Parry McCluer (0-0) at Rockbridge County (0-0) WHEN: 7 p.m. on Friday WHERE: Prasnicki-Ross Field at Veterans Stadium in Lexington. Tickets are $7.
LAST YEAR: The Fighting Blues earned a 21-11 win to defeat the Wildcats for the third year in a row. PM senior quarterback Nathan Glass ran for 60 yards and two touchdowns, and he passed for 43 yards. The Blues also got a big game from senior running back Jacob Shafer, who led all players with 94 rushing yards on 22 carries and scored a rushing TD. The Wildcats scored on a 25-yard field goal by senior Aiden Meyers in the second quarter, and senior running back Andrew Kelly rushed for a 4-yard TD in the fourth quarter. It was a solid first varsity game for RC freshman quarterback Taylan Tyree, who passed for 50 yards and led the Wildcats with 34 rushing yards, but the Wildcats were hurt by eight penalties. The Wildcats lead the all-time series 12-11.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS: The Wildcats went winless last year, but they made progress throughout the season, during which they were hurt by injuries. RC returns 23 players, including almost all of its offensive and defensive linemen, and Tyree has a year of experience under his belt at quarterback. RC returns 10 wide receivers, led by senior Pat Looney, and the Wildcats have a strong group of running backs in their lineup. In scrimmages and practices, second-year RC head coach Zack Rhodenizer has been pleased with what he’s seen from the Wildcats’ spread offense and their defense.
SCOUTING THE BLUES: The Blues set the tone for their season by defeating the Wildcats in the opener, and they went on to compile a 6-5 record, making the Region 1C playoffs before falling in the quarterfinals at Grayson County. After the graduation of allregion quarterback Glass, who accounted for more than 1,500 total yards and 20 TDs last year, the Blues are looking for either senior Kyle Smals or Quentin Rosser to step into the starting quarterback spot. The Blues also graduated all-region running back and linebacker Shafer, but they return senior Parker Snider, also an all-region running back and linebacker last fall. The Blues have a mixture of experience and youth, both offensively and defensively, and we expect new leaders will step up.
THE NEWS-GAZETTE’S PICK: The local rivalry game was close last year, and we expect that to be the case this Friday also. With a new quarterback calling plays, we expect the Blues will take some time to adjust their offense. For the Wildcats, Tyree improved with experience last year, and we think he’ll have his team in rhythm early. Playing on their new artificial turf field, we see the Wildcats getting off to a strong start and holding off a rally from the Blues. We expect the Wildcats to end their three-game losing streak to PM by earning a 21-17 win.
