Fortunately for the Parry McCluer High School football team, it’s how you finish – not how you start – that matters.
The fourth game of the season for the Fighting Blues (3-1) began in nightmare fashion, but the defense helped wake them up from their early slumber, and they went on to roll past Stonewall Jackson, 37-6, on Friday night in Quicksburg.
“We didn’t play as sharp as we wanted to play,” said PM head coach Jeremiah Brockenbrough, “but it was super important to get a win after losing to James River.”
PM received the opening kickoff, but the second offensive play of the game resulted in an interception, which Stonewall Jackson’s Chans Harlow returned all the way to the PM 23-yard line. A screen pass from Brayden Hedrick to Carlos Garcia- Romero picked up 26 yards, and the Blues were reeling early as the Generals had first-and-goal at the PM 1-yard line.
That’s when the defense stepped up. Garcia-Romero was stopped for no gain on both first and second down, and on third down, Thomas Conner and Brody Coleman teamed up to drop him for a two-yard loss. A fourth-down pass fell incomplete, and the Blues avoided the early punch from the Generals (0-4).
“We made a mistake,” said Brockenbrough, referring to the early turnover, “and we were able to move past it. I really think we grew up a little bit right there. Last year, we could have let them score, but we said we’re going to shut them down.”
The PM defense stood up for most of the game. The Blues held the Generals to just 21 yards rushing and recorded 11 tackles for loss, including four quarterback sacks, a safety and two forced turnovers. PM’s leading tackler, Parker Snider, had another big night, recording 13 total tackles, two tackles for loss, a quarterback sack, and a pass breakup. Jacob Shafer was in on 10 tackles, while Timber Thomas had six tackles, including a sack and a half, and recovered a fumble.
“We were getting downhill this week,” the PM coach said. “As a whole, our linebackers and defensive line played better this week.”
That goal line stand carried over to the offense. The Blues drove 97 yards in just nine plays to take a lead they would never relinquish. Nathan Glass, whose first pass was intercepted, completed a 30yard pass to Conner to move the ball into Stonewall Jackson territory, and Kyle Smals hauled in a 25-yard strike for the touchdown. Quentin Rosser converted the extra-point kick, and the Blues took a 7-0 lead with 2:47 remaining in the opening period.
PM had another long scoring drive in the second period, moving 80 yards, all on the ground. Snider kept the drive alive with a 13-yard scamper on third down, and Shafer scored the touchdown with an 8-yard run. Rosser’s kick upped the lead to 14-0 late in the second quarter.
But the Blues were not done in the first half. Another defensive stop set up PM at its own 34, and PM was able to overcome a holding penalty when Glass scrambled for 42 yards. Two plays later, he found Shafer for a 21-yard TD strike, and when Rosser booted another extra-point kick, the Blues had a 21-0 lead with just 38 seconds remaining until intermission.
“That was pretty big,” Brockenbrough said. “Any time you can put something in as time is running down before halftime, it really helps.”
While Glass tossed his first two interceptions of the year in this contest, he also completed 8-of-14 passes for 105 yards and three TDs to go along with his 79 rushing yards on only four carries. Shafer led the ground attack with 152 yards on 19 tries and a pair of TDs.
After halftime, the Blues all but put the game away with their first drive of the third quarter. PM needed just six plays to drive 76 yards, and Glass completed the march with his 8-yard TD pass to Conner. Rosser’s kick upped the PM lead to 28-0.
Stonewall Jackson avoided the shutout when Chans Harlow found the end zone on a 27-yard run, but the Blues responded with a safety in the fourth quarter as Snider and Shafer teamed up to drop Harlow in the end zone. Shafer later added an 11-yard TD run, followed by an extra-point kick by Rosser, for the final tally.
“We played a pretty clean football game Friday night,” said Brockenbrough. “We controlled the line of scrimmage.”
The Blues take the road for the third straight week this Friday when they travel to Luray (2-2) for their first-ever meeting with the Bulldogs, with the kickoff slated for 7 p.m.
“I think it’s a good match-up for us,” said Brockenbrough. “We have to control the line of scrimmage Friday. If we can get up the field like we’re supposed to, we can shut them down. Offensively, we’ve got a chance to score. We don’t want to get into a shootout, but we’re prepared for that as well.”
PM 7 14 7 9 37 SJ 0 0 6 0 6 First Quarter PM – Smals 25 pass from Glass (Rosser kick) Second Quarter PM – Shafer 8 run (Rosser kick) PM – Shafer 21 pass from Glass (Rosser kick) Third Quarter PM – Conner 8 pass from Glass (Rosser kick) SJ – Harlow 27 run (run failed) Fourth Quarter PM – Safety PM – Shafer 11 run (Rosser kick) PM SJ
Rushes-yards 43-339 29-21 Passing yards 105 149 Comp-Att-Int 8-15-2 9-21-1
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING – PM, Shafer 19-152, Glass 4 -79, S nider 6-50, Brockenbrough 5-38, Z. Dunn 3-20, Rosser 2-4, J. Dunn 1-1, Team 3-(-5). SJ, Chas Harlow 7-40, Heishman 1-9, Garcia-Romero 12-5, Lopez 1-2, Chase Harlow 1-(-1), Team 1-(-15), Hedrick 6-(-19).
PASSING – PM, Glass 8-14-2 105, Smals 0-1-0 0. SJ, Hedrick 8-15-1 120, Heishman 1-6-0 29.
RECEIVING –PM, Conner 2-38, Snider 2-21, Smals 1-25, Shafer 1-21, Z. Dunn 1-0, Rosser 1-0. SJ, Garcia-Romero 4-84, Franklin 1-31, Guerrero 1-29, Chase Harlow 1-4, Ortiz 1-3, Chans Harlow 1-(-2).
ABOVE, PM sophomore running back Quentin Rosser takes the ball down the field. AT LEFT, After receiving the handoff from PM senior quarterback Nathan Glass (far left), junior running back Parker Snider moves with the ball while junior center Tyler Chittum (53) prepares to block for him. (Ronnie Coffey photos)
