Strasburg vs Luray

[BullRun66]

Game of the Week: Rams ready for district showdown with Bulldogs​

• By Tommy Keeler Jr. The Northern Virginia Daily
• Oct 20, 2022 Updated 10 min ago
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Strasburg’s Takhi Coates finds hole to run through for a big gain as Warren County’s Michael Hooper, left, and Dagan Wayland, right, try to run him down during first-quarter action on Sept. 14 in Strasburg.
Rich Cooley/Daily

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STRASBURG -- There will be much at stake when Strasburg's football team plays at Luray on Friday night. However, Strasburg head coach Mark Roller said he doesn't want his players to make too much of the game.
"I think they understand what's at stake, but we're treating it just like any other game," Roller said. "And you can't get too hyped over it, because your emotions get going and then all of a sudden something happens and those emotions really take over. So we're just playing it day-by-day."
Strasburg enters this week as the only undefeated team in the Bull Run District, while Luray suffered its first loss of the district and the season last week against East Rockingham.


The two teams are also the top two teams in the VHSL Region 2B power ratings, however Region 2B isn't going solely by those numbers this season to determine the playoffs. The place of teams in the Bull Run District will have the biggest impact on seedings for the Bull Run teams in the playoffs.
Strasburg senior quarterback Ryan Roller said he expects the very best effort from Luray on Friday after it lost last week.
"They came off a tough loss," Ryan Roller said. "So they're probably looking at us and they want revenge. It will be a game."
The Bulldogs (6-1, 2-1 Bull Run) are led offensively by their three running backs Brady Jenkins, Kenny Frye and Cason Bryant. Quarterback Sam Liscomb is also a threat in Luray's power running game.
Last week Frye and Liscomb suffered injuries, but Mark Roller said they will be prepared for everyone to be healthy and playing.
Mark Roller said the offensive line is big and physical and it will be a tough matchup for Strasburg's defense.
"They've got those big guys in there (on the offensive line) and then of course the running backs run really hard," Mark Roller said. "I think that's probably the biggest thing is they're in there so close, and you've got a lot of bodies flying around in there. And then all of a sudden they just pop out of a pile, and they have really good running backs. That's kind of what makes it tough, and the fact that they just run hard."


The Rams (6-1, 3-0 Bull Run) have been solid on defense all season. They are allowing only 150.5 yards and 5.5 points per contest.
Junior Colby Shaw has 64 tackles to lead the Rams, while junior Walker Conrad has 41 tackles and five sacks.
Strasburg has also been strong on the offensive side of the ball. The Rams are averaging 355.5 yards and 34.3 points per game.
The running game has been led by the tandem of senior Braden Stern (62 carries for 590 yards and eight touchdowns) and sophomore Takhi Coates (68 carries for 576 yards and six touchdowns). Ryan Roller has rushed for 240 yards and seven scores. He has also thrown for 357 yards on 17-of-29 passing with five touchdowns. Conrad has seven receptions for 129 yards and three scores.
Ryan Roller said he thinks a key to Strasburg's success this season has been team unity.
"I feel like we're meshing really well as a team," Ryan Roller said. "When one teammate does well we're all there to celebrate. When anybody does well we all come in there to celebrate. When anything goes wrong we pick them up. I think we're really coming together as a team."
Mark Roller said one thing that has helped his squad this season is the way they've taken things one opponent at a time.
"I think our guys are doing a great job of playing one week at a time and focusing on the opponent at hand," he said. "And we're executing on offense pretty well. And defensively we're doing the things that we need to do to stop people. So I'm pleased with where we are. We just need to fine tune some stuff offensively, defensively and special teams. So that's what we're kind of focusing on this week in order to prepare us for Friday night."
Mark Roller said penalties and turnovers will be key for the Rams on Friday night. He said they also have to play well on special teams. Luray's special teams played a key role in its 41-25 win over Central on Oct. 7, with an onside kick and another squib kick that Central couldn't handle.
"Central was toe-to-toe with them there, and special teams kind of put them ahead," Mark Roller said. "And when you do that, that kind of puts you behind the 8-ball when you're only getting four or five possessions for the whole game. They're so time-consuming on their offense -- but we are too. So it might be a fast game."

Article from the Northern Virginia Daily

 

[BullRun66]

LURAY, Oct. 14 — In a battle between the top rushing offense and the top passing offense in the area, the best quarterback in the region bested the best running back. East Rockingham’s Jakari Eaves completed 17 of 26 pass attempts for 223 yards through the air and one touchdown. The junior’s one interception didn’t disrupt a 35-14 win on the road over the No. 1 team in the state.

Luray came into Friday night’s Bull Run District matchup with a 6-0 record and averaging close to 400 yards per game in offense, almost entirely on the ground. Senior running back Brady Jenkins was leading the district with 730 yards through six games and averaging close to nine yards per carry. While Jenkins recorded his sixth 100-yard game of the season, finishing the night with 112 yards on 20 carries and scoring the Bulldogs’ only two touchdowns, Luray did a lot to hurt themselves with penalties and turnovers coupled with late game injuries that resulted in their worst outing of the 2022 season.

A big part of Eaves’ success this season has been due to two of the top receivers in the area, as seniors Xavier Butler and Zachary Joyner combined for nine catches and 156 yards. Joyner snagged the ball in the end zone twice in the first quarter.

However, the real credit goes to the Eagle defense that held the Bulldogs — who were averaging 44.3 points per game — to only two touchdowns. East Rock also limited Luray to 264 yards rushing, with 140 of that coming on two long drives in the second quarter. Luray only attempted to throw the ball twice all night — one ending in a fumble that Luray recovered and another that found freshman Cason Bryant just one yard shy of the goal line on fourth-and-goal.

The Bulldogs got off to their worst start of the season when their first three possessions ended in two fumbles and a three-and-out. East Rock, however, after picking up only one yard in their first series, went 70 yards in 12 plays on their second possession. Joyner caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from Eaves to put the visitors up 7-0 with 2:17 left in the first quarter.

After Luray’s second fumble, it took only one play for the Eagles to find the end zone in their third possession. Joyner caught his second touchdown pass on a 25-yard halfback option to put East Rock up 14-0 with 2:05 left in the first.

On their fourth possession, the Bulldogs would start to look more like themselves as they marched 70 yards on 13 plays in 5:38. Jenkins ran it in from 12 yards out to remove the goose egg and get Luray on the scoreboard, trailing 14-7 with 8:31 left in the half.

Then the Luray defense stiffened up and forced the Eagles’ second punt after picking up two first downs. The Bulldogs again looked like themselves as they mimicked the previous drive, going 70 yards on 13 plays in 4:50. Brady again crossed the goal line from five yards out and tied the game at 14-14 with less than a minute left in the half.

After picking up two first downs, Eaves coughed up his only pick of the night as sophomore Drayvin Stevens grabbed his second interception in the last two games. Luray would only have time to run one play as time expired and both teams went to the locker room tied at halftime.

After winning the coin toss and deferring to the second half, East Rock opened up the third quarter with great field position after a failed onside kick by the Bulldogs. While two successful onside kicks helped fuel a road victory over Central last week, Luray’s decision on Friday night left the Eagles starting the second half almost at midfield. It took eight plays to travel 53 yards, as junior Blake Morris plowed into the end zone from nine yards out to give East Rock the lead once again at 21-14 with 9:59 left in the third.

Luray was only able to pick up one first down in their next series as they turned the ball over on downs and once again gave East Rock a great starting point near midfield. This time it took six plays to travel 55 yards in just 2:44 as Morris rambled in from six yards out for his second of three touchdowns on the night. The Eagles lead 28-14 with just under four minutes left in the third.

Both teams then traded three-and-outs before Luray sustained a 10-play drive to start the fourth quarter. Despite traveling 65 yards, the Bulldogs needed 66, as Bryant was stopped at the one-yard line on a fourth-and-goal. The eight-yard pass was the Bulldogs’ only completion of the night.

If Luray had gained one more yard, the game would have been within one score with 7:25 left to play. Instead, East Rock delivered a final blow by marching 99 yards down the field. Morris collected his third touchdown from 15 yards out to cap the scoring at 35-14. The Eagles relied on the running of Morris late in the game and only threw the ball once in the fourth quarter.

Luray was only penalized once in the first half for a defensive offsides, but the Bulldogs picked up four flags in the second half, including two costly personal fouls. One came just prior to the stop on the one-yard line. A personal foul on a third-and-goal at the one-yard line created a fourth-and-goal at the 16. The extra yardage could not be overcome and Luray was left just short of a score that would have kept them in the game late. The other personal foul helped East Rock convert a third-and-16 into a first down en route to their final score.

Injuries started to pile up late in the game as well, as quarterback Ryder Liscomb was benched in the fourth quarter due to concussion protocol after picking up 31 yards on five carries. Jenkins finished the night at the QB position. Senior running back Kenny Frye came off the field limping on two occasions from a lower leg injury. Frye finished the night with 67 yards on 15 carries.

With the loss, Luray drops to 6-1 and will host Strasburg (6-1) next Friday night on Oct. 21. The Rams are coming off a convincing 42-14 win over Madison at home and are currently undefeated in the district. The only blemish on Strasburg’s record is a 2-0 forfeit to Skyline to open the season in late August. Every game they have actually played — they have won. It doesn’t get any easier for the Bulldogs as they close out the season with Strasburg, Clarke (away) and Madison.

Article from the Page Valley News

 

[BullRun66]

This looks to be a good old fashioned line it up and stop our run game if you can type of game. Each team will have very few chances to have the ball as each team likes to control the clock. Strasburg is coming into the game healthy. Luray has one that was taken out last week with a possible concussion and one of their great backs had to be helped off the filed twice with a lower body injury. Have not heard anything on their status for Friday. If they do not play that moves #44 Jenkins to QB and a back up running back into the game for the Bulldogs. Will Luray be motivate to play better after that loss last week or will it linger and will they have penalty issues like they have in the past in big games. Can Strasburg's defense keep playing at the level they have been all season and can the decent passing game that shows up be there to catch Luray off guard. The TE pop pass is a go to for the Rams with a 6'6 tight end that has decent hands. Watching Luray on NFHS last Friday it looked like speed on the D-Line gave them some trouble when stunting or shooting gaps. This should be a great game of high school football with the 1 seed in the region on the line and the district title as well. I am going with Strasburg to win 28-27 with a missed extra point try to be the difference.

 

[BGfootball95]

I hope it is a good game but I am going Luray 28-14

 

[BullRun66]

Both defenses played well in the first half. 15-6 Luray. Strasburg had a lot of uncharacteristic penalties to aid Luray in the first half. A questionable choice to go on 4th and 1 on your own 35 and not get it for Strasburg led to Lurays second score.