Dogs slip by Gap

SWOOPE – On a Homecoming night fit for neither man nor beast, the Bison and the Bulldogs battled to the last play.

Luray emerged with a 13-8 win in the first week of Shenandoah District games.

“We didn’t play well, but that’s a credit to them,” said Buffalo Gap coach Rob Maxwell. “They hit us in the mouth.”

The two teams traded punts through the first half, but Luray got the first big break of the game when the Bison muffed a Bulldog punt and Luray retained possession of the ball at the Bison 35-yard line.

With a short field, the Bulldogs drove in for their first touchdown on a four-yard run by senior running back Garrett Cook. Dusty Griffith’s extra point gave the visitors a 7-0 halftime lead.

Each team only had one possession in the third quarter, but the Bison put together a 13-play, 85-yard drive after Luray failed to score in the red zone.

Behind the power running of Travis Hale and Logan Huff, the Gap ate up the rest of the period.

On the final play of the quarter, quarterback Trevor Campbell completed a short pass to Matt Gregory, who broke a tackle on the sideline and dashed in for the touchdown.

Then on a fake extra point kick attempt, the Bison fooled the Bulldogs when kicker Justin Lambert, who is the Bison backup quarterback, found wide receiver Josh Tinsley wide open in the back of the end zone for the two-point conversion.

Luray quarterback Willie Logan completed a short touchdown pass to Cook from the Bison eight with 3:03 remaining in the game, but the Bulldogs’ two-point conversion attempt came up just short, leaving the door open for the Gap to punch in the winning touchdown.

The Bison nearly did just that, moving all the way to the Luray 30-yard line before Bulldog junior Logan McCaughan intercepted Campbell.

Logan gained one first down for Luray and the Bulldogs ran the clock down all the way to 11.9 seconds with a fourth down at midfield.

Logan attempted to run off the rest of the time, but on the change of possession, the Bison had one final play with 4.7 seconds left.

Campbell’s ‘Hail Mary’ pass was intercepted by Luray’s Dylan Mayes to end the drama.

Maxwell made no excuses for the loss by his youthful team.

“Youngness doesn’t matter any more,” Maxwell said. “It’s game six. We didn’t block well enough or tackle well enough.”

The road win for Luray was one of few that the Bulldogs have managed against Buffalo Gap, Riverheads or Wilson in recent memory.

“This was a sweet victory for us,” said Luray coach Travis Osborne. “I can count on my hands how many wins we’ve had in Augusta County in my 13 years. When you come here and win, you feel like you’ve done something.”