Friday, Sept. 28, 2001 – COVINGTON
For Covington students there is nothing like the homecoming football game. The homecoming court is dressed in their best clothes and a queen is chosen. It’s a special night for the students and a proud night for the parents. Memories are made that will last a lifetime but homecoming is never complete unless your team wins the game.

Well, the Buccs celebrated homecoming and honored their queen, Katie Montgomery, with a resounding 54-12 victory over Mississinawa Valley.

The Buccs started fast as they racked up 48 points by halftime. Josh Burelison (3 times), Boomer Schmidt ( 2 times) and Alex Hague (2 times) all reached the end zone in the first half. Dusty Blythe was sharp passing the ball and Alex Hague made two difficult catches in the end zone. On his first touchdown reception, Alex displayed great concentration as he snagged a tipped pass in the back of the end zone. Later, Blythe found Hague in stride on a pretty strike at the goal line.

The successful connections from Blythe to Hague kept the outmanned Blackhawks off balance and set up the running game. Burelison and Schmidt took the game over and scored at will.

With the game pretty much secured for the Buccs, coach Peacock gave the starters the rest of the night off and let the reserves take over. When all was said and done, the Buccs racked up 54 points. The Blackhawks scored 2 late touchdowns to make the score 54-12.

Covington tallied 408 yards of offense, including 283 yards on the ground.

The Buccs are now 6-0 overall and 5-0 in the CCC. They do have a tough road ahead as they travel to both Bethel and Anna in the second half of the season. Those two games will most likely decide the conference championship and the chances of a return trip to the playoffs. So far the Buccs look well on their way.

Sack Master…
Jon Sampson doesn’t receive all of the headlines or the publicity that some of the other Buccaneer players receive but he is just as valuable and impressive. Sampson is in his first year as a starter and he is filling shoes left behind from last year’s dominating defensive line. Actually, he has more than filled their shoes.

Coming into tonight’s game against Mississinawa Valley, Jon Sampson has racked up 9 quarterback sacks in 5 games. He has been able to constantly pressure the quarterback and stop the run. Playing along side Dusty Hess, the two have developed into an awesome one-two punch for the Buccaneer defense.