September 13, 2002 – COVINGTON
The last time the Covington Buccaneers played on Ansonia’s home field was two years ago on of all days, Friday the 13th. In that game two years ago the Buccs ran all over the Tigers for a 31-7 win on their way to an unbeaten season and a trip to the state playoffs.

Tonight, (two years later and on Friday the 13th) the Buccs and Tigers went head to head in a critical conference battle. The result was just about the same as it was two years ago as the Buccs dominated early and cruised to a 38-12 win.

The first half was all Covington. After shutting Ansonia down on their first possession, Covington’s offense marched down the field. Jesse Hitt scored the first of his three touchdowns on a 25-yard run up the middle. Matt Fulks kicked the extra point and the Buccs were up 7-0 with on 4:11 off of the clock.

On Ansonia’s next possession, Brady Reck stepped in front of a Stuart Beisner pass and gave the Buccs the ball in Tiger territory. The Buccs marched to Ansonia’s 10 before the drive stalled, but Matt Fulks salvaged 3 points from 24 yards away to make the score 10-0 at the 7:34 mark of the first.

Another defensive stand by the Buccs on Ansonia’s next gave the ball right back to Covington in good field position again. The Buccs drove the ball to Ansonia’s 17-yard line as the first quarter came to an end. Jesse Hitt scored his second touchdown of the game on a 9-yard run with only 55 seconds gone in the second quarter. Fulks was good on the extra point and the Buccs were suddenly up 17-0.

Covington appeared to be working on a blowout as they scored two more times before the end of the half. Boomer Schmidt ripped off a 50-yard touchdown run on fourth and two and Brady Reck snuck in from 3 yards out to give the Buccs a 31-0 lead at the half.

“We had a first half you only dream about,” said Covington’s coach, Ted Peacock. “We played well in all phases of the game against a very good football team. To put up 31 points on Ansonia in one half is a heck of an accomplishment.”

As happy as Coach Peacock was in the first half, he was as frustrated in the second half as the Buccs began to self destruct. The Buccs turned the ball over three times which led to 12 second half points for the Tigers.

After a scoreless third quarter, Ansonia benefitted by a Covington fumble at the Buccs’ 28-yard line. On the next play David Lee hit Tyler Stump for the touchdown. The 2-point try failed to keep the score at 31-6.

With Boomer Schmidt out of the game with a back injury, Jesse Hitt took over the running game. The Buccs drove down the field and Hitt pounded his way in for his third touchdown of the game from 1-yard out. Fulk’s kick was good and the Buccs held a commanding 38-6 lead.

On the ensuing kickoff Ansonia’s Stuart Beisner weaved his way up the middle and outraced the Buccaneer special teams 86 yards to the end zone to cut the Buccs’ lead to 38-12. The 2-point try again failed for the Tigers and time ran out on their comeback.

“We made way too many mistakes in the second half,” described Coach Peacock. “Hey, I give Ansonia a lot of credit because there was no quit in them at all. They were down 31-0 and they could have packed it in but they didn’t. They are a nice football team and we can’t make those kind of mistakes against this caliber of a team. The kickoff return didn’t bother me so much because we had some young kids in there, but the touchdown pass is something that shouldn’t have happened. We prepared for that play all week and there is no excuse for the breakdown in coverage. We have to get those kind of mistakes corrected because we have Arcanum coming to our place next week. We have our work to do.”

The Buccs improve to 4-0 on the season and 3-0 in the CCC while Ansonia drops to 2-2 overall and 2-1 in the conference.

Scoring by Quarters:
Buccs: …..10……21……0……7 – 38
Tigers: ….0……..0……..0….12 – 12

Scoring Summary:
Covington – Jesse Hitt 25-yard run (Matt Fulks Kick) – 7-0
Covington – Fulks – 24 Field Goal – 10-0
Covington – Jesse Hitt 9-yard run (Fulks Kick) – 17-0
Covington – Boomer Schmidt 50-yard run (Fulks Kick) – 24-0
Covington – Brady Reck 3-yard run (Fulks Kick) – 31-0
Ansonia – David Lee 29-yard pass to Tyler Stump – 2pt failed – 31-6
Covington – Hitt 2-yard run – (Fulks Kick) – 38-6
Ansonia – Stuart Beisner 82 yard kickoff return – 2pt failed – 38-12