BY KYLE LOVERN
FOR THE MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

HURLEY, Va. — The Tug Valley Panthers (4-1), ranked No. 2 in Class A in the Mountain State last week, lost a tough 20-13 road contest at Hurley, Va., Friday night.

Freshman Bryson Elia gave Tug Valley its first touchdown with an 80-yard kickoff return in the first quarter. It was the opening kickoff of the game.

The Panthers got their second touchdown as quarterback Elijah Fluty hit Buddy Marcum on a nice TD pass in the final quarter. But time ran out for Tug Valley, making for a long bus ride back to Mingo County.

No other stats were available at press time.

“I feel the difference in the game was their players wanted it more. They came out and played harder than we did,” said Tug Valley Coach Hady Ford.

“One game doesn’t define our season. We come back, work hard in practice, fix our mistakes and learn from them. Let that feeling of defeat drive you to where you never want it to happen again,” Ford added.

“Some of the mistakes we have been doing for the last few weeks finally caught up with us. Now we know we have to fix them or it will cost us down the road,” Coach Ford concluded.

The Panthers (4-1) travel to rival Tolsia (0-4) this Friday night.