MHS took a 12-0 lead into the locker room at halftime, but Royal Valley scored 29 unanswered points to hand the Bulldogs their first loss of the season, 29-12.

Jack Courtney and Jace Carlton gave McLouth (3-1) an early lead with a pair of rushing touchdowns — Courtney from two yards out and Carlton on a 41-yard play — but the Bulldogs came up empty on both two-point conversion attempts. The MHS offense controlled possession throughout the first half, limiting Royal Valley (2-2) to just 10 plays.

The Bulldogs had a chance to pad their lead when they got inside the 5-yard line just before the end of the second quarter, but the Panthers (2-2) came up with a stop as time expired.

It was all Royal Valley after the break, as the Panthers scored 14 points in the third quarter and 15 in the fourth. Zach Lux had rushing touchdowns of 25, 32 and 30 yards, while Matthew Bailey added a 60-yard score.

“They came out and just made some changes and took care of business a little better in the second half,” coach Chris Stewart said. “That’s really all it was. Obviously, Royal Valley is a good 4A school. We want to get competitive challenges from teams we’re not used to playing, and we did that with this game.”

Stewart’s squad will try to rebound this week when it hosts Northeast Kansas League rival Oskaloosa for homecoming. The Bears are a perfect 4-0 this season, but McLouth has won the last three meeting by a combined score of 136-6.

“(Last week’s loss) gives us a sense of what we need to work on and where we’re at,” Stewart said. “Hopefully it gives us some motivation going into a big rivalry game. It’ll help us in the long run, I’m sure.”

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Friday at Stan Braksick Sports Complex.