OCTOBER 17, 2008 – UNION CITY
Monday evening Covington coach Dave Miller invited the Covington Little Buccs into the weight room to view game film from the second half of the Ansonia game in order to show the youngsters what Buccaneer football is all about.

In that game Covington overcame a 27-14 deficit by scoring 21 unanswered points for the victory.

You can bet the next time Miller invites the Little Buccs for another film study, he won’t be showing Friday’s contest at Mississinawa Valley.

“Probably not,” Miller said in regards to showing the film to the younger kids. “This was not our best effort.”

Still, Covington was able to pick up its fifth straight win 14-6 to improve to 7-2 overall and 7-1 in the Cross County Conference.

“I guess if you’re looking for positives, it’s a win,” Miller continued. “We did have two goal line stands and a nice interception there at the end, but there’s not a whole lot to be satisfied with.”

Both goal line stands came in the fourth quarter with Covington clinging to a 14-6 lead. One ended at the Buccaneer one, while the other was inside the five as the entire fourth quarter was played on Covington’s end of the field.

“We were pinned back into our territory the last three or four possession,” Miller explained. “But good teams overcome that and we didn’t tonight.”

The only consistent offense Covington could muster was in the first quarter.

Mississinawa was forced to punt on the opening possession of the game and Teddy Hale was able to get through the line clean for the block. This gave the Buccs excellent field position inside the Blackhawk fifteen.

A few plays later Garrett Clark scored on a seven-yard run and Logan Woloch’s kick made the score 7-0.

The Buccaneers then scored on its next possession after the defense held Mississinawa to three-and-out.

Chris “Cookie” Long found an opening down the right sideline, tip-toeing the sideline for a 42-yard scoring jaunt to give the Buccs a 14-0 lead after Woloch’s second successful point-after.

But that was the final time Covington would threaten the end zone throughout the game as penalties and turnovers became a trend for the Buccaneers.

Covington was flagged ten times for 95 yards on the evening and turned the ball over twice, one via fumble and the other an interception.

“We had a lot of penalties, a lot” said Miller. “It’s a lack of focus on our part.”

Gradually Mississinawa gained momentum as the game progressed and finally reached the end zone midway through the third quarter, thanks to some assistance by the Buccaneer defense.

After Josh Boehringer recorded a sack that appeared to kill the drive, a personal foul penalty was thrown on Covington that gave Mississinawa new life.

A three-yard touchdown pass followed, cutting the margin to 14-6 as the two-point conversion attempt failed.

The Blackhawks would threaten three more times in the final frame, but each time came up short as the Buccaneer defense stiffened in the red zone.

Mississinawa held the statistical edge with 240 yards of offense, 237 of those coming on the ground. Covington tallied 225 yards of offense with just 194 rushing yards.

“We had some problems up front,” Miller said. “And our backs didn’t run as hard as they normally do. We just didn’t have a good night.”

And that’s why, despite the win, the game tape will not be shown as a way to play Buccaneer football.

SCORE BY QUARTERS:
BUCCS – 14 – 0 – 0 – 0 = 14
‘HAWKS – 0 – 0 – 6 – 0 = 6

SCORING SUMMARY:
COV: Garrett Clark 7-yd run (Logan Woloch kick)
COV: Chris Long 42-yd run (Woloch kick)
MV: #18 3-yd pass to #85 (Run Failed)