WEST ALEXANDRIA —The Twin Valley South football team lost to the No. 1-ranked Covington Buccaneers, 38-16, on Friday, Oct. 14.

“They have a couple of really nice receivers,” said TVS coach Clint Bartlett. “There is a reason why they are the number one team in the area.”

South gave up a touchdown in the first quarter on a fade pass into the corner of the endzone, despite very good coverage by the Panther defense. The rest of the quarter remained scoreless, as both teams hunkered down defensively.

South struggled to move the ball, and didn’t get a first down in the first half.

In the second quarter Covington ran up 24 points on combinations of passes and rushes. The Panthers had only one turnover, threw an interception late in the second quarter, and were forced to punt often. The halftime score was 31-0 in Covington’s favor.

“We told the kids to go out and compete, the offensive line needs to block, the defense needs to tackle,” said Bartlett.

The running clock favored Covington at the start of the second half. The Buccaneers scored on the first drive in third quarter.

South capped off a drive with a 35-yard run from Andrew Augspurger for the Panthers’ first touchdown of the night. A two-point conversion attempt on a Mike Myers’ bootleg play was successful, making the score 38-8.

But with the 30-point Covington lead, the clock kept running.

In the fourth quarter, South conducted a hurry-up offense. Myers completed a pass to Troy Bowers, who ran in 50 yards for a touchdown. Another two-point attempt try was good.

“I’m proud of the rally my kids displayed in the second half,” said Bartlett. “It really shows the resiliency of our kids. They didn’t quit. If we had more time, this may have been a more interesting game. We need to play a complete game. Covington was balanced both offensively and defensively.”

“North is coming up. That is a big physical team,” Bartlett said. “They like to run a lot, and the kids know each other. Our towns are close by and it’s going to be a big night as it always is. This will be my first one as a coach. The Cat Trophy has been in North’s hands for about seven years or so, and it’s time to bring it home to West Alexandria.”

The game against Tri-County North is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 21, in Lewisburg. South is now 3-3 in the Cross County Conference, and is 3-5 overall.