By Robert Edmonds — Daily Sports Correspondent

STRASBURG — It was supposed to be Strasburg's night. The school was decorated in purple. Fans' faces were painted with team colors. It seemed as if the entire town had shown up to support the Rams on this homecoming night. Before the game began, you could see the focus in the players' eyes and the intensity as they trembled with excitement.

Someone should have informed Luray of the events that were about to take place Friday night. Well, they knew it was homecoming for the Rams, but it didn't seem to matter. The Bulldogs took to the field calm and collected, and like a bolt of lightning shocked the Rams before they knew what hit them.

In a game that some thought was evenly matched, Luray dominated on defense and took advantage of big turnovers in a lopsided 35-0 victory over the Rams. The Bulldogs forced five turnovers on the night, including three picks off of Strasburg quarterback Michael Reynolds and ran the ball just well enough on offense to open up the skies.

"Pride and heart was the difference in the game tonight," Bulldogs running back Garrett Cook said. "We knew it was their homecoming tonight and we wanted to embarrass them on their home turf. We wanted to destroy them."

"Garrett came out of his shell last week," Luray coach Travis Osborne said. "He is finally realizing his size and he is taking people to the woodshed. This was a confidence-builder for the kids. They were able to execute and I am really proud of the boys to be able to overcome the adversity they faced at the beginning of the season."

Driving late in the first quarter, Strasburg found themselves faced with a third-and-9. Reynolds dropped back to pass, but what he found was Bulldogs defender Jordan Sullivan, who intercepted the pass and returned the ball to the Rams 39-yard-line. On the very next play, quarterback Will Logan rumbled for 22 yards to put his team in scoring position.

After being sacked to open the second quarter, Logan found Sullivan for an 18-yard strike on a play-action pass. With first-and-goal, the Bulldogs wasted little time when Cook crashed through the middle of the field for a 5-yard score to give his team the lead 6-0.

With Strasburg driving and the second quarter winding down, Johnny Vanwyck picked off Reynolds for the second time on the night and returned the ball to the Rams 48-yard-line. Two plays later, Logan found Vanwyck for a 12-yard connection and extended the lead. After Vanwyck converted on the two-point conversion, the Bulldogs took a comfortable 14-point advantage into the half.

The Bulldogs came out unwilling to let up as the second half began. Forcing the Rams to turn the ball over on downs in their opening possession, Luray's special teams set up their offense up for another score. Vanwyck returned the Rams' punt 36 yards down the right sideline to the Rams' 37-yard line. It took only four plays for Reynolds to connect for another touchdown pass. This time he found Cook on a 22-yard bullet down the middle of the field for the score.

Facing an uphill battle, the Rams came out trying to establish a running game on their next possession, something they had been unsuccessful with in the first half. After five consecutive runs to Tanner Orndorff, Reynolds dropped back to pass on third-and-7. Cook stepped in front of the Rams' receiver and snagged the pass. He then outraced his opposition to score on a 72-yard return, extending his team's lead to 28-0.

"The turnovers were big for us tonight," Osborne said. "It was positive for us to get ahead early. The defense has really picked up their play. We haven't allowed a score in eight consecutive quarters. That's huge for us."

Cook would add another score to his remarkable day on his teams' next drive, with a 52-yard stampede to the end zone, setting the final score.

"The line did a great job tonight," Cook said. "This was a very important win for us. Two in a row and it feels great."