COVINGTON – Behind a strong running game, the Covington Buccaneers rolled to their eighth straight victory of the season Friday night by routing Springfield Catholic Central 42-6.Covington rolled up 423 yards, 388 of which came on the ground.
The Buccs came on strong in the first two minutes of the game with a 35-yard touchdown run by Jim Stickley. Before everyone was seated, the Buccs already had a 7-0 lead. A strong passing attack by Springfield got the visitors on the board on a 5-yard touchdown pass to Mike Shay. The extra point attempt failed, leaving the Buccs with a 7-6 lead with 5:32 left in the quarter.
The Buccs came back on their second possession to score with 3:24 left in the quarter on a 6-yard run by Matt Pond. Bill Besecker added the extra point to put Covington on top 14-6. Covington kept its strong running rolling with a 47-yard touchdown run by Pond, his second of the night. Besecker added the extra point to increase the Buccs’ lead t0 21-6 at the half.
Defense controlled most of the third quarter until Covington took advantage of a pass interception and a 2-yard touchdown run up the middle by Pond with 23 second left in the third. Besecker’s extra point increased the Buccs’ lead to 28-6.
The Buccs later added two more touchdowns – one by Rich Phillis and the other by Pond – to make the final score 42-6.
Covington head coach Charlie Burgbacher said he had to turn the defense around after the Buccs gave up 166 yards passing to Springfield Catholic in the first half. The Buccs made some adjustments to keep the Irish scoreless in the second half.
Burgbacher was pleased with his team’s performance. “We ran the ball right at them. We’ll keep winning as long as we do a good job running the ball and keeping turnovers down,” he said.
Covington (8-0, 4-0) will travel to Versailles (6-2, 3-1) Friday for a conference showdown.
SCORING SUMMARY:
COV: Jim Stickley 35-yd run (Bill Besecker Kick)
SCC: Mike Shay 5-yd pass (Kick Failed)\
COV: Matt Pond 6-yd run (Besecker Kick)
COV: Matt Pond 47-yd run (Besecker Kick)
COV: Matt Pond 2-yd run (Besecker Kick)
COV: Rich Phillis 5-yd run (Besecker Kick)
COV: Matt Pond 2-yd run (Besecker Kick)
SCORE BY QUARTERS:
Covington: 14 7 7 14 = 42
Springfield CC: 6 0 0 0 = 6
