October 14, 2005 – COVINGTON
Covington’s conference battle with Mississinawa Valley Friday was only the eighth game of Dusty Kimmel’s high school career, but you wouldn’t know it by the way he ran the football.

Kimmel ran over, around and away from the Blackhawk defense for 290 yards on just 19 carries, two going for touchdowns in Covington’s 49-21 win.

“Dusty keeps improving and getting more and more confident with each game,” said Covington coach Kevin Finfrock in praise of his senior tailback. “He is one of the most coachable kids I’ve ever been around. He listens very intently to everything we have to tell him, pays attention to details and has an eagerness in his eyes.”

Kimmel got the Buccs going on the opening possession of the game on a 28-yard run. On the run, Kimmel made a nice cut-back at the line of scrimmage and raced untouched to the end zone.

“We’ve been working with him (Kimmel) on making the cut and getting vertical,” said Finfrock. “He’s doing exactly what we ask of him. With his confidence and speed, he’s very tough to defend.”

The point-after failed left the score 6-0 in Covington’s favor, but it was only the beginning for the Buccaneer offense.

Mississinawa made things interesting on it’s first possession as it scored on an 18-yard pass from Kyle Linder to Brady Rogers. The extra point was true giving the Blackhawks their only lead of the game 7-6.

The lead didn’t last long as Gene Studebaker ran the ball in from the two and then converted on the two-point conversion to give Covington a 14-7 lead early in the second period.

Mississinawa’s passing attack struck again moments later as Linder hit Rogers again for a 17-yard scoring strike. Rogers, who accounted for 181 of Mississinawa’s 245 receiving yards, continually hurt the Buccs throughout the contest.

“As coaches, we need to do a much better job getting our secondary ready to go,” Finfrock said. “They (Mississinawa) had way too much success against our secondary.”

One highlight for the Covington defense was the play of senior linebacker Logan Brown. Number 63 was all over the field throughout the contest and delivered numerous vicious hits on Mississinawa ball carriers.

“Logan had a very good game because he had confidence in the defensive scheme,” described Finfrock. “He played very well within the system and played his position the way it should be played…very disciplined and physical.”

As much success as the Blackhawks had through the air, Covington had much more on the ground as the tandem on Kimmel and Studebaker ran at will.

Kimmel increased Covington’s lead before the half on a 5-yard scoring plunge and Studebaker dove in for the two-point conversion for a 22-13 half-time lead.

The Buccs then took command of the contest in the third period with 20 points in the quarter.

Studebaker scored three of his four touchdowns in the period on runs of 25, 10 and 12.

“Gene continues to do an excellent job engineering our offense,” said Finfrock. “With two backs like Gene and Kimmel, it’s very tough for anyone to defend.”

The Blackhawks did manage to reach the end zone on a 2-yard run by Kurt Moneysmith after Rogers burned the Buccs on a 64-yard reception.

Leading 42-21 early in the final period, the Buccs kept the starters on the field for one drive. The result was Studebaker’s fourth touchdown run of the half, this time from 27-yards out.

Sophomore Bill Dickey converted on his third extra point of the contest to give Covington a 49-21 lead that would stand until the final gun.

With the win Covington improved its record to 7-1 overall and 6-1 in the CCC. The Buccs hope to stay in the conference title hunt as they travel to face Bethel next Friday.

“We have to shore up some things defensively,” conclude Finfrock. “Bethel is probably going to test us in the passing game and they have some very nice athletes. We’ll have to be prepared.”

Along with Kimmel’s 290 rushing yards, Gene Studebaker rushed for 162 yards on 18 carries. The tandem accounted for 452 of Covington’s 471 rushing yards on the night. Covington also racked up 103 yards passing and 574 yards of total offense.

Scoring by Quarters:
Buccs: …….6……16…..20…..7 – 49
Hawks: ……7…….6……8……0 – 21

Scoring Summary:
Covington: Dusty Kimmel 28-yard run (kick Failed)
Mississinawa: Kyle Linder 18-yard pass to Brady Rogers (#85 kick)
Covington: Studebaker 2-yard run (Studebaker run)
Mississinawa: Linder 17-yard pass to Rogers (Kick Failed)
Covington: Kimmel 5-yard run (Studebaker run)
Covington: Studebaker 25-yard pass to Drew Craft (Bill Dickey Kick)
Mississinawa: Kurt Moneysmith 2-yard run (Linder pass to Rogers)
Covington: Studebaker 10-yard run (Dickey kick)
Covington: Studebaker 12-yard run (Run Failed)
Covington: Studebaker 27-yard run (Dickey kick)