Richards rushes for 382 yards and five touchdowns
By Randy Arrington
QUICKSBURG, Sept. 25 — The Page County Panthers put up nearly 500 yards of offense and took advantage of four Stonewall Jackson turnovers to pick up their second-straight win on Friday night at Dick Krol Field.
“We needed it,” PCHS head coach James May said after the Bull Run District victory in Quicksburg. “I really thought we were much improved. Stonewall, the Generals, they had a great game plan… We put some stuff in this week thinking it might work, and I’m really glad we did because if we hadn’t made some changes and put in some fun stuff for the kids, we would have never moved the football, they would’ve stopped us tonight.”
The Generals’ defense had almost no answer for junior running back Logan Richards, who put up a monstrous night with 382 yards on 19 carries — that’s more than 20 yards per carry — while recording five touchdowns. In the second half alone, Richards rushed for more than 200 yards and scored three touchdowns. That performance fueled a 27-8 run by Page in the second half to put the game away after a competitive first half. Richards had touchdown runs of 53, 60, 13, 61 and 34 yards. He had amassed 178 yards and two touchdowns by halftime.
“It’s amazing,” Coach May said of Richards’ performance. “And he’s the first guy to say ‘I’ll block for you,’ he’s the first guy up there congratulating his offensive line.. We always need to have a big game out of Logan, but he had a really big game tonight, and we’re really proud of him.”
It was a tale of two halves in many ways, as Stonewall Jackson opened up the game charging down the field on a 14-play drive that consumed more than nine minutes off the clock in the first quarter. Junior running back Chans Harlow lead the charge, racking up 139 yards on 12 carries in the first half (11.6 ypc). However, that first drive ended with an interception by PCHS junior Richard Reed, and the Panthers would score two plays later on a 53-yard breakaway touchdown run by Richards.
Stonewall answered right back with its own two-play drive, as Harlow broke loose for an 88-yard run followed by a three-yard touchdown. After a successful two-point attempt, the Generals lead 8-7 with 1:29 left in the first quarter.
It would then take Page only three plays to respond as Richards broke loose on a 60-yard touchdown sprint, and the Panthers regained the lead 13-8 with only 14 seconds left in the first quarter.
Despite a 56-yard kick return by SJHS senior Jacob Gwin, the Generals turned the ball over on downs after picking up one first down on their next possession. Page then mounted a nice drive fueled by a 21-yard pass from senior quarterback Jayden Taylor to freshman Timothy Johnson, and a 32-yard run by Richards. However, after gaining 60 yards on seven plays, Page got backed up five after a false start on first-and-goal at the one. Then they fumbled at the six.
The Generals were kind enough to return the favor — and the ball — on the next play. However, two costly penalties put the Panthers in a fourth-and-17 at the 29 yard line. Coach May sent Reed out to attempt a 46-yard field goal, which bounced off the bottom bar.
Reed, who has become one of the better kickers in the region, redeemed himself on the final possession of the half, as he ended a five-play, 24-yard drive with a 28-yard field goal. The Panthers held a 16-8 advantage at the break.
Page dominated the second half, scoring on their first drive. Richards ran in from 13 yards out, ending a six-play drive that covered 65 yards over three minutes and gave the Panthers a 22-8 lead with 9:04 left in the third quarter.
Page County’s defense only allowed seven yards of rushing in the second half. However, they did give up a 69-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Carter Heishman to Gwin on Stonewall’s first possession of the second half. The score was now 22-16 with 8:07 left in the third, and the district matchup was looking to be a back-and-forth dogfight. But that would be the last score the home team would record.
Page County went on to find the end zone three more times — twice by Richards from 61 and 34 yards, and once by Taylor from one yard out. It could have been more, but the Panthers would fumble a punt in the third quarter. Stonewall turned the ball over twice in the fourth.
The Panthers put up a total of 492 yards of offense — 456 on the ground (382 by Richards) and 36 yards through the air. Taylor went four-for-four in passing (all in the first half). Page ended up plus two in the turnover margin, controlled the ball for only about two minutes less than Stonewall, and had fewer penalties than the home team.
The Generals had 268 yards of offense — 176 rushing (144 by Harlow) and 92 passing. Heishman went 5-for-10 for 92 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Stonewall turned the ball over four times and was penalized almost a dozen times.
Up next, the Generals (1-4) will host Craig County on Friday, Oct. 2, while Page County (2-3) takes a week off. The Panthers then travel to Strasburg Oct. 9 to take on the defending VHSL Class 2 state champions.
“Enjoy this one,” Coach May said he would tell his players in the locker room after Friday night’s win. “Because we got a bye week next week, but then we got that team in purple from over here in Shenandoah County, and we’ll do the best we can and prepare for those guys…and try to get in the mentality that we’re not beat before we get off the bus…because we put our shoes on just like they do, one at a time.”
“It’s a good way to go into your bye week with these two wins,” he continued, “because everybody’s a little more refreshed and has a little more positive attitude.”
For the Page County Panthers’ full 2026 schedule,
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