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The Parry McCluer High School football team cruised to another lopsided home victory on Friday night, downing Cumberland 44-8 at Bobby Williams Field in Buena Vista to move to 2-0 on the young season.
JJ Jones rushed for 53 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries, and he also returned an interception for a score for the Fighting Blues. Jackson Brockenbrough added 43 yards and a TD on 11 totes, and Nathan Glass completed 6-of-11 passes for 82 yards while throwing one touchdown and running for another.
John Groff III paced the Dukes (0-2) with 50 yards on 13 carries, finding the end zone on a 3-yard run with just 1:22 to play, and Travis Scott tallied 41 rushing yards on six attempts.
One week after a superb performance against rival Rockbridge County – PM defeated the Wildcats 56-14 at home in the season opener on Aug. 25 – the Blues used a dominating defensive effort and some big plays in all three phases of the game to record another convincing win.
“We want to be big play-oriented this year,” PM head coach Jeremiah Brockenbrough said. “I think we’re playing really good defensive football right now.”
The Blues jumped in front early, taking the opening kickoff and marching down the field on an 11-play, 53-yard scoring drive. Glass connected with Parker Camden on a 24-yard strike that moved the ball down to the Cumberland 4-yard line, and two plays later, Jackson Brockenbrough plunged into the end zone from a yard out for a 6-0 lead with 6:49 left in the first quarter.
After the Blues’ defense forced a three-and-out, lineman Cole Chittum blocked the Cumberland punt and recovered the ball in the end zone, and Brockenbrough’s 2-point conversion run made it 14-0 with 5:05 to play.
Chittum has also wrestled for Coach Brockenbrough at PM, and the sophomore returned to the football program this fall after a brief hiatus.
“I begged [Chittum] to come out and play football,” said Brockenbrough, who’s in his first season at the helm on the gridiron. “I’m getting 110 percent effort out of him. I can’t be more excited for him.”
Later in the first quarter, the Dukes turned the ball over on downs following an errant punt snap, setting PM up with a short field. Two plays later, Jones darted 11 yards for a score and a 20-0 advantage with 60 seconds remaining in the stanza.
Early in the second period, the Blues would again capitalize on great field position. Jones reeled off a 34-yard punt return that set up his own 3-yard score at the 8:47 mark, pushing PM’s lead to 26-0.
In addition to the damage that Jones and Brockenbrough did on the ground, Aaron Pruett added 26 yards on seven carries. While PM runs a lot of its offense from the old-school T-formation, getting control of Friday’s game early also allowed the Blues to experiment with different looks on the go side of the ball.
The passing game had its moments as well, including Landon Catlett’s TD reception in the fourth quarter and three catches for 55 yards for Camden.
“We were trying to go in a different direction tonight” on offense, Coach Brockenbrough said. “We knew that we could run the ball, but we wanted to try some stuff.”
Cumberland finally sustained a series midway through the second quarter, picking up its first three first downs of the game and advancing into PM territory. But the drive stalled just across midfield, and the Dukes flubbed another punt snap. The Blues’ Anthony Gonzales – who had already intercepted Cumberland quarterback Austin Wise – recovered the fumble.
Jones lost a fumble near the goal line, but PM retrieved the football almost immediately when Pruett picked off Wise at the Dukes’ 21-yard line. Glass connected with Camden for a 17yard completion, and the PM quarterback then called his own number on a 2-yard touchdown run, giving the Blues a 32-0 edge heading into halftime.
Following a scoreless third period, PM added a pair of fourth-quarter TDs: Glass threw a 13yard scoring strike to Catlett with 11:01 to go, and Jones returned a pick 24 yards for a score on the ensuing Cumberland drive.
Groff’s 3-yard TD run, which came against the Blues’ reserves, helped the Dukes avoid the shutout.
Even with the large margin of victory, PM didn’t play a perfect game. The Blues turned the ball over twice on fumbles and compiled just 191 yards of total offense – though part of that lower number can be attributed to the key plays on defense and special teams that set up PM in great field position on several drives. But the Blues know they have room to improve.
“I think we played a good game, but we’ve got to clean up some mistakes,” Coach Brockenbrough said. “We’ve just got to be able to play the game and slow it down – enjoy it, and not get too excited.”
And there’s certainly plenty for PM to enjoy. The Blues are 2-0 for the first time since 2014, when Mike Craft’s charges ran the table in the regular season and advanced to the Group A Division 1 quarterfinals.
“I really think, at the end of the night, for this program to be 2-0 for the first time in a very long time, it’s big,” Coach Brockenbrough said. “All around, you can’t be more excited for this town and these kids.”
PM will hit the road for the first time this season on Friday, as the Blues travel to James River (2-0) for a 7 p.m. kickoff in Buchanan.
