OCTOBER 5, 2007 – COVINGTON
Covington coach Dave Miller saw two versions of his Buccaneers in a 48-23 victory over Ansonia, Friday.

The first version was a dominant team – a team Miller feels is as good as anybody. The second version was an average team making mental mistakes and not fully focused.

“When we play hard, give maximum effort of every play, we’re as good as anybody,” stated Miller. “When we let up, take plays off and have mental mistakes, we’re average. We definitely need to work on that. You saw that tonight.”

The dominant Covington was on display in the first seven minutes of the contest as it built a 21-0 lead.

Jordy Burelison opened the scoring with a 23-yard touchdown run and followed with a 3-yard score to give the Buccs a 14-0 lead.

After a Tiger fumble on the ensuing kick-off, quarterback Bill Dickey connected with Chris Long from 25 yards out to increase the margin to 21-0 with 5:15 left in the first quarter.

“We came out ready to play,” Miller said. “That was huge for us to get out to a quick lead against a team that never quits. And Ansonia didn’t quit.”

The average Covington team Miller was referring too was on display on Ansonia’s next drive.

The visiting Tigers marched 65 yards down the field and scored on a 24-yard run by Eric Beisner.

“We took a mental break on that drive and gave them some momentum,” explained Miller. “We’ve got to work on that – staying focused and continuing to play hard when we have a lead like that. You don’t want to give a team any momentum when you have them down like that.”

After a short tongue lashing on the sideline, the Buccs showcased their dominant side once again.

Two more Buccaneer touchdowns went on the board before the half.

Dickey connected again with Chris Long from 53 yards out and then scored on a 1-yard run to make the score 35-7 at the half.

Dickey ended the contest with 211 yards passing and 4 touchdowns on just six of eight attempts.

“They (Ansonia) had a nine-man front to stop the run,” explained Miller. “Our line did a great job of protecting Bill (Dickey) and our receivers did a nice job of getting open. Bill put the ball where it needed to be and the receivers just kept making nice catches.”

Dickey picked a different target to hook up with on the first play of the second half as he hit Brock Iddings with a perfect strike down the middle of the field for a 63-yard touchdown.

He then closed out the third quarter with another touchdown pass, this time a 24-yarder to Logan Woloch.

Leading 48-7, the Buccs turned the game over to the second unit.

Ansonia managed to take advantage by scoring two fourth quarter touchdowns to make the final score 48-23.

The Tigers managed 290 yards on the ground against the Buccaneer defense, but 164 of those yards came against Covington’s second unit.

“Other than a couple of series, our defense played well,” Miller said. “We gave up some yardage and points at the end, but the first team defense had a solid effort.”

Miller has been consistent in emphasizing the team philosophy, but he didn’t hesitate to praise one particular player for his effort in all phases of the game.

“Brock Iddings had a great night,” Miller praised. “Offense, defense and special teams – he got it done. He played physical football tonight.”

Iddings has made a reputation this season as a big-play scoring threat for the Buccs, but one play in particular stood out. This play came on the defensive side of the ball.

Midway through the third quarter Ansonia had put together a nice drive. The Tigers were deep into Covington territory facing a fourth-and-eight.

Eric Beisner caught a screen pass and appeared headed for a first down.

But Iddings lowered his shoulder and stopped the 200 lb. back in his tracks.

“That was a big play because it not only stopped them from keeping the drive alive, but it gave us some momentum,” Miller said. “It also picked up the defense a little bit.”

Iddings was also big on the receiving end of Dickey’s passes as he racked up 107 yards on just two receptions.

The Buccaneers recorded 481 yards of total offense on the night and only committed four penalties.

The victory improves Covington’s record to 7-0 overall and 6-0 in the CCC.

Covington travels to Arcanum next Friday.

Scoring by Quarters:
Ansonia ………….7……0…..0…..16 – 23
Covington ………21…..14…..7……6 – 48

Scoring Summary:
Covington: Jordy Burelison 23-yard run (Brock Iddings kick)
Covington: Burelison 3-yard run (Iddings kick)
Covington: Bill Dickey 25-yard pass to Chris Long (Iddinga kick)
Ansonia: Eric Beisner 24-yard run (Dustin Jasinski kick)
Covington: Dickey 53-yard pass to Long (Iddings kick)
Covington: Dickey 1-yard run (Iddings kick)
Covington: Dickey 63-yard pass to Iddings (Iddings kick)
Covington: Dickey 16-yard pass to Logan Woloch (Kick failed)
Ansonia: Dylan Bubeck 3-yard run (Chance Cox run)
Ansonia: Brandon Liette 79-yard run (Derek Bubeck run)