October 20, 2006 – COVINGTON
Covington’s Corey Patty has seen a lot of big time performances by other Buccaneer players over the years.

He was there last year when Gene Studebaker rushed for 286 yards against Bradford and when Dusty Kimmel rushed for 290 yards against Mississinawa Valley.

He was also there as a freshman when his cousin Matt McCord set the school single game rushing record of 334 yards against Tri-County North and when Matt rushed for 286 yards against Bethel in the same season.

Patty etched his own name in the Buccaneer record books by recording the fourth best single game rushing total in school history with 291 yards in Covington’s impressive 41-20 victory over Bethel at Smith Field.

“Yeah, I know who owns the school record,” said Patty in regards to his cousin’s accomplishment three years ago. “I wasn’t trying to catch him or worried about how many yards I was getting. I was just focused on running as hard as I could.”

Running hard was what Patty did, recording an amazing 15.3 yards per rush. He also rushed for four scores on runs of 36, 4, 29 and 88 yards.

“Corey ran the ball as hard as I’ve seen him run,” said Covington coach Kevin Finfrock. “He broke a lot of tackles tonight and made people miss. It was fun to watch.”

Patty wasn’t the only Buccaneer back to have a big night. Senior quarterback Gene Studebaker rushed for 105 yards on just 11 carries, one rush going for a touchdown from 35 yards out.

The Buccaneer rushing attack recorded the seventh best single game rushing total in school history with 435 yards.

“That (the rushing total) says a lot about our offensive line,” Finfrock said. “Our line just moved defenders off the ball and created running lanes. They picked up the blitz very well and played some physical football.”

Not only did the line block well, but the players on the edges opened up the outside lanes.

“Our wideouts did a nice job on the perimeter,” Finfrock continued. “They stayed on their blocks and made it easier on our back to hit the edges.”

Covington opened the contest by taking its opening possession deep into Bethel territory, only to be turned away as the Bees intercepted a Studebaker pass in the end zone.

The Buccaneers got on the scoreboard on their second possession, however, as Studebaker connected with Seth Mohler from 29 yards out. Kanet kicked the extra point to make the score 7-0 in favor of Covington.

Bethel struck back on its next possession as senior quarterback Tony Phillips threw a perfect pass to Mike Kley on a 34-yard hookup. The two-point conversion failed leaving the score at 7-6.

Covington waisted little time increasing its lead as Patty broke free on a 36-yard touchdown run to make the score 13-6 at the end of the first.

Patty then scored his second touchdown of the game midway through the second quarter, this time a four-yard run. Kanet’s kick pushed the margin to 20-6 as Bethel failed to threaten over the remainder of the half.

“We stayed disciplined defensively,” described Finfrock. “They (Bethel) were able to move the ball, but we never got rattled. The kids stayed focused and played within the system.”

Bethel never would be able to put together a second scoring drive with the starting Buccaneer defense on the field as Logan Hall, Andy Sparks and Seth Mohler each came up with turnovers for the Buccs.

“Logan Hall has been doing a phenomenal job,” said Finfrock in regards to his nose guard. “He is playing with a lot of emotion and that enthusiasm has rubbed off on the other kids. Logan plays like he practices – hard.”

In the meantime, Patty continued to have a field day in the second half against the Bethel defense.

Patty scored his third touchdown of the night midway through the third quarter on a 29-yard touchdown run to increase Covington’s lead to 27-6.

He then opened the fourth quarter with an 88-yard dash to break the game open, 34-6.

After a Bethel miscue on the ensuing kick and a Buccaneer recovery, Studebaker took the first snap and raced untouched to the end zone from 35 yards out to increase the Covington lead to 41-6 with 8:00 left in the game.

Finfrock then called off the dogs and put the junior varsity unit into the game.

Bethel managed to score two touchdowns in the final 6:00 to make the final score 41-20.

“This is a nice win for our program,” concluded Finfrock. “We executed and came up with big plays. We still some big games ahead of us beginning next week at Bradford. We’ll have to continue to prepare ourselves and come out ready to play.”

With the victory Covington assures itself of at least a share of the Cross County Conference title at 9-0 overall and 8-0 in conference play. A victory next week over rival Bradford would lock up sole possession of the conference crown.

Scoring by Quarters:
Bethel ……….6….0…..0….14 – 20
Covington …..13…7…..7….14 – 41

Scoring Summary:
Covington: Studebaker 29-yd pass to Mohler (Kanet kick)
Bethel: Phillips 34-yd pass to Kley (conversion failed)
Covington: Patty 36-yd run (kick failed)
Covington: Patty 4-yd run (Kanet kick)
Covington: Patty 29-yd run (Kanet kick)
Covington: Patty 88-yd run (Kanet kick)
Covington: Studebaker 35-yd run (Kanet kick)
Bethel: Prior 1-yd run (conversion good)
Bethel: Prior 13-yard pass to Burrows (conversion failed)