After the first two game of the 1998 season one would have thought the Buccs were world beaters. They destroyed Miami East 45-0 and National Trail 22-8 and appeared to be well on their way to getting back to the playoffs after falling short last season.

But, two weeks doesn’t make a season and reality sunk in after the Buccs fell to Tri-County North 18-0. Covington’s youth and inexperience showed as the Panthers thoroughly dominated on both sides of the ball for a shutout victory.

Covington showed resilience and determination as the won their next three games by the combined score of 127-10.

First, Covington destroyed Bethel 48-0. Then came a 55-0 trouncing over Mississinawa Valley. Arcanum managed to score 10 points on the Buccs, but still fell 28-10.

After the three-game winning streak, expectations were high once again. Especially considering they were 5-1 and three of those wins were shutouts.

Unfortunately the Buccs struggled over their last four games the same way they did last season. Three losses in a row put Covington in a hole.

The Buccs began their losing skid with a 24-14 loss to Twin Valley South.

The next week, Covington missed out on some golden opportunities and came up short to Ansonia, 8-7.

The most painful loss came to Cedarville as the Indians recorded a 28-0 shutout over the Buccs to drop their record to 5-4 with one game to play.

The Buccs could have folded up the tent and packed it in but they bounced back to finish the season strong with a 31-17 win over Bradford.

Coach Riley’s Buccs finished with 6 wins and 4 losses.