In the season-opening local rivalry game, the Parry McCluer High School football team earned a 21-11 home win over Rockbridge County on Friday night at Bobby Williams Field in Buena Vista.
Playing in front of a huge and energetic crowd, the Fighting Blues defeated the Wildcats for the third year in a row, but Friday night’s showdown was the most competitive of the three games. The Wildcats now lead the all-time series 12-11.
The Wildcats had a big defensive play early in the game when Pat Looney recovered a PM fumble near midfield, but the Blues’ defense stepped up to stop RC from capitalizing on the turnover. PM senior quarterback Nathan Glass gave the Blues a 6-0 lead when he ran for a 7-yard touchdown with 1:17 left in the first quarter.
In their first game under new head coach Zack Rhodenizer, the Wildcats responded with a 25-yard field goal by Aiden Meyers about three minutes into the second quarter to cut the lead to 6-3.
PM, guided by third-year head coach Jeremiah Brockenbrough, responded with a short TD run by Jacob Shafer with 1:25 left in the first half, and Shafer then ran for a two-point conversion to give the Blues a 14-3 halftime lead.
After a scoreless third quarter, Glass ran for a 4-yard TD with 8:32 left in the game, and Quentin Rosser’s extra-point kick extended the Blues’ lead to 21-3.
RC scored the final points of the game when Andrew Kelly made a 2-yard run to the end zone and then ran for a two-point conversion with 5:12 left. The Wildcats would get the ball again, but Rosser made an interception to prevent any further scoring.
It was a strong night for both teams defensively and a solid night for RC freshman quarterback Taylan Tyree in his first varsity game.
Both teams will play host to nondistrict rivals next Friday at 7 p.m., with the Blues facing Page County (0-1) and the Wildcats taking on Turner Ashby (1-0).
For the full story, photos and stats from the opener, with predictions for next week, please see our Sept. 3 newspaper.
