The Pioneer District released its All-Pioneer District football selections last week, and 12 Parry McCluer High School players landed on the roster selected by the league’s coaches, including two who won firstteam honors on both sides of the football.
Under the direction of third-year head coach Jeremiah Brockenbrough, the Fighting Blues went 6-5 overall and 2-2 in the Pioneer District. They entered the Region 1C playoffs as the sixth seed and ended the season with a 42-7 road loss to third-seeded Grayson County in the Region 1C quarterfinals on Nov. 14.
Leading the honors for the PM contingent were senior Nathan Glass and sophomore Timber Thomas, who both earned a first-team position on offense and defense.
Glass was named the first-team all-purpose player after a season that saw him lead the Blues in both passing and rushing touchdowns. At quarterback during the regular season, Glass completed 66-of-138 passes for 895 yards and 10 touchdowns, including a 95-yard touchdown pass to Zavion Dunn, breaking a 48-yearold school record in the Blues’ 46-12 home win over Page County on Sept. 5. He rushed for 673 yards, averaging 9.3 yards per carry and tallied 10 TDs on the ground.
Glass was also named the All-Pioneer first-team punter. Punting 13 times during the regular season, he averaged 38.1 yards per boot. That included a long of 61 yards against Craig County, and Glass pinned three of those punts inside the 20-yard line.
Thomas joined Glass as a first-team selection on both sides of the ball, earning first-team accolades on both the offensive and defensive lines. On offense, Thomas led the way in a ground attack that averaged over 250 yards per game and over six yards per carry. Defensively, Thomas finished the regular season with 49 total tackles, including six and a half tackles for loss, a team-leading three quarterback sacks and three forced fumbles.
Two other defensive standouts landed on the All-Pioneer first team, with junior Parker Snider and senior Jacob Shafer getting the nod.
Snider was named one of the league’s top linebackers after a regular season that saw him lead the Blues with 104 total tackles, which included a team-high eight tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. Snider also had three pass breakups on the season.
Shafer was named a first-team defensive back. Despite missing three games due to injury, the senior was in on 67 total tackles, which included 4.5 tackles for loss. Shafer also had two interceptions in seven games to go along with a sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
In addition to their first-team defensive honors, Snider and Shafter also found themselves on the second-team offense. Snider was named second-team wide receiver after leading the Blues with 19 receptions for 286 yards and three touchdowns. Shafer was selected to the second team as a running back after leading the Blues with 726 rushing yards, averaging 6.9 yards per carry and scoring nine TDs.
Joining Snider and Shafer on the second-team offense were junior Tyler Chittum at center, senior Zavion Dunn at wide receiver and sophomore Quentin Rosser at placekicker. Dunn, at defensive back, and Rosser, at punt returner, also earned second-team defense honors, along with junior linebacker Kyle Smals and junior defensive lineman Thomas Conner.
Senior lineman Landon Orren, junior offensive guard and defensive end Kaedin Conner and sophomore running back and linebacker Brody Coleman all received honorable mention honors.
