It was a rough night for West Point, but head coach Don Farley’s postgame speech to the Warriors included more than just a review of their 57-20 loss to Alexandria.

“First thing I want to say is how proud I am of our guys,” Farley said. “We had so many close games early, games that were huge when it came to the draw. I’m just proud of the way our guys battled back after things didn’t go their way.”

West Point (4-7) quickly found itself playing from behind after eighth-ranked Alexandria scored twice in the first quarter and led 28-0 at halftime. The Valley Cubs (10-1) have scored at will and played stingy defense most of the season, averaging 43.1 points per game and allowing 15 points per game.

“Our defense had a challenge in front of them, because there’s no way in practice we were going to simulate the speed they have,” Farley said. “If they get behind you, it’s going to be hard to catch up to them.”

Alexandria added two more touchdowns in the third before Will Cochran scored on 2-yard run with 29 seconds left in the period to get West Point on the board. The Warriors would add two more scores in the fourth quarter on a 60-yard pass from Cochran to Kobe Bowers and a 3-yard run by Carter Thornton.

“It was a chance for our older guys to show our younger guys that you don’t give up, you don’t give in,” Farley said. “Our kids kept playing.”

Friday night’s game marked West Point’s first playoff appearance since 2017, but the Warriors had four straight postseason trips from 2014-17.

“I think our young guys got a taste of it,” Farley said. “And it’s going to be hard to replace our seniors, but at the same time it’ll be a great time for someone to step up, and it’ll be exciting to see what they can do when it’s their turn next season.”