August 26, 2005 – Casstown
The Covington Buccaneers wasted little time getting off to a fast start in the 2005 football season as they scored on their opening possession.

After Miami East deferred the opening kickoff, the Buccs took over at their own 44-yard line and marched 56 yards to pay dirt. Junior quarterback Gene Studebaker put the ball in from 7 yards out and a Tyler Kanet point-after made the score 7-0 with 9:16 standing on the clock.

“That was a very well executed drive,” said Covington coach Kevin Finfrock. “They deferred and we were pleased to have the ball. The line opened some nice holes and the backs just ran through them”

After holding the Vikings on their first possession, Covington was back in business in Miami East territory. But, a Studebaker pass was off the mark as Michael Pits was there to intercept to give the Vikings the ball right back.

The Viking’s good fortune lasted just two plays as Covington nose guard, Brian Ely stripped Andrew Christian of the ball and raced 30 yards to the Miami East 6-yard-line.

“That was a heads-up play by Ely,” described Finfrock. “He read the play very well, positioned his man, and was able to strip the ball. He nearly scored and that play gave us a spark.”

Unfortunately for the Buccs they couldn’t convert Ely’s heroics into a touchdown and had to settle for a 22-yard field goal by Kanet. On three straight plays the Viking defense stiffened, holding Covington to just 1 yard.

“That was a nice defensive series for us,” said Miami East coach Max Current. “We gave them good field position and held them to a field goal.”

The Viking defense didn’t receive any favors from their offense as another turnover gave Covington excellent field position moments later. Studebaker stepped in front of a Josh Starry pass and raced 15 yards to the Viking 30 as the first quarter came to an end.

A few plays later, Nick Christian dashed his way through the Viking defense from 16 yards out to increase Covington’s lead to 17-0.

“We put ourselves in a hole with the turnovers,” said Current. “You can’t give a good team like Covington that many opportunities inside your own territory because they’ll eventually covert them into points.”

Covington, who didn’t punt the entire first half, converted two more drives into touchdowns by half time.

First, Gene Studebaker scored his second touchdown of the first half from 7 yards out and then Corey Patty walked in untouched from the 15 to give Covington a 30-0 half time lead.

“Corey Patty ran very hard for us,” said Finfrock. “He got many of his yards after contact with some nice moves. It was good to see him perform well because it will give him some confidence. He can really help us offensively as he build confidence in himself.”

Patty wasn’t the only Buccaneer back performing at a high level as Studebaker and Dusty Kimmel also had big nights. Kimmel racked up a game-high 100 yards on 16 carries in his first game at the high school level. The 6’4″ 200 lb. senior also had the longest run of the game of 39 yards.

Studebaker scored his third touchdown of the contest early in the third period on a 17-yard run to give Covington a 36-0 lead.

On the ensuing kick-off, the Vikings put their first points on the board as Brandon Sizemore outran the Covington special teams for an 88-yard return for a touchdown. Starry passes to Grant Westfall for the 2-point conversion to cut the margin to 36-8.

All hope of a Viking comeback was dashed shortly after as Patty scored his second touchdown of the night, this time on a 1-yard run. Tyler Kanet kicked the final point of the even as Covington took a 43-8 win.

“Our defense played well and gave our offense good field position,” concluded a please Covington coach. “We have some things to shore up, especially on special teams, but overall this was a nice way to start the season.”

Covington racked up 341 yards of total offense and held Miami East to just 40 yards. The Buccs recorded 14 first downs to the Vikings’ 2, and forced six Miami East turnovers.

Covington looks to keep its momentum next week in its home opener against Tri-County North, while Miami East host Milton Union.

Scoring by Quarters:
Buccs: …..10……20…..13…….0 – 43
Vikings: ….0……..0……8……..0 – 8