September 20, 2002 – COVINGTON
The Covington Buccs celebrated their 2002 Homecoming with a come-from-behind 27-10 victory over Arcanum tonight. Trailing 10-3 at the half, the Buccs rallied for 24 unanswered points in the second half to remain unbeaten on the season and provide a fitting end to a memorable evening for their homecoming queen, Logan Greher.

Earlier in the evening it appeared as if Mother Nature had plans to spoil the festivities. Fortunately the rain subsided in time for Homecoming to kick off and the whether never affected the game other than a slippery field.

Although Mother Nature failed to crash the party, Arcanum did their best to finish the job. The Trojans, who haven’t beaten the Buccs since 1997, dominated the first half and had the Covington faithful feeling uneasy at halftime. The Trojans had the Buccs on the ropes and down 10-3, a position the Buccs haven’t been in this year.

“Arcanum really played well tonight,” said Covington coach, Ted Peacock.” They did some things in the first half offensively that we haven’t seen yet. It took us awhile to make adjustments and we never really got things under control until later in the second quarter.”

The adjustments the Buccaneer coaching staff made paid huge dividends in the second half. On Arcanum’s first offensive play of the second half, Covington’s Matt Maier pounced on a loose ball to give the Buccs possession at the Trojan’ 25. A few plays later Jesse Hitt pounded his way into the end zone from the one. Matt Fulks nailed the extra point and just like that the Buccs tied the score at 10.

Both teams remained deadlocked at 10 throughout the third period. Neither team was able to establish a running game and it appeared as though defense would determine the outcome.

The Buccs changed things up early in the fourth quarter. Beginning inside their own 30, Brady Reck connected with Jordan Shafer, Ross Mohler and Matt McCord and suddenly the Buccs were in business.

Reck then connected with Jordan Shafer down the left sideline for a 32-yard completion giving the Buccs a first and goal from the 4-yard line. Hitt scored his second touchdown of the night and another Fulks kick gave the Buccs a 17-10 lead.

Another Arcanum fumble on their next possession set the Buccs up to put the game away. With the ball inside the Trojans 20, the Buccs failed to move the ball. Matt Fulks salvaged three points from 32 yards away to give the Buccs a 20-10 lead midway through the fourth.

“That was a big kick for us,” commented coach Peacock. “It totally changed Arcanum’s game plan. It put us up by two scores late in the game and forced them to do things differently.”

The Trojans tried to open things up by running halfback passes but to no avail. They turned the ball over on downs inside their own territory and the Buccs took advantage. Jesse Hitt eventually scored his third touchdown of the night from 4 yards out and Fulks finished the scoring to give the Buccs a 27-10 win.

“This is what it’s all about,” said a relieved Covington coach. “To make coaching adjustments and come back like that is what makes this game fun. We had some big plays when we needed them. The clutch catch by Jordan Shafer to put us in position to go up 17-10 was a big momentum swing. Brady threw the ball really well and our offensive line gave him time to throw. Our defense really answered the challenge in the second half.”

The Buccs improve to 5-0 overall and 4-0 in the CCC while Arcanum drops to 3-2 and 3-1 in the conference.

Scoring by Quarters:
Buccs: …..3……..0……..7….17 – 27
Trojans: ….7……..3……..0…..0 – 10

Scoring Summary:
Covington – Matt Fulks 25 yd FG
Arcanum – Rob McCoy 2 yd run (Luke Schauer kick)
Arcanum – Luke Schauer 42 yd FG
Covington – Jesse Hitt 1 yd run (Fulks kick)
Covington – Hitt 4 yd run (Fulks kick)
Covington – Fulks 32 yd FG
Covington – Hitt 1 yd run (Fulks kick)