Covington fights off Salmen in Jamboree, 21-17

Two teams with genuine district championship aspirations hooked up Friday night in Slidell.

Covington started fast and held off host Salmen 21-17 in the Salmen Jamboree.

Cameron Dorsey put Salmen on top early with a 3-yard touchdown run following a 73-yard completion from Dorsey to Jacobi Jefferson.

The Lions then took over, scoring 21 unanswered points to take a 21-7 lead on touchdown runs by Davis Harris and Kylen Williams and a touchdown pass from Jerome Elzy to Justin Chatman. Elzy, who split time with Brandon Coakley last season, saw most of the time with Coakley getting some snaps and playing safety much of the evening.

The Spartans rallied to cut the deficit to 21-17 but Covington held on for the victory.

Senior Davis Harris rushed 16 times for 150 yards and a touchdown to pace a potent Covington ground attack.

Speaking on The Three Tailgaters Show Saturday on 106.1 FM, Covington coach Greg Salter was pleased overall with his team’s effort.

“Salmen has a good team. They are explosive. We did a lot of things well and Davis ran well but we have a lot of things to clean up, including costly penalties and turnovers. We’re blessed with good running backs who have been through the fire and a good offensive line. It’s not ideal to have a two-quarterback system but these two kids but in so much work and each has a different skill set. Both deserve to play.”

Dorsey added a second touchdown pass, a 27-yard strike to Jamie King. The pair combined on a two-point conversion as well. Salmen got its other score on a safety after being stopped at the Covington 1-yard line.

Both team opens their regular seasons next Friday night. The Lions entertain John Ehret while the Spartans host Booker T. Washington of New Orleans.

“This is probably our most talented team since 2017 when we reached the quarterfinals,” Salter said. “We have experience offensively and defensively and have so much balance. We’ll see what we are made of against Ehret, who has tremendous athletes, are physical and are well coached.”