Prediction

Altavista (5-2) at Parry McCluer (5-2) WHEN: 7 p.m. on Friday WHERE: Bobby Williams Field in Buena Vista.

LAST YEAR: The two team did not meet.

THE SCOOP: PM and Altavista have identical records coming into this nondistrict matchup. The Blues are coming off routing Pioneer District rival Craig County 45-12 last Friday, while Altavista, a team from the Dogwood District, lost at Gretna 26-16. The Blues and Colonels had similar results against their one common opponent, Cumberland, with PM cruising to a 44-8 victory on Sept. 1 and Altavista winning 42-14 on Sept. 8. The Blues’ defense was very successful against Craig County, holding the Rockets to 95 rushing yards and shutting them out until the last five minutes of the game.

The PM defense will need to focus on stopping Altavista running back Ladainian Stone, who rushed for 146 yards and two touchdowns against Gretna.

Offensively, the Blues attacked early last Friday, with running back Jackson Brockenbrough rushing for the first three touchdowns of the game, on his way to a game-high 106 rushing yards on 12 carries. We expect to see more impressive runs and scoring from him, with the help of the PM offensive line, although it will be tougher to score against the Colonels, who have held all of their opponents under 28 points. Look for the Blues to give the ball to JJ Jones and Zavion Dunn for some runs. We see quarterback Nathan Glass continuing to find receivers.

THENEWS-GAZETTE’S PICK: It’ll be homecoming weekend for the Blues, and we expect the Blues to have another strong performance in front of their home fans. Altavista will challenge PM, but we see the Blues pulling out a 24-21 win to give them momentum going into their final two games of the regular season.