Predictions

Parry McCluer (5-4) at Eastern Montgomery (2-6) WHEN: 7 p.m. on Friday WHERE: Eastern Montgomery High School in Elliston

LAST YEAR: The Fighting Blues routed the Mustangs 55-0 in Buena Vista in the 2022 regular-season finale. John Snider and Evan Cook combined for 256 rushing yards and six touchdowns, while the PM stop side limited EastMont to 75 yards of total offense.

THE SCOOP: With a new head coach and a good deal of inexperience on the varsity roster, the Blues may have overachieved through the first half of the season. Following an impressive 4-1 start, PM has come back down to earth in recent weeks, including back-toback lopsided home losses to Altavista (48-8) and Bath County (55-0).

And yet the Blues have a chance to clinch a winning record with a victory on Friday – and perhaps swing the momentum back in their favor as they move into the postseason. After committing four turnovers and several costly penalties against the Chargers, PM will be looking to play a cleaner game in its last regular-season assignment.

Eastern Montgomery, which was slated to play host to Twin Valley on Monday, enters this game tied with PM in the Pioneer standings, as both teams are 1-2 in the district. The Mustangs beat Craig County 44-24 in New Castle back on Oct. 6, and they’ve also suffered heavy defeats against Bath and Narrows.

THE NEWS- GAZETTE’S PICK: Outside of Pioneer play, EastMont fell 56-0 to a Fort Chiswell team that PM defeated 22-7 – so this matchup may not be quite as even as the two squads’ comparable district results suggest. We expect the Blues to dust themselves off the mat after those two tough home losses. PM will head on to the Region 1C playoffs in style with a 40-14 win.

Rockbridge County (0-9) at William Monroe (4-5) WHEN: 7 p.m. on Friday WHERE: William Monroe High School in Stanardsville

LAST YEAR: The two teams did not meet.

THE SCOOP: The Wildcats are hoping to finish a rebuilding season on a high note, while William Monroe is hoping to even up its record and earn a spot in the playoffs. William Monroe is a new team to the Valley District this year, but the Dragons have had a solid season. After losing their first three district games, the Dragons have earned backto- back victories, defeating East Rockingham 39-25 two weeks ago and edging Harrisonburg 34-33 last Friday. The Wildcats have faced the toughest teams in the district the last two weeks, with a 64-6 loss at Spotswood and then a 55-0 setback against Turner Ashby.

Despite the 0-9 record, don’t count the Wildcats out. They did have solid games against East Rockingham, with RC suffering a 47-35 loss on Sept. 29, and Harrisonburg, with the Wildcats falling 20-14. There wasn’t much the Wildcats did right against Spotswood and TA, but they may be able to find some success against the Dragons. In order to compete, they’ll have to reduce turnovers and get their offense running a little more smoothly. The Dragons have shown they can have a powerful offense at times, as they beat Manassas Park 61-0 on Sept. 1, and they scored a TD as time expired against Harrisonburg. We expect the Wildcats to have a hard week of practice working on both their offense and defense.

THE NEWS- GAZETTE’S PICK: It’s been a tough fall for the Wildcats, who have a lot of players on the team for the first time, but we expect a strong performance in the final game to provide hope for the future. We see the Wildcats challenging the Dragons before falling 35-21.