Narrows Bounces Blues, 52-14

PM Posts 6-5 Record For Second Straight Season

Parry McCluer High School’s run in the 2024 Class 1C football playoffs was a short one.

In the second quarter last Friday night, homestanding Narrows (6-4 overall, 3-1 Pioneer District) reeled off 28 unanswered points and bounced the Fighting Blues (6-5, 2-2) from the postseason with a 52-14 victory.

When the two teams met during the Blues’ homecoming game on Oct. 11 in Buena Vista, Narrows won 35-13.

Friday’s setback marked the third straight first-round loss for the Blues, who lost at George Wythe the last two years. PM has not won an opening round playoff contest since 2021, when the Blues knocked off the same Narrows team, 36-8, and advanced to the regional finals.

The fifth-seeded Blues held their own early in this one, answering two early scores by fourth-seeded Narrows.

The Green Waves opened the scoring when quarterback Hunter Owens connected on a 20-yard touchdown pass to wideout Tucker Bryan, to begin what would be a huge night for the Narrows signal caller, giving Narrows a 7-0 advantage with 5:18 to play in the opening quarter.

The Blues countered with a long drive, going 66 yards in 10 plays to find the end zone. Jackson Brockenbrough scored the TD from two yards out, and when Jonovan Dunn ran in the two-point conversion, PM held an 8-7 lead.

Narrows stormed right back on the next possession. Bryan threw the TD pass this time, finding Elijah Knoetze for 56 yards and the score to put the Green Wave back in front, 14-8.

Again the Blues responded. On the first play of the drive, Jacob Shafer ripped off a 21-yard run to move the ball to the Narrows 36-yard line. From there, however, it looked like the drive might stall when PM was whistled for a holding penalty. But on third-and-14, quarterback Kyle Smals passed to Parker Snider for 29 yards and a first down. Three plays later, Brockenbrough scored again, this time from three yards out, and though the conversion run was stopped short, the Blues tied the game 14-14 with 9:06 remaining before halftime.

That’s when the Green Waves exploded. With a failed fourth-down conversion for the Blues and a PM fumble aiding the cause, Narrows needed just 16 plays and less than five minutes to pile up those 28 unanswered points, turning the 14-14 deadlock into a 42-14 halftime advantage. Cooper Helvey, who also booted seven PAT kicks and a 33-yard field goal, scored on a 24-yard run with 7:57 left in the second quarter, while Owens tossed three more touchdown passes during the spurt, two to Noah Widdoes and one to Bryan.

Owens had a big night under center for Narrows, completing 12-of-15 pass attempts for 268 yards and five TDs. Bryan hauled in seven of those passes for 189 yards and three scores, while Helvey led the ground attack with 83 yards on 14 carries and a touchdown. The Green Waves finished with 490 yards of total offense and scored on every possession except the last, when they ran out the last 8:40 of the fourth quarter.

“They threw the ball well,” said PM head coach Jeremiah Brockenbrough. “We were in position, but we just couldn’t make the tackle.”

Meanwhile, PM’s offense struggled after the tying touchdown. The Blues managed just 18 yards of offense during the rest of the second quarter, and they had just four first downs over the remainder of the game, with three of those coming during a fourth-quarter drive.

“It all comes down to the weight room,” said Coach Brockenbrough. “We were a little better at the beginning because we could match their strength. We were doing what we were supposed to do, but we just got tired.”

Brockenbrough paced the PM offense, rushing for 77 yards and two TDs on 17 carries, while Shafer finished with 56 yards on 11 tries. Pressed into duty because of an injury in late October to junior starting quarterback Nathan Glass, Smals, a sophomore, completed 7-of-10 passes for 58 yards and an interception.

With the loss, the Blues wrapped up the 2024 campaign with the same record as last year, both overall and in the district. Narrows will travel to face top seed Bath County (10-0, 4-0) in the regional semifinals on Friday, with the winner to take on the victor in the matchup between George Wythe and Grayson County for the Region 1C title.

“For this program, it was a successful season,” said Coach Brockenbrough, concluding his second year as PM’s head coach. He noted that the last two years marked the first time the Blues had back-to-back winning seasons since a stretch from 2012 to 2016. “I think it says a lot about what we’re doing and the direction this program is going.”

The Blues will miss their five seniors: Jase Barger, Jackson Brockenbrough, Braden Conley, Peyton Montgomery and Sean O’Connor.

Looking ahead, Coach Brockenbrough said, “The future is bright. We’re returning 20 players who are [freshmen or sophomores]. Of course we didn’t want the season to end the way it did, but we’re excited about what’s coming.”

PM 8 6 0 0 14 NHS 14 28 10 0 52 First Quarter NHS – Bryan pass from Owens (Helvey kick) PM – Ja. Brockenbrough 2 run (J. Dunn run) NHS – Knoetze 56 pass from Bryan (Helvey kick) Second Quarter PM – Ja. Brockenbrough 3 run (run failed) NHS – Helvey 24 run (Helvey kick) NHS – Widdoes 7 pass from Owens (Helvey kick) NHS – Widdoes 12 pass from Owens (Helvey kick) NHS – Bryan 37 pass from Owens (Helvey kick) Third Quarter NHS – Bryan 37 pass from Owens (Helvey kick) NHS – Helvey 33 FG Fourth Quarter No scoring

PM NHS First downs 11 19 Rushes-yards 38-150 22-166 Passing yards 58 324 Comp-Att-Int 7-10-1 13-18-0 Fumbles-lost 1-1 0-0 Penalties-yards 6-60 12-108 Time of possession 25:43 22:07

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS (not available for NHS) RUSHING – PM, Ja. Brockenbrough 17-77, Shafer 11-56, Snider 6-17, J. Dunn 1-4, Team 1-(1), Smals 2-(-3).

PASSING – PM, Smals 7-10-1 58. RECEIVING – PM, Snider 3-41, Shafer 1-12, J. Dunn 2-5, T. Conner 1-0.