PM Commits Four Turnovers In District Opener
One of the first rules of winning football is to take care of the ball. Parry McCluer forgot that rule last Friday night.
The Fighting Blues (4-3) committed four turnovers, and Narrows (2-4) took advantage of three big plays to score in every quarter and hand visiting PM a 28-7 setback in the Pioneer District opener.
“You’re not going to win many games like that,” lamented PM coach Jeremiah Brockenbrough. “The score doesn’t indicate the way we played that game. In trying to replace players, the whole process just fell apart.”
The Green Wave tallied all of their points on plays of 10 yards or more, with three of them covering 25 yards or better. Narrows opened the scoring with a 28-yard pass from Tucker Bryan to Elijah Knoetze with 6:50 to play in the first quarter. On the first play of the third period, Cooper Helvey raced 66 yards for a touchdown, and he added a 32-yard TD in the final quarter to seal the victory.
Narrows rolled up 335 yards of total offense, with Helvey and Bryan having a hand in all of them. Helvey rushed for 172 yards on 18 carries, scoring two TDs. Bryan rushed for 67 yards and a score on 11 tries while also completing 8-of-17 passes for 96 yards and a TD.
While the Green Wave hit the big play, the Blues hurt themselves. PM lost a fumble on the first play after the initial Narrows touchdown, and while still trailing just 14-0, PM drove all the way to the Narrows 37-yard line before tossing the first of two interceptions. Then, a 16-play drive that ate up over eight minutes of the third-quarter clock ended when the Blues lost another fumble, this time at the Narrows 2-yard line.
In all, the Blues, who turned almost exclusively to the running game after halftime, had five possessions that consisted of eight plays or more, but they only found the end zone once. That touchdown came in the fourth quarter when Parker Snider scooped up a fumbled snap and crashed in for the score. Quentin Rosser’s PAT kick cut the Narrows lead to 21-7 with 8:03 remaining in the game.
“I think if we would have went out in the first half and tried to pound the ball, we would have had a chance to win that game,” said Brockenbrough.
The Blues held the ball for 15:11 of the second half and ran 32 plays, compared to just 16 plays in the final two quarters for the hosts.
Playing without second-leading rusher Jacob Shafer, who missed his second straight game with an injury, the Blues once again turned to Snider to be the feature back. Snider, who also led the Blues with 13 tackles on the defensive side of the ball, responded by turning in his second straight 100-yard effort. The senior carried the ball 26 times for 104 yards and the score.
PM finished the game with 150 yards on the ground. Jordan Brockenbrough contributed 36 yards on 11 carries.
Next up for the Blues is the annual homecoming contest, with undefeated district rival Craig County (6-0 overall, 1-0 district) visiting Bobby Williams Field this Friday at 7 p.m. It becomes the next big game in PM’s rollercoaster season.
“The big game is Friday night,” noted Brockenbrough. “If we can win this one and win out, we have a great chance of hosting a first-round playoff game.”
PM 0 0 0 7 7 NHS 7 7 7 7 28 First Quarter NHS – Knoetze 28 pass fromT. Bryan (Helvey kick) Second Quarter NHS – T. Bryan 14 run (Helvey kick) Third Quarter NHS – Helvey 66 run (Helvey kick) Fourth Quarter PM – Snider 5 run (Rosser kick) NHS – Helvey 32 run (Helvey kick) PM NHS Rushes-yards 49-150 29-239 Passing yards 45 96 Comp-Att-Int 4-12-2 8-18-0
INDIVIDUALSTATISTICS RUSHING – PM, Snider 26-104, Brockenbrough 11-36, Glass 10-12, Coleman 1-3,Team 1-(-5). NHS, Helvey 18172, T. Bryan 11-67.
PASSING – PM, Glass 4-12-2 45. NHS,T. Bryan 8-17-0 96. RECEIVING – PM, Conner 1-17, Snider 1-13, J. Dunn 1-9, Coleman 1-6. NHSP,. Bryan 4-46, Knoetze 3-43, Helvey 1-7.
FIGHTING BLUE junior running back Parker Snider carries the ball as Narrows defenders approach. Snider led PM with 104 rushing yards on 26 carries and scored the Blues’ only touchdown. On defense, Snider paced the Blues with 13 tackles.(Ronnie Coffey photo)
PM JUNIOR running back Jordan Brockenbrough takes the ball down the field as junior teammate Kaedin Conner (far right) blocks for him and freshman offensive lineman Bryson Sorrels (77) awaits Narrows defenders. Brockenbrough rushed for 36 yards on 11 carries. (Ronnie Coffey photo)
