Predictions

Parry McCluer (2-1) at Mountain View (1-2) WHEN: 7 p.m. on Friday

WHERE: Mountain View High School in Quicksburg LAST YEAR: Running back John Snider scored five touchdowns and rushed for 194 yards on just 15 carries to lead the Fighting Blues to a 44-6 road win over Mountain View. After an 0-3 start, it was the first win of the season for PM, which went on to finish 4-7 overall. Snider, who is starting his college football career for Division II Emory & Henry College, ran for four of those TDs and scored the other on a 22-yard interception return. Cody Shafer also scored on a 1-yard TD run for the Blues. The Generals’ lone TD came on a 1-yard run by Hunter Rinker at the start of the fourth quarter.

THE SCOOP: After winning their first two games decisively, the Blues had their biggest test of the season so far last Friday, falling 41-15 at James River. Mountain View, meanwhile, started 0-2 before earning its first win last Friday, a 22-8 victory over Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. Previously, the Generals lost at Bath County, a team the Blues have consistently beaten in recent years, 54-8 in their season opener before falling at Nelson County 27-6 on Sept. 2.

THE NEWS-GAZETTE’S PICK: After experiencing their first loss of the season to a tough James River team, the Blues should be motivated to get back on the winning track this week. We see first-year head coach Jeremiah Brockenbrough leading them through a hard week of practice to prepare them for another road trip before their bye week next week. Look for quarterback Nathan Glass to continue to find receivers, and we expect Jackson Brockenbrough and JJ Jones to have big running games. We see the Blues making a statement with a 50-7 win.

Rockbridge County (0-3) at Blacksburg (1-2) WHEN: 7 p.m. on Friday

WHERE: Blacksburg High School in Blacksburg LAST YEAR: The two teams did not meet.

THE SCOOP: The Wildcats suffered their third lopsided loss of the season last Friday to start the season 0-3, while Blacksburg ended a 29-game losing streak to earn its first win since October of 2019. In their 40-14 win over Floyd County last Friday, the Bruins got an impressive performance from quarterback Ethan Karpa, who completed 15-of-25 passes for 243 yards and three touchdowns. Blacksburg’s Javier Wadron made seven receptions for 102 yards and one score, and Jared Bradley ran for 95 yards on 18 carries and scored two TDs.

Like the Wildcats, the Bruins started the season with lopsided losses, falling to Giles and Lord Botetourt, but they put the pieces together to get that first win last week. The Wildcats have struggled to score and make tackles in their losses, and they’ll have to step up in both areas to compete against a Blacksburg team with some positive momentum. A solid running game by Elijah Fox earned him the Wildcats’ lone TD last week, and Ryan Maxwell showed promise running the ball a week earlier. The Wildcats did not have success in the air last week, and we expect they’ll work on improving their passing game and defense in practice this week.

THE NEWS-GAZETTE’S PICK: Other than the short trip to Buena Vista, the Wildcats have not played on the road this season, and we’ll see how that affects their mentality. We expect to see more results from the efforts the Wildcats are putting into making their defense effective, but Blacksburg’s passing game will be a tall task to stop. We look for the Wildcats to challenge Blacksburg before falling 31-21.