Blues Open District Play With First Win
A bruising ground game and a punishing defense proved to be the winning formula as the Parry McCluer football team bashed its way to its first victory of the season, rolling past Craig County, 40-0, Friday, Oct. 11, in New Castle.
In the first Pioneer District contest of the year, and PM’s first game against Group 1A competition, the Blues ground out 393 rushing yards, with two backs surpassing the 100-yard plateau and three runners scoring two touchdowns apiece.
Junior Keaton Coleman led the way, piling up 171 yards on 20 carries and scoring two TDs, while junior Ethan Moore also scored twice while making his way to 102 yards on 10 carries. John Snider, a freshman, added 74 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 11 carries.
However, a big part of this game was the defense. The Blues held the pass-happy Rockets to just 117 yards of total offense, only 17 on the ground, and Craig County mustered only six first downs in the game. The Blues recorded four quarterback sacks in the game and a total of nine tackles for loss. They held Craig to a lowly 2-for-10 on third-down conversions, and the Rockets crossed midfield only four times in the contest.
Defensive linemen Holden Kerr, a senior, and classmate Caleb Mason paced the PM stop unit. Kerr finished the game with two solo tackles, including a quarterback sack, and three assists. Mason was in on five tackles and two sacks.
The Blues set the tone for this one early, stopping Craig County on its first drive of the night and then embarking on a 12-play drive that ate up nearly six minutes of the first-quarter clock. Moore opened the scoring with a 3-yard TD run, and when Snider booted the extra point, the Blues had a 7-0 lead.
Moore found the end zone again late in the second period, sprinting in from 12 yards away, and PM held a 13-0 halftime lead. After intermission, the Blues blew the game wide open.
The Blues took the opening kickoff of the third quarter and drove 84 yards in 10 plays, all on the ground. Snider scored the TD from a yard away, and when Coleman ran in the two-point conversion, the lead swelled to 21-0.
A stop on fourth down after a botched punt set up the Blues deep in Craig County territory for their next drive, and Coleman, carried the ball on the last two plays of the short march, including the last two yards into the end zone to push the advantage to 28-0.
The defense stopped Craig County’s next drive when Nick Reid broke up a fourth-down pass, and Coleman put the contest away with a 55-yard sprint that extended the PM lead to 34-0. Snider provided the final margin with his 6-yard TD run with 2:41 remaining in the contest.
With the victory, the Blues improved to 1-5 on the season and extended its winning streak over the Rockets to nine straight games. Craig County fell to 2-4.
The Blues return home Friday, Oct. 18, to take on Covington for homecoming.
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1
|
2
|
3
|
4
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Total
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PM
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7
|
6
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15
|
12
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40
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CC
|
0
|
0
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0
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0
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0
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First Quarter
PM – Moore 3 run (Snider kick)
Second Quarter
PM – Moore 12 run (kick failed)
Third Quarter
PM – Snider 1 run (Coleman run)
PM – Coleman 2 run (Snider kick)
Fourth Quarter
PM – Coleman 55 run (kick failed)
PM – Snider 6 run (kick failed)
RUSHING
PM – Coleman 20-171, Moore 10-102, Snider 11-74, Fulwider 3-23, Secrist 2-8, Ruley 7-7, Painter 1-3.
CC – Crawford 7-50, Frango 1-(-2), Team 1-(-2), Peters 3-(-7), Dak. Henderson 4-(-22).
PASSING
PM – Ruley 1-5-0-36-9.
CC – Dak. Henderson 9-23-0-69-0, Peters 3-5-31-0.
RECEIVING
PM – Reid 1-36.
CC – Owens 6-59, Crawford 2-39, Dal. Henderson 2-4, Boardwine 1-(-2).
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