OCTOBER 12, 2007 – ARCANUM
Since day one Buccaneer coach Dave Miller has been steady in his approach – emphasizing to his team that the way to get to where they want to go is to improve with each day.

“We talk about that all the time – taking it one day and one week at a time,” said Miller after his Buccaneers shut out Arcanum 35-0 on Friday. “That’s been the theme all year.”

Despite a shutout victory, Miller thought his team should have performed better.

“We played sloppy at times and good at times,” Miller continued. “I don’t think we were as crisp as we have been. We didn’t play our best game.”

What Miller wasn’t pleased with was the seven penalties and the two turnovers – mistakes that are preventable with proper focus.

One of the penalties nullified a 37-yard run by Brock Iddings that would have set Covington up with a first-and-goal at the one and an excellent opportunity to put the Buccs up 21-0 at he half.

“Don’t get me wrong, it’s good to get the win, but the penalties hurt,” stated Miller. “We had a bunch of them tonight and they (Arcanum) didn’t have any. Some of that is because we play aggressive, but some of the penalties were a lack of focus.”

Still, Covington managed to build a 14-0 half time lead on an 8-yard run by Chris Long and a 16-yard run by Jordy Burelison.

Long’s touchdown came on Covington’s third offensive play of the game after Bill Dickey scooted around the right end for 57 yards to the ten.

Dickey would finish the night with 148 yards on 11 carries.

But the Trojans were able to keep the Covington offense off the field for much of the first half with two lengthy, clock-eating drives.

“They (Arcanum) played hard,” praised Miller. “I was watching their line and they came off the ball hard.”

Covington came out with more emotion and intensity in the second half as it stuffed Arcanum on three straight plays to force a punt.

Moments later Jordy Burelison scored his second touchdown of the night and Long ran in the two-point conversion to increase the Buccaneer lead to 22-0.

Burelison ended the contest with 125 yards on 17 carries.

“The kids responded well in the second half,” Miller said.

After another Buccaneer defensive stand, Bill Dickey waisted little time moving the offense down the field. Dickey capped the effort with a 24-yard touchdown run to increase the Covington lead to 29-0.

But the Trojans wouldn’t go quietly as they moved the ball deep into Buccaneer territory. Thanks to a pass interference penalty, Arcanum had the ball first-and-goal at the nine.

But the Buccaneer defense was up to the task as it held the Trojans on four straight plays to take over on downs.

“That (the defensive stand) was the most emotion we showed all night,” Miller said. “When we play like that, we’re pretty tough.”

The emotional lift shifted to the offensive side of the ball as Bill Dickey scooted around the left end for another long run, setting the Buccs up at the Trojan 34.

Two plays later Brock Iddings found open green on the pitch-out and outran everyone to the end zone from 26 yards out.

Iddings then kicked the final point of the night for the 35-0 victory.

Covington, who racked up 417 yards of offense and held Arcanum to just 127 yards, improves to 8-0 on the season. Unless a complete fallout occurs, the Buccs will be playing in week eleven.

“We have put ourselves in great position to do some good things,” Miller said. “But we don’t look ahead. We have to continue to improve with each and every day. If we do that we will be better prepared to take advantage of the opportunities we worked so hard for.”

The hard work continues when the Buccs come in for film study in the morning in preparation for Mississinawa Valley next Friday.

Scoring by Quarters:
Covington …….7…..7…..15…..6 – 35
Arcanum ……..0……0……0……0 – 0

Scoring Summary:
Covington – Chris Long 8-yard run (Brock Iddings kick)
Covington – Jordy Burelison 16-yard run (Iddings kick)
Covington – Burelison 14-yard run (Long run)
Covington – Bill Dickey 24-yard run (Iddings kick)
Covington – Iddings 26-yard run (Kick failed)