Oct. 26 – COVINGTON
With a trip to the state playoffs within sight, the Covington Buccaneers dispatched a highly ranked St. Henry team in spectacular fashion. The 41-12 shellacking of the Redskins puts the Buccs in position to lock up the areas first ever playoff birth.

The Buccs came into the game ranked sixth in the state in class A and leading Region 12 in the computer ratings. St. Henry came in ranked 11th in the state and only had one loss on their record.

St. Henry moved the ball to midfield to start the game, but fumbled the ball away and Covington’s Joe Schmidt recovered at the Redskin 48. On the next play, Dave Tobias broke loose for 48 yards and the first score of the game.

On St. Henry’s next possession they were forced to punt deep in their own territory. The snap flew over the punter’s head and Covington was back in business. The Buccs needed only five plays to put the ball in the end zone as Joe Schmidt pounded his way in from the 3 to make the score 13-0.

Just when it looked like the Redskins were working their way back into the game, things turned for the worse in a matter of seconds. St. Henry drove to the Buccaneer 7 until Joe Schmidt jumped in front of a Redskin pass and returned the interception 87 yards for the score and a 21-0 lead.

Covington scored three more times in the second half to break the game open. Rick Schmidt scored on a 22-yard run in the third while Greg Rench and Jeff Cain reached the end zone in the fourth.

On the night Covington racked up 274 yards on the ground and 62 through the air. St. Henry managed to have offensive success as they racked up 132 yards on the ground and 75 more through the air. Their downfall was the 5 turnovers, 2 fumbles and 3 interceptions.

Covington has a chance to lock up a state playoff birth next week as they travel to Indian Lake. Covington stands at 8-0-1 and wins the Three Rivers Conference title with a 6-0 record.

Scoring Summary:
Covington – Dave Tobias, 48-yard run (Tobias kick)
COVINGTON – Joe Schmidt, 3-yard run (kick failed)
COVINGTON – Joe Schmidt, 87-yard pass interception (Tobias run)
ST. HENRY – Miller , 1-yard run (run failed)
COVINGTON – Rick Schmidt, 22-yard run (Tobias kick)
ST. HENRY – Hemmelgarn, 62-yard pass from Rickart (pass failed)
COVINGTON – Greg Rench, 40-yard pass from dave Tobias (kick failed)
COVINGTON – Jeff Cain, 1-yard run (Tobias kick)

Scoring by Quarters:
Covington………13…..8….7….13 – 41
St. Henry…………0…..6….6……0 – 12

Team Yardage:
Covington – 274 rushing, 62 passing
St. Henry – 132 rushing, 75 passing