Blues’ Defense Holds On

PM Ekes Out 13-12 Win Over Luray

The final two minutes were excruciating. At the same time, it was, arguably, the most exciting 120 seconds of football played on Bobby Williams Field in Buena Vista for a long time, as Parry McCluer High School held on to top Luray, 13-12, last Friday night in Buena Vista.

“That was a pretty big football game,” said PM head coach Jeremiah Brockenbrough. “It was exciting for the kids, who had heard about how good Luray was.We finally finished.”

Nursing that one-point lead, the Blues were forced to punt when an effort to run out the clock came up short. That gave the ball back to Luray’s explosive offense with 1:59 remaining in the contest, and PM’s defense was once again called upon to come up with a big play, as it had for the entire game.

One could say the big play of that drive came when, on fourth-and-inches, Quentin Rosser tripped up Luray quarterback Ryan Jenkins after a 15yard gain, saving a sure touchdown. Perhaps, one could say, it was on the next play, when Adison Haynes and Brody Coleman combined to hold Jenkins to a short 2-yard gain.

However, the really big play came with 46 seconds remaining, when Rosser out-leapt a Luray receiver and pulled down an interception at the Luray 11-yard line. The Blues ran out the clock from there to outlast the Bulldogs and to improve to 4-1 on the season, while Luray fell to 3-2.

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page A10 “We knew that if he was going to anybody, he was going to [top receiver Ayden Haddock],” said the PM coach. “Quentin did what [defensive backs] are supposed to do. He got his body between him and the ball and outjumped that dude.

“The emotion that went through those kids when he caught that ball was absolutely unbelievable,” noted Brockenbrough. “These kids have been working hard for a big win.”

Rosser’s interception was his third of the game and the fourth of the contest for the Blues, who turned in their best defensive effort of the season. While Jenkins finished the game with 162 yards rushing and another 101 yards through the air, the Blues, led by Parker Snider’s 13 tackles and an interception, bottled up a Bulldog offense that had averaged more than 50 points per game in the previous three contests.

In addition to the four interceptions, PM came up with five pass breakups, two each from Rosser and Michael Fleming. Ten of the 11 starting defenders had at least one tackle in the game, and five of them recorded at least five stops. Thomas Conner and Timber Thomas chipped in with seven tackles apiece, and Brody Julian finished with six, including four solo tackles.

“When that game was over, I don’t think anybody had hit [Jenkins] as much as we did,” said Brockenbrough as he praised his team’s defensive effort. “This game came down to mental toughness and our physicality and was absolutely the best defensive game we’ve played this year. If we continue to play physical football like that and continue to get better each game down the stretch, we’re going to be pretty hard to knock out.”

Routed by the Bulldogs 48-8 a year ago, the Blues sent early notice that they were not going to be pushovers this time around. After the opening kickoff was bobbled by one of the up men, PM’s Isaiah Gilbert picked up the bouncing ball at the Blues’23-yard line. He then shrugged off one would-be tackler and raced 77 yards to start the scoring just 13 seconds into the game. Snider added the extra-point kick, and the Blues took the early 7-0 lead.

Luray countered immediately. The Bulldogs took their first possession of the game and promptly marched 58 yards in seven plays. Luray got the touchdown when Jenkins shoveled a pass to Caleb Cyphert, who completed the 13-yard touchdown at the 8:54 mark of the first quarter. The extra-point kick was wide, however, and the Blues maintained their lead, 7-6.

The Blues were forced to punt on their next possession, and Luray once again moved down the field with relative ease, driving all the way to the PM 15-yard line. On fourth-and-six from there, PM came up with its first big defensive play. Patrolling the middle of the field at linebacker, Snider stepped in front of a Jenkins aerial at the eight and returned the interception all the way out to the PM 31.

Then the offense went to work for the Blues. PM used 14 plays, including a 2-yard run from Rosser on fourth-and-inches to keep the drive alive, and chewed up nearly seven minutes of the game clock before finding the end zone again. Brody Coleman did the honors from three yards out, and though the extra-point kick was short, the Blues had a 13-6 lead with 10:11 remaining before halftime.

Friday was a career night for Coleman, who set personal marks for carries with 26 and rushing yards with 147. Snider chipped in with 64 yards on 15 tries as the Blues finished the game with 200 yards on the ground.

“Brody has been itching,” the PM coach said of Coleman. “We ran those C-gap plays and were punishing people. We slowed the game down. We didn’t want to throw the ball because we didn’t want to kill the clock.”

Luray failed to cross midfield for the rest of the first half, but in the second, the Bulldogs threatened several times only to be turned back by the PM defense.

In the third quarter, the Blues twice came up with fourth-down stops. To open the period, Thomas and Conner combined to stop Jenkins for no gain on fourth-and one at the Luray 37-yard line. Midway through the period, Snider stuffed Jenkins at the line of scrimmage, and on third-and-seven near midfield, Fleming knocked down a pass to force another fourth down pass that fell incomplete at the Luray 40.

The Blues failed to capitalize on either of those drives that began in Bulldog territory and gave Luray the ball back with 1:12 left in the third quarter when Rosser was intercepted at the Luray 15.

“I told the guys we’re getting ready to blow the football game if we can’t get one in the end zone,” Brockenbrough admitted. “We’ve got to capitalize on their mistakes. If we could have gotten one of those in, they never would have come back.”

It took the Bulldogs just five plays and a PM penalty to go the length of the field. Jenkins scored from 10 yards out, and Luray then elected to go for two points and the lead. It didn’t work. Thomas and Conner again stood tall on the defensive line to keep Jenkins out of the end zone, and the Blues held on to their 13-12 advantage.

The dramatics, which included the final two minutes, didn’t end there. After the Blues went three and out on the ensuing possession, Jenkins appeared to have returned the punt 80 yards for a touchdown. That was called back for a penalty, but the Bulldogs still drove the ball all the way to the PM 25-yard line.

On first down from there, Thomas and Haynes dropped Jenkins after just a one-yard gain. Snider nearly had his second interception on second down, and on third, Conner roared through the line to tackle Jenkins for a 3-yard loss. Rosser picked up his third interception on fourth down to turn the Bulldogs away.

“Conner played his best game for us in four years,” said Brockenbrough as he praised the effort of his defensive line. “Thomas is an absolute maniac, and I couldn’t have praised Haynes more than I did. There were so many big plays in that game that it was insane.”

Rosser’s interception gave the Blues the ball at their own 1-yard line with 4:56 to play, but they couldn’t run out the clock. Snider, who appeared to break free for a TD run, stepped out of bounds at the 15 to give the Blues a first down, but the drive stalled, and the Blues had to punt to set up the thrilling final two minutes.

“It was an excitement for these kids to win a big football game,” Brockenbrough said. “I think these boys Friday night were out to prove something, and they did. I couldn’t have been more proud of them.”

Friday’s victory marked the end of an extended three-game homestand for the Blues. They return to the road this Friday night when they visit Smith Mountain Lake Christian Academy in Moneta for their final nondistrict game of the regular season. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.

LHS 6 0 0 6 12 PM 7 6 0 0 13 First Quarter PM – Gilbert 77 kickoff return (Snider kick) LHS – Cyphert 13 pass form Jenkins (kick failed) Second Quarter PM -- Coleman 3 run (kick failed) Third Quarter No scoring

Fourth Quarter LHS – Jenkins 10 run (run failed) LHS PM

Rushes-yards 33-195 51-200 Passing yards 101 0 Comp-Att-Int 5-14-4 0-1-1

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING – LHS, Jenkins 26-162, Jeffries 2-28, Cyphert 3-7, A. Haddock 1-(-1), Team 1-(-1). PM, Coleman 26-147, Snider 15-64, Conner 2-1, Julian 1-0, Rosser 4-(5), Team 3-(-7).

PASSING – LHS, Jenksin 5-14-4 101. PM, Rosser 0-1-1 0.

RECEIVING – LHS, A. Haddock 3-85, Cyphert 1-13, Jeffries 1-3. PM, none.