1976 COVINGTON BUCCANEERS

For the second straight season the Covington Buccaneers failed to finish with a winning record.

1976 Covington Buccaneers: Row 1 - Row 1 - J. Manson, R. Cassel, D. Furrow, D. Rench, E. Boggs, A. Stephen, R. Girouard, C. Yingst, B. Sheib, B. McDade, T. Fields. Row 2 - J. Schmidt, R. Kimmel, J. Victor, R. Reck, A. Angle, K. Alexander, D. Jacquemin, M. Wintringham, S. Boehringer, K. Harvey, R. Girouard. Row 3 - M. Leistner, B. Knick, J. Rench, T. Brannon, R. Herron, T. Manson, E. Brown, S. Doseck, D. Westfall, D. Simon, M. Landis, J. Cain.
Rex Thompson

For the first time in school history the Covington Buccaneers failed to finish with a winning record in two straight seasons.

After last season’s 5-5 record, the 1976 Buccaneers were looking to get back to the winning seasons they have become accustom to over the years. With third year head coach Rex Thompson and six seniors leading the way, expectations were an improvement over a year ago.

The Buccs did improve in the loss column, but not in the win column. Ties to Tipp City and Miami East prevented the Buccs from a 6-4 season. Instead, Covington settled for a record of 4-4-2.

The first tie came in the season opener against Tipp City. In a defensive battle, neither team could find the advantage as the game ended with the score 6 to 6.

The Buccs then lost a heartbreaker to rival Bradford in week two, 6-0. The Covington defense kept the Buccs within striking distance to capture the win, but the offense couldn’t reach the end zone against the tough Bradford defense.

The first win of the season came in the third week as the Buccs finally found their offense for a 20-8 victory.

A 22-22 tie to Miami East followed as Covington again couldn’t get the points when they needed to capture the win.

Covington’s most impressive performance of the season came the following week against Northwestern. The offense scored a season-high 26 points, while the defense held Northwestern to just a field goal.

Two shut out losses to Lehman and Versailles followed as Covington couldn’t maintain any consistency established in their big win over Northwestern.

Needing to win the final three contests for a winning season, the Buccs responded by beating Graham 20-14 and Bethel 24-6. Unfortunately the Buccs couldn’t gain that third straight win as Urbana handed them a season-ending 28-6 loss.

The Buccs move on without the six seniors, Richard Girouard, Dan Rench, Calvin Yingst, Art Stephen, Ed Boggs, and Bob Sheib.

Seniors: Row 1 - Richard Girouard, Dan Rench. Row 2 - Calvin Yingst, Art Stephen, Ed Boggs, and Bob Sheib.

1976 BUCCS - 4-4-2

OPPONENT

SCORE

Tipp City

6-6

Bradford

0-6

Indian Lake

20-8

Miami East

22-22

Northwestern

26-3

Lehman

0-32

Versailles

0-14

Graham

20-14

Bethel

24-6

Urbana

6-28

Captains Art Stephan and Richard Girouard shake hands with the opponent during the coin toss.
Richard Girouard throws a pass for the Buccaneers.
Jay Victor dives for the goal line.
Dusty Furrow powers through the opposing defense.
Joe Schmidt celebrates after scoring a touchdown.
Mike Leistner finds room on the outside of the defense.
Homecoming: Sitting - Dinean Runyon, Donnie Harrison, Jane Dunn Catrell (last year's queen), Rhonda Angle, Sandy Angle, Mary Beth Bowman, Lee Ann Boyer, Queen Melissa Shoup. Standing: Mike Catrell, Jay Meyer, Joe Lauber, Dean Fields, Joe Hitchcock, Chris Runyon.