2004 COVINGTON BUCCANEERS

A young Covington Buccaneers team finished the 2004 season with a 5-5 record, but a nucleus of young talent returns in 2005.

2004 BUCCANEERS: (Front Rown (L-R) - CJ Potter, Brian Ely, Nick Meyer, JT Luckey, Kevin Wright, Matt Fulks, Mike Varno, Justin Owens, Aaron Staley, Logan Bown, Nick Christian, Zach Deeter. Second Row (L-R) - Coach Tom Barbee Jeremy Yingst, Tyler Kanet, Jordy Burelison, Skylar Mitchell, Bill Dickey, Bobby Wiltshire, Lucas Broughman, Dan Rindler, Cameron Rank, Dan Philabaum, Manager Jake Bitner. Third Row (L-R) - Coach Glen Hollopeter, Matt Varno, Bryant Hale, Ryan White, Drew Craft, Corey Patty, Matt Thomas, Kyle Chalmers, Josh Mahan, Drew Brown, Head Coach Kevin Finfrock. Top Row (L-R) - Coach Heath Finfrock, JJ Thompson, Brad Plank, Derrick Brumbaugh, Gene Studebaker, Aaron Wright, Seth Mohler, Jake Wise, Chase Manson, Coach Doug Swartz. (Mike Varno, Matt Varno and Aaron Staley quit the team.)
Kevin Finfrock

After five straight years of qualifying for the state playoffs, many people will look at the 5-5 record the Buccs tallied in 2004 and say it was not a successful season.

But, when you look at what the Buccaneers had to overcome, the season was fruitful and may have set the Buccs up for the next few years.

Entering two-a-days in preparation for the 2004 season the Buccaneer coaching staff knew they were young. Only six seniors were back from the 2003 playoff team and by season’s end, only four seniors remained.

With the limited amount of experienced players, the Buccs fielded numerous underclassman at many positions on both sides of the ball.

Plus, the young Buccs had the pressure of a 43-game winning streak on their shoulders…pressure the young kids never had to face before. The Buccs never focused on the streak, but it had to be in the back of their minds entering the season because every time they read the papers, the streak came up.

“We really don’t focus on the streak,” said Finfrock prior to the season. “It was a nice accomplishment by the kids who put that streak together, but this is a new team with many kids who were not even in high school during most of those games. As far as we are concerned, we are 0-0 now.”

More adversity arose as the season progressed. The Buccs suffered some key injuries, which only made a young team younger. None had more of an impact as the injury to sophomore running back, Gene Studebaker. Studebaker was injured midway through the season, which forced a shuffling of numerous positions.

The Buccs moved fullback, Nick Christian to halfback and inserted freshman, Dan Rindler at fullback. What transpired was an added growing process to an already inexperienced offensive unit. Plus, the familiarity the offensive line developed with the Studebaker and Christian backfield tandem in the early part of the season had to be developed with the backfield switch during the season.

Through the first five games the Buccs’ recorded a 4-1 record. The only loss the Buccs suffered was a 42-7 defeat at the hands of eventual conference champions, Anna.

The Buccs then lost four straight games to Arcanum, Mississinawa Valley, Bethel and Bradford. The four-game losing streak was the first since 1991.

Covington rebounded in the final week of the season with a 24-7 win over Tri-County North. The win was vital because it showed the team had stuck together and give the Buccs something to build on for next season.

The win over Tri-County North showed what kind of character the Buccaneers had. The fact that they came off of four straight defeats to beat a good football team on the road shows the Buccs grew up a good bit in 10 weeks. They played their best football of the season on the final week of the season…which only ads to the anticipation for next season.

“This is a great way to end the season,” said Covington coach, Kevin Finfrock after the North game. “It gives us something to build on for next season and it sends our four seniors off on a high note.”

The Buccs lose the four seniors to graduation, so many players return next year a year older and wiser.

As the Buccs look ahead to the long off-season, they’ll have the motivation they need to work harder than ever. For the first time in years, the Buccs will be the hunters and not the hunted.

 

MATT FULKS PLAYED AT OHIO NORTHERN UNIVERSITY
Matt Fulks, a 2005 graduate and a senior on the 2004 football team, continued his football career at the collegiate level at Ohio Northern University where he was a kicker for the Polar Bears under coach Dean Paul. During his time at Covington, Matt broke kicking records for most field goals in a season with 6 in 2003 and the longest field goal in school history of 40 yards – which has since been broken.

Coach Finfrock leads the 2004 Buccaneers.

2004 BUCCS - 5-5

DATE

OPPONENT

SCORE

AUG. 27

MIAMI EAST

SEP. 3

ANNA

SEP. 10

@ TWIN VALLEY SOUTH

SEP. 17

NATIONAL TRAIL

SEP. 24

@ ANSONIA

OCT. 1

ARCANUM

OCT. 8

@ MISSISSINAWA VALLEY

OCT. 15

BETHEL

OCT. 22

@ BRADFORD

OCT. 29

@ TRI-COUNTY NORTH

Select Result for Game Story.

2004 CCC STANDINGS

TEAM

CCC

ALL

ANNA

9-0

9-1

ARCANUM

8-1

8-2

BETHEL

7-2

7-3

MISSISSINAWA VALLEY

5-4

5-5

COVINGTON

4-5

5-5

TRI-COUNTY NORTH

4-5

5-5

ANSONIA

4-5

4-6

BRADFORD

3-6

3-7

NATIONAL TRAIL

1-8

1-9

TWIN VALLEY SOUTH

0-9

0-10

SENIORS: Cheerleaders )L-R) - Kate McCord, Hollie Hitchcock, Crystal Diltz. Players (L-R) - Matt Fulks, Justin Owens, Kevin Wright, JT Luckey.

2004 BUCCANEER PLAYERS

KEVIN WRIGHT - 12
JUSTIN OWENS - 12
JT LUCKEY - 12
MATT FULKS - 12
LOGAN BROWN - JR
DAN PHILABAUM - JR
CJ POTTER - JR
NICK MEYER - JR
CHASE MANSON - JR
JOSH MAHAN - JR
BRIAN ELY - JR
ZACH DEETER - JR
NICK CHRISTIAN - JR
BOBBY WILTSHIRE - JR
DERRICK BRUMBAUGH - SO
DREW CRAFT - SO
BRYANT HALE - SO
TYLER KANET - SO
SKYLAR MITCHELL - SO
SETH MOHLER - SO
COREY PATTY - SO
BRAD PLANK - SO
CAMERON RANK - SO
TOM SAMPSON - SO
GENE STUDEBAKER - SO
MATT THOMAS - SO
RYAN WHITE - SO
AARON WRIGHT - FR
JAKE WISE - FR
JEREMY YINGST - FR
JJ THOMPSON - FR
DAN RINDLER - FR
BILL DICKEY - FR
KYLE CHALMERS - FR
JORDY BURELISON - FR
DREW BROWN - FR
LUKAS BROUGHMAN - FR
COACHES (L-R): Heath Finfrock, Doug Swartz, Kevin Finfrock, Tom Barbee, Glen Hollopeter, Dave Tobias.
2004 Cheerleaders