On Saturday, November 14, the John I. Burton Raiders played the Covington Cougars in the first round of the Virginia State Playoffs for 1A schools. They had to travel down to Norton, Virginia to compete against the powerful Raiders. In the local paper,the Raiders were predicted to win the game. The Raiders finished their regular season with a record of 9-1, which means they had 9 wins and 1 loss. On the contrary, the Cougars had a record of 4-6.
The Raiders were fully prepared for a battle, expecting the Cougars to play at their absolute best. At the beginning of the game, the Raiders started off by kicking the ball off to the Cougars. Then, on the fifth play of the game, the Cougars fumbled and the ball was recovered by the Raiders. On the first offensive drive for the Raiders, they scored inside the Cougar's ten yard line. The Raiders took the ball down the field without any trouble and scored again. At the end of the first half, the score was 31-0, which left the Raiders on top.
The second half was similar to the first because the Raiders' defense was dominating, while their offense was scoring and holding on to the ball. The Raider's second string came into the game,played hard, and only gave up one touchdown. The Raiders continued to hold the ball until the final seconds ticked off the clock. The final score was 45-16, and the Raiders will advance to regions.
Written by: Austin Lane