After the 1980 season the Buccs had a few down years before last year’s 11-2 playoff team brought back the expectations Bucc fans have been use to. Expectations were high again this season because of the nine returning lettermen left over from last year.

Unfortunately, the losses suffered from last years senior class were too much to overcome and the Buccs couldn’t mount a solid run to get back to the state playoffs.

Things looked promising after a 7-0 win over rival Bradford in the season opener. The Railroaders were solid a year ago and returned much of its roster this year, making them a pre-season favorite to many news publications in the area. The win for the Buccs only increased the anticipation for the possibilities ahead.

The high expectations and a return trip to the playoffs were dashed over the next two weeks, however. Back-to-back losses to Twin Valley South and Arcanum suddenly threw a monkey wrench into any plans of going to the post season.

The Buccs responded by winning three out of their next four games. The three wins came against tough opponents in Milton Union, Mechanicsburg and Miami East, but the one loss was a 46-0 shutout at the hands of Tipp City.

The Buccs then dropped two out of their last three to finish at 5-5 on the season. Two of the losses came against Springfield Catholic and Versailles, two teams which have a history of sporting good football teams.

Covington finished the season strong with a 22-6 win over Lehman in the season finale.

Despite struggling with consistency and a lack of depth, the Buccs had some solid players who contributed to last season’s playoff run as juniors.

Perhaps the most dominating player on the Buccs’ roster was Brian Olson, who went on to play college football at the University of Dayton.