Knights Pull Away In Fourth Quarter
The Parry McCluer High School football team came up just short Friday night, literally.
The Fighting Blues missed an opportunity for a go-ahead touchdown by a mere three yards late in the third quarter, and more than one drive ended in James River territory as PM dropped a 21-6 decision to the Knights at Robert E. Williams Field in Buena Vista.
“We gave that football game away Friday night,” PM head coach Jeremiah Brockenbrough lamented. “It got away from us. We were the more physical football team. Two blown assignments and a fumble cost us.”
Trailing 6-0 at halftime, the Blues (2-1) embarked on a drive that covered 80 yards in 13 plays and chewed up nearly nine minutes, finally cracking the scoreboard when Parker Snider converted a fourth-and-goal with a 1-yard plunge into the end zone. The extra-point kick clanged off the right upright, however, and the game remained tied at 6-6 with 1:21 remaining in the third period.
On the first play for JR (2-1) after the touchdown, Snider fired through the line from his linebacker spot and blasted Knights’ quarterback Merit Hammons for a three-yard loss and a fumble. Kyle Smals landed on the loose ball, and the Blues had possession at the JR 14-yard line.
“That was the opportunity,” the PM coach said. “If we put the ball in the end zone right there, that ball game is over.”
On third-and-5 from the 9-yard line, the Blues seemed to have converted the first down, but as Brody Coleman fought for extra yardage, he was stripped of the ball at the three. JR recovered there and turned the Blues away.
The Knights reeled off two late touchdowns. Sam Wilson, who scored on a 49-yard dash in the first half, hauled in a 61yard TD pass from Hammons with 5:16 to play, and Hammons later dove into the end zone from the 2-yard line with 1:10 remaining for the final margin.
“They were missed assignments,” Brockenbrough explained. “What they did was exactly what we [prepared] for all week long. We got caught looking inside, which is easy to do for a high school football player. That’s all it takes. [James River] made the plays Friday night.”
While the Blues held JR’s top offensive tandem in check, limiting fullback Ashton Orange to just 47 yards on 14 carries and holding Hammons to only 32 yards on 12 tries, Wilson’s two big plays proved to be the difference. Wilson accounted for 133 of James River’s 242 total yards, rushing for 72 yards on just five carries and finishing with 61 yards receiving on the only pass completion of the game for the Knights.
The Blues were held to a season-low 132 yards on the ground. Coleman carried for 84 yards on 21 attempts, while Snider, who entered the game with two straight 100-yard performances but was hampered by an illness, was held to just 36 yards on 14 carries. Quarterback Quentin Rosser completed 3-of-6 passes for 66 yards.
One of those completions was a 47-yard strike to Smals that kept alive PM’s scoring drive on third-and-14 from the Blues’ 28-yard line. That was one of the few third-down-conversions in the game for Parry McCluer, which went just 4-for-14 on third down tries in the contest.
As a result, while the Blues moved the ball into JR territory on more than half of their drives in the game, only one resulted in points.
On the opening possession, the Blues marched to the Knights’ 37 in 13 plays, only to see a third-and-6 come up short and a fourth-down pass fall incomplete. The next drive reached the James River 38 before it stalled out. Then, with the game still knotted at 6-6, the Blues got a great punt return from Isaiah Gilbert to set PM up at the James River 28. A bobbled snap on first down, one of five fumbles in the contest for the Blues, and a holding penalty that wiped out a first-down completion, ended that threat.
“We didn’t execute,” Brockenbrough said. “I’m a firm believer that if you get inside the 35, there’s no excuse for not getting something in the end zone. I felt like sometimes we took plays off up front.
“Credit James River,” the PM coach continued. “They played good backside defense, but we didn’t do a good job of downfield blocking after initial contact.”
According to the PM coach, not all was bleak in the setback. “If we did anything in that football game, we started to grow up a little bit, and we’re getting close to being a really good football team,” Brockenbrough explained. “I really feel like we turned the corner to where we can be a good football team going down the stretch.”
That growth will be tested this Friday night when the Blues play host to Stonewall Jackson (1-2) in this year’s homecoming contest. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
JR 0 6 0 15 21 PM 00606 First Quarter No scoring
Second Quarter JR – Wilson 49 run (kick failed) Third Quarter PM – Snider 1 run (kick failed) Fourth Quarter JR – Wilson 61 pass from Hammons (Painter run) JR – Hammons 2 run (Taylor kick) JR PM
Rushes-yards 35-181 49-132 Passing yards 61 66 Comp-Att-Int 1-4-0 4-6-0
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING – JR, Wilson 5-72, Orange 14-47, Hammons 12-32, Daniels 3-27, Whitt 1-3. PM, Coleman 21-84, Snider 14-36, Conner 7-18, Julian 1-11, J. Brockenbrough 2-1, Team 2-(-40), Rosser 2-(14). PASSING – JR, Hammons 1-4-0 61. PM, Rosser 4-6-0 66. RECEIVING – JR, Wilson 1-61. PM, Smals 1-47, Fleming 1-15, Coleman 1-4.
WHILE A pair of Knights try to stop him, PM junior running back Brody Coleman holds onto the ball. Watching is PM junior tight end Michael Fleming (2). Coleman led all players with 84 rushing yards on 21 carries. (Ronnie Coffey photo)
A HOST of Blues make blocks while a James River player tries to get to the ball. Among the Blues pictured are junior quarterback Quentin Rosser (3), Brody Coleman (6) and Michael Fleming (farright). (Ronnie Coffey photo)
