,055 yards of offense, with 548 yards of rushing and 507 yards through the air. Both teams committed one turnover — Luray fumbled at the end of the third quarter, and Madison gave up an interception at the end of the first half. Luray was penalized six times for 39 yards, while Madison had seven penalties for 40 yards.
While he was happy with more than 400 yards of rushing on offense, Coach Hamilton acknowledged that giving up more than 400 yards through the air on defense was a weak point.
“We’ve always had trouble covering the pass,” he said. “We gotta look at our coaching philosophy — do we need to change what we’re doing to get the kids in a better position so they can cover the pass better, so that’s kinda the main thing. We gotta look at what we’re calling and is that conducive to what our kids can do.”
Up next, No. 2 Luray (4-2) will try to keep a four-game winning steak alive as they travel to No. 1 Strasburg (5-1) for a key district matchup of top teams in the Bull Run on Friday, Oct. 17. Madison (2-4) will be hosting Central (3-3).
For schedules, rosters and results, check the Bull Run District website.
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