Unbeaten Mountaineers stop Bulldogs

LURAY — Luray was able to catch visiting Madison County napping early Friday night, but the Mountaineers woke up in time to take a 28-20 win back over the mountain.

The Bulldogs led the Mountaineers on two occasions, the first on a 28-yard pass from Will Logan to Dylan Mayes for a 14-7 lead with 1:55 left in the first half.

“When they get in the game with them, I guess they feel like were going to curl up in a ball,” Luray coach Travis Osborne said. “But we’ve got a lot of spunk. I’m proud of my boys tonight.”

Madison County responded with a 25-yard run from Logan Terrell with 42 ticks until halftime to send the teams to the locker room tied at 14. Terrell led the Mountaineers with 122 yards on 12 carries, his third straight 100-yard rushing game.

“I think Luray really came to play tonight and what Coach Osborne did — his staff and their players — they really came and played hard for four quarters tonight,” Madison coach Stuart Dean said. “We didn’t show up to play until about the second half.”

In the fourth quarter, both teams were given multiple game-changing fourth down plays. Madison County was able to pick up a fourth-and-three on the back of Devon Boone, coming back from a shoulder injury. Terrell picked up 34 yards on the next play to set up a one-yard score for quarterback Dustin Kirby, his second of the night.

The Mountaineer defense then forced Luray into three fourth-down situations on the Bulldogs’ final drive of the night, stopping the third at the 16-yard-line to clinch the win.

“That’s what we’ve got to take from that — there are no guarantees in a game,” Dean said. “There’s no guarantees in anything. You can’t just show up, you’ve got to play.”

In the third quarter, Logan took a sweep to the left side four yards for the second Bulldogs lead of the ball game.

“Our kids are scrappy, they bend a little but they don’t quite break all the time,” Osborne said. “I think people don’t understand how to take that. Most people don’t understand how 25 kids can have enough pride and heart to get on the field and take on 45 kids.”

On the next drive, Terrell responded again, this time with a strike to Dylan Shifflette on the 57-yard halfback pass for the score. Shifflette led the receiving corps with 4 catches for 88 yards.

“There’s so many weapons you don’t know what’s going to happen,” Shifflette said. “We’ve got four running backs that could run for a hundred yards a game if you give them enough carries. When you’ve got that much running game it opens up the passing game, it’s always done that.”

Garrett Cook set up multiple touchdowns for the Bulldogs, rushing for 143 yards on 25 carries on the night.

“Garrett, he’s a great athlete I just can’t say enough good things about him,” Osborne said.

Luray drops to 1-2 on the season, while the Mountaineers go into their matchup at Page County next week at 4-0. But they are able to take a little bit more from Friday night.

“It’s going to help us out through the rest of the season, really,” Shifflette said. “Now we’ve been through it and we know what we have to do when we are behind. We haven’t played behind yet, now we know what it’s like.”