Eleven years is an eternity when it comes to the success of Covington football. There was a time when winning was a regular occurrence but the past decade has been anything but stellar for Covington football. Only twice since 1985 have the Buccaneers recorded a winning team, 1992 and 1995.

With most of the players back from last year’s 9-1 team, expectations were high that the Covington football program would again be back on top.

The 1996 Buccs, coached by Bob Riley, exceeded the expectations by becoming only the 5th team in school history to finished the regular season with a perfect record. The others to do it were the 1952, 1960, 1968 and 1973 teams. Their perfect regular season record also gave the Buccs their second straight Cross County Conference championship.

Coach Riley’s Buccaneers consisted of a high-powered offense and a stingy defense. They possessed a powerful running game with Andy Shafer and Dale Thompson as well as a solid passing attack with the rocket arm of Matt Weikert.

In front of the talented backfield was a solid offensive line consisting of seniors Matt Apple, Travis Bubeck and Mack Snyder. They racked up 426 points for an average of 42.6 points per game in the regular season.

The defense was just a dominating as the offense. They only surrendered 70 regular season points for 7 points a game. The Buccs also recorded 3 shutouts but could have recorded at least 2 or 3 more but with games out of reach Coach Riley allowed younger players to see playing time.

After a dominating regular season, the Buccs faced eventual State Champions, St. Henry in the first round of the playoffs. The game was close until two fourth quarter touchdowns by the Redskins ended the Buccs’ season 28-0.