An army of Royals attempts to bring down a Covington-Catholic runningback on October 20, 2023.
The Mason County Royals and Covington Catholic Colonels battled it out on the gridiron on Friday for the district championship.
With the Colonels arriving in Maysville undefeated and ranked as one of the best teams state-wide, Mason County knew the game was going to be a challenge from start to finish. Coming out of the gate strong, the Royals received the opening kickoff, but turned the ball over on downs. A quick interception gave Mason County possession, and they worked their way to a fourth and five. The Royals were able to make it past Cov-Cath’s defense, to run the ball in for their first touchdown of the night. Each down proving to be a battle, Mason County learned quickly that the game was going to be a tough one both physically and mentally.
With a touchdown scored early and a PAT attempt sailing through the goal-posts, the Royals led over the Colonels 7-0. Mason County fans in attendance cheered at the sight of the home team leading over Cov-Cath, but it would not last for long.
A bomb of a pass from Cov-Cath quarterback Evan Pitzer put the Colonels on the five yard line at the end of the first quarter, putting them in first and goal position at the top of the second. Slipping past the Mason County defense into the end-zone, the Colonels now were down 7-6 and were ready to tie with a PAT, but a pre-snap penalty on the Royals gave Cov-Cath an opportunity to try for a two-point conversion, which was successful.
Cov-Cath now leading 8-7 over Mason County, the Royals needed to play smart to get things back under control.
“We knew that we needed to throw the ball a little bit more than we probably needed to run it, just to stay a little bit more ahead of the change, just to not let them pin their ears a little bit.” said Royals head coach Joe Wynn.
Mason County quarterback Keshaun Thomas connected with the Royals receivers for first down opportunities when possible, with a couple huge passes getting Mason County in the position to score. Cov-Cath’s defense was able to shut down the Royals run game more often than not, forcing the Royals to rely on Thomas’ arm to advance.
Cov-Cath worked their way down the field once again later on in the second half, with Mason County’s defensive line struggling to complete tackles against the Colonels defense. A touchdown from the Colonels brought their lead up to 14-7, with the successful PAT attempt bringing it up to 15-7. An interception by the Colonels at the end of the first half led t0 another touchdown, which furthered Cov-Cath’s lead to 21-7. A successful PAT attempt brought the Colonels up to 22-7.
“They had secondary reads where he scrambled, I mean he made nice throws. There were so many throws there in the second half that he put the ball on the spot where our kids were on the hip and he threw it right to the window. He made great throws and the quarterback was the difference. Their offensive line was really good, we missed tackles but that’s a credit to them, they’re a good football team.” said coach Wynn.
After halftime, early in the third quarter Mason County returned to the field with a newly ignited fire underneath them. The Royals’ defense was playing tough early in the third, completing tackles and putting pressure on the Colonels offense. The notion that the game remained a two score game at the half gave Mason County the hope that they could grind out a comeback during the second half. Unfortunately for the Royals, Cov-Cath would grind their way back into the end-zone to score again, now leading 29-7.
The Royals battled back, and worked their way down the field into the end-zone to score late in the third quarter to bring it back to a two score game. Mason County now down 29-14, The Royals headed into the fourth quarter looking to stay in the fight.
Sadly, each of Mason County’s offensive drives were shut down, and the Colonels continued to bring in touchdowns as the game ticked by. By the end of the fourth, Cov-Cath led 50-14 over the Royals, despite Mason County’s best efforts to regain control of the situation.
Coach Wynn said that there were no moral victories in Friday night’s contest, but the team did walk away having learned something.
“We learned that we can compete with one of the best teams in the state. The fourth quarter is what it is, but the end of the third it was a two score game. after we threw a pick six, credit to them but our quarterback knows better so, we can compete with the best in the state, so sends a great message for us. No moral victories but we’re gonna learn from it and fix where they exposed us a little bit tonight, but I thought we played well, we executed well and we flew around to the ball.” said coach Wynn.
The Royals were disappointed in Friday night’s loss, but are looking forward to the postseason nonetheless.
“End all be all you want to win the district championship, but that’s not the end all be all because we’ve got a first round playoff game here too. So, we’ll grow from it and we’ll get better.” said coach Wynn.
