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Brenan Schley, who graduated from Parry McCluer High School last month, recently signed his letter of intent to play Division III football for Ferrum College.
The signing took place in the PM library on May 10, with coaches, family members, teammates and faculty members in attendance.
Schley was the Fighting Blues’ starting quarterback for the last two years, throwing and rushing for touchdowns. As a junior, he helped the Blues win the Pioneer District title and advance to the Region 1C championship game in 2021, when the Blues went 9-4 overall and 5-0 in the district under the direction of head coach Jack Baker. In the regional finals, the Blues lost 14-0 at Galax. Schley was named to the all-district second team that year.
Playing for interim head coach Troy Clark as a senior, Schley helped the Blues bounce back from an 0-3 start by winning four of their final seven regular-season games. The Blues finished 4-7 overall, going 3-2 in the Pioneer District, with a 41-22 loss in the Region 1C quarterfinals at George Wythe.
As a sophomore in the spring 2021 season, delayed from 2020 and condensed due to COVID-19, Schley backed up Ty Ruley and saw some playing time, making his first touchdown pass in the Blues’ 50-14 win at Bath County. Under the direction of head coach Mark Wheeler in his last season of coaching the Blues, PM went 4-3 overall, falling 28-8 at Narrows in the Region 1C semifinals.
The son of Donald Schley and Brooke Tomlin, Brenan said he chose to attend Ferrum, which is near Roanoke, for several reasons. “I like the student-to-teacher ratio, the family atmosphere, and Ferrum’s criminal justice program is very notable, which is what I intend to major in,” he said.
Brenan said the coaches at Ferrum remained in constant contact with him throughout his junior and senior years, which made the decisionmaking process less complicated.
“Playing at the college level has always been a goal of mine,” he said, adding that he is “very fortunate to have the opportunity.”
Looking back at his time with the Blues, Brenan said, “I will miss the camaraderie of my fellow teammates and coaches at PM as I transition to this next chapter of my life.”
