September 12, 2003 – NEW PARIS
If there’s one word to describe the 2003 Covington Buccaneers it has to be “family”. This was never more evident than it was tonight as the Buccs trounced National Trail 60-0.

It’s not that they won by 60 points, it’s what happened in the final moments which shows why the Buccaneers are so close as a group. Arnold Thompson, a 5’0″ freshman, lined up as a gunner on two straight kickoffs and each time he ran down the field and made the open-field tackle. After the second tackle the entire Buccaneer team mobbed Arnold, lifted him on their shoulders and gave him the ride of his life. All the while, the Covington faithful gave Arnold a standing ovation and chanted his name “Arnold, Arnold”.

“That moment really left a tingle inside,” commented Covington coach Kevin Finfrock on Arnold’s big moment. “Arnold has a lot of heart. He showed that in two-a-days and he displayed that again tonight. He’s always the first to want to go in there and hit. The way our team reacted to Arnold just shows how close we are as a group. When you are tight as a team, it affects your play. We have a very tight group this year and we are seeing the results.”

Arnold Thompson’s performance in the final moments was the finishing touches on an outstanding Buccaneer performance.

Covington scored on all three of their first quarter drives to take a 17-0 lead. Brady Reck hooked up with Ross Mohler for both of Covington’s touchdowns in the quarter and Matt Fulks kicked a 34-yard field goal.

Covington didn’t let up in the second as they scored 22 more points by halftime. Reck connected with Jared Hague for a 68-yard scoring toss and Matt McCord and Mike Varno each reached the end zone by halftime.

McCord, who recorded 172 yards on 15 carries, scored his second touchdown of the night on an 88-yard run to open up the third quarter. Covington then turned things over to the second unit with a 46-0 lead.

The second unit picked up where the varsity left off by scoring two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Freshman quarterback Seth Mohler led a scoring drive by running for 49 yards on 8 carries and diving in from the 1-yard line to put Covington up 53-0. Another Covington freshman, Gene Studebaker broke loose for 25 of his 75 rushing yards for the final score of the night.

The shutout was Covington’s third in four games and has coach Finfrock praising his dominating defense.

“Our defense was outstanding once again,” complemented the coach. We held them to -50 yards rushing, which is just outstanding. Our pass defense was solid as well. We are flying to the ball as a unit so overall I’m very pleased with the defense.”

Coach Finfrock was also just as thrilled with the Buccs’ offensive performance, especially the passing game.

“Our passing game is coming around,” continued Finfrock. “Brady threw the ball well and our receivers made some nice catches. Our running game was also solid. Matt (McCord) had some nice runs and some of the younger kids stepped up as well. I’m pretty pleased with our performance tonight.”

As for Arnold Thompson, coach Finfrock see’s it this way. “Arnold’s our special team’s player of the week.”

Covington improves to 4-0 on the season and 3-0 in the CCC. They host Ansonia next week in another conference battle.

Scoring by Quarters:
Covington……..17….22….7….14 – 60
National Trail…..0……0….0……0 – 0

Scoring Summary:
Covington – Brady Reck 21yd pass to Ross Mohler (Matt Fulks kick)
Covington – Reck 1yd pass to Mohler (Fulks kick)
Covington – Fulks 34yd field goal
Covington – Reck 68yd pass to Jared Hague (Fulks kick)
Covington – Matt McCord 3yd run (Fulks kick)
Covington – Mike Varno 1yd run (Mohler pass to McCord)
Covington – McCord 88yd run (Fulks kick)
Covington – Seth Mohler 1yd run (Fulks kick)
Covington – Gene Studebaker 25yd run (Fulks kick)