Coach Paul Devine’s unbeaten and untied Covington Buccaneers wound up the 1952 football season in grand style Friday night at Smith Field in Covington by grinding out a 19-0 triumph over a highly-touted Brookville team.
In an unparalleled performance, the Buccaneers defensive unit stole the show with a display of power that held the Brookville offense helpless as the “push ’em back” boys attained their fourth shutout of the year.
The big offensive punch of the evening came from scatback Doug Diltz, Covington’s break-away artist who constantly picked up the slack for the Devine Dynamo, seriously slowed by injuries. Cavorting behind the “rock-bound” forward wall, Diltz consistently broke loose for long gains, scoring twice on gallops of 62 and 63 yards.
After a scoreless first period, and with seven minutes of the second quarter gone, the fans were brought to their feet when Covington quarterback Bob Tobias, master magician of the T-formation, faked a hand-off to Leonard Woods, and cleverly concealed the ball in a glittering exhibition of the bootleg play, waltzing 12 yards around left end to score untouched. Doug Diltz’ conversion kick went wide as the Buccs took command 6-0, a score that prevailed at halftime.
Leonard Woods returned Brookville’s second-half kickoff to the Covington 37-yard line and on the first play from scrimmage, scatback Doug Diltz tore through a tremendous gap in the Brookville line and raced 63 yards for another TD. Woods’ kick for point-after was true and the Buccaneers led 13-0.
A Brookville fumble midway through the third period set up the Buccaneers’ final score. Alert end Ronnie Finfrock pounced on the pigskin at the Covington 30-yard stripe and two plays later Doug Diltz drove straight up the middle, eluded the secondary and galloped 62 yards to pay dirt. The Buccs were guilty of holding on the conversion attempt and were forced to make their second try for point-after from the 17-yard line. Woods’ placement fell just inches short and the final score stood 19-0.
The fans, who have followed Devine’s gridiron juggernault all season, were reluctant to leave, even as the contest was well in hand. They were witnessing a memorable moment as they were seeing the “Thundering Herd” play for the last time. As time ticked off the clock, the Covington crowd roared their approval as Coach Paul Devine was swept to the locker room high on the shoulders of his triumphant and jubilant Buccaneers.
The 1952 Covington Buccaneers, known as “The Thundering Herd” because of their powerful running game, were the first team in school history to record a perfect season. Coached by Paul Devine, the Buccaneers won all nine of the games they played, the closest margin of victory being a 13-0 win over Versailles. Covington scored 337 points on the year, an average of 37.5 a game. Their defense only surrendered a total of 45 points on the season, an average of 5 points per game. Along the way, the Buccaneers also recorded four shutouts and scored over 40 points in four of their nine games.