How Covington fell short in TSSAA football playoff loss to Westview

MARTIN — Covington football's crowd hung on every tackle, every first-down run from the very first snap.

For a few moments late in the TSSAA Class 3A state semifinal game at Westview, it seemed the spirit had conjured a dream — a return to the state championships for the first time since 2018. Quindarius Alexander intercepted Westview QB Graham Simpson, and five minutes into the fourth quarter, Shawn Macklin's touchdown rush tied it at 27-27.

The score remained for just one play, as Westview's Christopher Damron returned the ensuing kickoff 96 yards, ultimately dooming Covington in a 40-34 loss, the Chargers' second loss to Westview (13-0) in a month, and the fourth in the last two years, including last season's Class 3A quarterfinals.

This season was Covington's deepest playoff run since 2022, but the program remains in search of a return to the BlueCross Bowls, where it's finished runner-up six times.

"Special teams is gonna be the gleaming (error)," Covington coach JR Kirby said. "We had some untimely penalties (also). We thought we had them, but we let them off the hook."

Covington led 14-6 with 6:11 remaining in the first half, but Westview found a rhythm offensively, scoring on four consecutive drives between the first quarter and Alexander's interception. Simpson, who threw for 167 yards and three touchdowns, led the game-winning drive which ended with a Donteze Joy rushing score with 29 seconds left.

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"We heard the noise that there was gonna be a running clock put on us," Kirby said. "But, we're not about moral victories. We came here to win and go to a state championship, and at the end of the day, we made too many mistakes."

Kirby couldn't ask more from his offense, though, which featured two 180-yard rushers in Macklin, a senior, and junior Collen Winfrey, who scored twice. Macklin scored once, and senior QB Walker Davis carried 11 times for 52 yards and two touchdowns.

"Offensively, I thought we did exactly what we needed to do to control the game and run the ball," Kirby said.

Covington's game plan was aggressive. The team attempted two onside kicks in the first half, but penalties brought back each, including a would-be recovery. The penalties, along with a second-quarter turnover on downs, gave Westview short fields to take a 21-14 halftime lead.

"We knew we had to take it to them," Kirby said. "It's gonna hurt for a while, but the sun will come up tomorrow, and we'll go to work this offseason and try to get back to this point again."

Despite losing lots of talent from a season ago, including Mr. Football winner Skylan Smith, Covington's 14 seniors helped power an offense which averaged 50.6 points.

"They fought till the end, and that's the reason we're here," Kirby said. "Everybody wrote us off, and then to have a record-setting (offensive) year, and be back in the semifinals and just a quarter away — I'm so proud of them."

Wendell Shepherd Jr. is The Commercial Appeal's high school sports beat writer. Reach Wendell at [email protected] or on X @wendellsjr_.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: How Covington football fell short in TSSAA football playoff semifinals