PM Secures Homecoming Shutout
Parry McCluer High School’s offense scored on its first two possessions of the game, and the defense shut down Stonewall Jackson to ensure that everyone at Bobby Williams Field enjoyed a happy homecoming football game, as the Fighting Blues cruised to a 35-0 victory last Friday night in Buena Vista.
“It was good to go out and execute,” said PM head coach Jeremiah Brockenbrough. “We’ve still got to clean up a few things, [but] I thought they did well. You have to prepare for each game like it’s the district championship game.”
By the time Xenia Guevara and Brennan Schulke were named homecoming queen and king at halftime, the Blues had built up a 28-0 lead. And the margin of victory co uld have been even larger. The Blues turned the ball over twice in Stonewall Jackson territory, once on a fumble at the 1-yard line, and they chose to kneel four times inside the Generals’ 10 late in the contest.
The rout was on early in this one as the Blues, who improved to 3-1 with the victory, took the opening possession and marched 72 yards in only six plays to start the scoring. Parker Snider did the honors from eight yards out, and when Isaiah Gilbert booted the extra-point kick, PM had a 7-0 lead just 2:16 into the contest.
The Generals (1-3) responded with a long drive of their own, moving all the way to the PM 38-yard line. However, a holding penalty set Stonewall Jackson back 10 yards, and two of the next three plays resulted in negative yardage, forcing a punt.
Then the Blues went back to work, using eight plays to cover 71 yards this time. An 11-yard run from Brody Coleman kept the drive alive on third-and-2 near midfield, and on the next play Kyle Smals hauled in a 21yard pass from Quentin Rosser to move the ball to the Stonewall Jackson 19. Snider again scored from eight yards out, and Gilbert’s kick gave PM a 14-0 lead with 41 seconds left in the first quarter.
That’s the way the score stayed for most of the second period, as the Blues twice turned the ball over in Stonewall Jackson territory. But with 2:56 left in the first half, PM got the ball at midfield, and Brody Coleman took over. Coleman carried on each of the five plays of the drive to cover the 50 yards, getting the touchdown from three yards out. Rosser passed to Adison Haynes for a 2-point conversion to push the PM advantage to 22-0.
The Blues weren’t done there, however. A pair of 15-yard penalties allowed the Generals to move all the way to the PM 38-yard line, but Gilbert intercepted a pass and returned it 33 yards to give the PM offense one last shot before the halftime buzzer.
And the Blues made the best of it. Rosser connected with Coleman on a 37-yard pass play to move the ball to the Stonewall Jackson 5-yard line. Then Snider hauled in a backward throw from Rosser and ran untouched into the end zone for the touchdown and a 28-0 PM lead with just 10 seconds remaining before intermission.
“Once we got the ball back, we went into a hurry-up offense,” Brockenbrough explained. “It was good to be able to do that and to do it successfully. [Rosser] showed a lot of poise after throwing an interception.”
Coleman and Snider, neither of whom carried the ball in the second half, led the PM offense. Coleman finished with 117 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries, while Snider had 10 touches for 69 yards and three scores. The Blues finished with 299 yards on the ground, with the reserves carrying the load after halftime.
One of those backups was Brody Julian, who scored PM’s final touchdown with a 5-yard burst early in the fourth quarter. Julian finished the game with 34 yards on just six carries. In all, eight different players ran the ball for the Blues.
“We want to find one or two extra guys who can tote the ball maybe eight or nine times a game and give Brody and Parker a break,” Brockenbrough said. “We want to be able to put somebody in there and not miss a step, and I think we’ve got those two or three other guys on the sideline.”
Meanwhile, the PM defense turned in one of its best efforts of the season, holding the Generals to just 95 yards of total offense and pitching its first shutout of the 2026 campaign. The Blues recorded eight tackles for loss in the game and got interceptions from Gilbert and Julian. Snider, PM’s leading tackler, finished with nine total stops in the game, while Julian and Timber Thomas recorded eight and seven, respectively.
“The defense is playing pretty well right now,” the PM coach noted. “We’ve been preaching since summer that our defense has to get better each week. Defense is what’s going to help us win big ball games.”
The Blues will close out a three-game homestand this Friday night when they play host to Luray (3-1). Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
“We have to be sure we are in the right spots,” said Brockenbrough, when asked about stopping Luray quarterback Ryan Jenkins and an offense that is averaging more than 50 points per game in the last three contests. “I think it will be a good game, but I think our offense is going to have to play keep-away a little bit. I think we can pound the rock, take our time, and slow the game down a little bit, keep the ball out of his hands.
PM SENIOR running back Parker Snider takes the ball down the field while sophomore offensive lineman Bryson Sorrels (77) hustles to hold off Generals. Snider rushed for 69 yards and three touchdowns on 10 carries. (Ronnie Coffey photo)
AT HALFTIME, seniors Brennan Schulke and Xenia Guevara were crowned as PM’s homecoming king and queen. (Ronnie Coffey photo)
“I think we’re playing pretty good football,” Brockenbrough added. “We grew up from the James River game. We lost [that] game, but we won the game in our heads. I think we can be a threat, but we can’t look ahead.”
SJ 0 0 0 0 0 PM 14 14 0 7 35 First Quarter PM – Snider 8 run (Gilbert kick) PM – Snider 8 run (Gilbert kick) Second Quarter PM – Coleman 3 run (A. Haynes pass from Rosser) PM – Snider 5 run (kick failed) Third Quarter No scoring
Fourth Quarter PM – Julian 5 run (Gilbert kick) SJ PM
Rushes-yards 24-72 46-299 Passing yards 23 58 Comp-Att-Int 6-17-2 2-5-1
INDIVIDUALSTATISTICS RUSHING – SJ, Chans Harlow 9-42, Nunez-Lopez 6-11, Chase Harlow 2-9, Hedrick 2-9,Team 1-6, Heishman 2-1, Escalante-Bravo 2-(-6). PM, Coleman 11-117, Snider 10-69, Julian 6-34, Gilbert 3-28, J. Brockenbrough 8-24, Conner 2-13, Rosser 1-11, Smals 1-7, Team 4-(-4).
PASSING – SJ, Heishman 5-12-2 16, Hedrick 1-5-0 7. PM, Rosser 2-5-1 58.
RECEIVING – SJ, Gwin 3-20, Chase Harlow 1-4, Chans Harlow 1-4, Campuzano 1-(-5). PM, Coleman 1-37, Smals 1-21.
