From The Bleachers 2000:
Week Two
by Ardent Cougar

Friday, September 1 - E. C. Glass Hilltoppers (Away):

Series:  E. C. Glass leads 7-3-1.
Last Meeting:  1999 at PC.  The Cougars overcame an early 14-0 deficit, then held off a last minute Hilltopper rally to hang on for the 17-14 victory, their first home win against Glass.

After an easy opening week, a month's worth of tough tests begins for the Cougars.  The Hilltoppers are always talented, and usually have our number.  Last year's win broke a streak of 4 losses to Glass, all of which occurred while Andre Kendrick (now a Senior RB for the Hokies) was the Hilltopper QB.  The trip is also longer, since a scheduling conflict (of what nature I am unaware) led to the game being moved to Amherst.  Glass opened the season with a 14-0 win over Lynchburg rival Heritage.  Last year, the Hilltoppers got a couple of big plays early on, including a 98 yard punt return.  The work that has been done this year to fix problems on both the defense and the return teams will get a much sterner test this week.  This game could tell much about what the rest of the season will be like.

Week One Review - Christiansburg Blue Demons (Home):

After two contests, the total score is Cougars 105, Blue Demons 0.  The game was in many ways a carbon copy of 1999's inaugural meeting between the two teams.  A new school victory margin was set, the 54-0 final score outdoing the 52-0 win over Carroll County in 1983.  Christiansburg never had a serious scoring threat.  The final score could have easily been 84-0 had not Coach Hicks been merciful.  Many got a chance to play, evidenced by the fact that no fewer than 10 Cougars had at least one carry.  PC averaged over 11 yards per rushing attempt, while Christiansburg averaged less than 2.  Josh Calfee (108 yards) and Frank Cobbs (103 yards) led the way, while the talented backup Jeremy Porter (Sophomore) chipped in 76 yards on only 3 carries, including the play of the game, an exciting 70 yard run late for the final score of the night.

Jeff Shelton talked to Porter after the game. He describes the young man as having a very muscular upper body, with broad shoulders and well defined pecs and biceps, giving off an almost "stocky wrestler" look. He sports a big smile with shiny braces.

Last year, he was pulled up from the Grand View (Kansas) Bulldogs freshman team in midseason to play for the varsity.  He gained around 620 yards in 5 games, scoring 8 TDs.  His longest run was about 55 yards.

He attended Dublin Elementary, and some of his Cougar teammates know him from those days.  Back then, he looked up to his brother Jarrett Porter, his cousin Carl Lewis, Andre Eaves, and Eric Webb.

Referring to his dazzling TD run, Coach Hicks said, "He lined up wrong.  Someone had to tell him where to line up.  It was a busted play.  He needs to work on lining up in position.  He's still second team behind Calfee.  He's extremely hungry.  He wants to play."

When asked if this helped show his teammates that he can play varsity ball in Virginia as well as Kansas, Porter said, "I was talking to everybody about it and it was a relief because I showed everybody I could do it."