SEPTEMBER 22, 2012 – LEWISBURG
Most teams who walk off the field after a 48-14 victory would be thrilled with their performance – especially after improving to 5-0 and beating a team who was widely considered a legitimate threat.

But there wasn’t any celebration – or satisfaction for that matter – from the Covington Buccaneers in their performance in a lopsided victory over Tri-County North, who is now 3-2 overall and 3-1 in he CCC.

That’s because the Buccs put together a lackluster second half effort after being up 34-0 at the half when the game was called on Friday due to weather and returning on Saturday to complete the contest.

“This was a good test for us in regards to facing adversity,” said Covington coach Dave Miller. “And we didn’t pass the test as far as taking on this challenge of coming back here today (Saturday) and getting better.”

And it was obvious the kids were disappointed in their performance as they walked off the field at the conclusion of the contest.

“The good thing is they (the kids) recognize that our performance today (Saturday) wasn’t up to par,” Miller explained. “The kids understand the expectation.”

The performance on Friday was up to par as Covington dominated the entire first half – scoring at will and racking with 320 yards of offense to just 28 for the Panthers.

Covington started things off with a 47-yard scoring jaunt by Troy Cron and then a 16-yard run by A.J. Ouellette for a 14-0 lead at the end of one quarter of play.

The Buccs then pushed the lead to 34-0 with two more Ouellette touchdown runs – one of 57 yards and then a 13-yard run with 1:03 left in the half.

But suddenly, the sky opened up with heavy rains and lightening to end matters on Friday and move the remainder of the game to Saturday.

And it was apparent that Covington wasn’t the same team on Saturday as it turned the ball over via fumble on the opening possession – one of for fumbles in the contest that resulted into three turnovers.

“We didn’t protect the football very well,” stated Miller.

Fortunately, the Buccaneer defense held the Panthers on four downs inside the Covington 30 to get the ball back.

And the offense put together a well executed drive that resulted in a three-yard scoring run by Ouellette to push the margin to 41-0.

But the Panthers struck back on the ensuing kickoff as JJ Macpherson raced up the middle for 87 yards and the score. Austin Hutchins then hit Macpherson for the two-point conversion to make the score 41-8.

After another fumble on a pitch ultimately forced Covington to punt, the Panthers struck again in the opening moments of the fourth quarter. This time it was Hutchins connecting with Billy Derringer on a 35-yard scoring strike to make the score 41-14 as the run for two points was stopped short.

Covington then closed out the game with one final scoring drive capped by a 33-yard run by Ouellette. Cole Owens made good on his sixth of seven extra point attempts to make the final score 48-14.

The Buccs racked up 523 yards of total offense, all coming on the ground.

Tri-County North managed just 91 yards of offense on the game, only nine of those in the run game.

“Defensively, we played pretty well,” Miller said. “Other than the one big play for the touchdown and maybe a couple passes in the flat they got on us, we played well on the defensive side of the ball.”

Still, there’s a lot of work to be done for Covington to become the team it wants to be in regards to maximizing its potential.

“This is the type of adversity we need to make us better,” Miller said. “We didn’t get better today. The coaches know it and so do the kids. It’s good because I know the kids will come in on Monday chomping at the bit to get better.”

Because this performance wasn’t up to Covington standards, regardless of the score.

SCORE BY QUARTERS:
BUCCS – 14 – 14 – 7 – 7 = 48
PANTHERS – 0 – 0 – 8 – 6 = 14

SCORING SUMMARY:
COV: Troy Cron 47 yard run (Cole Owens Kick)
COV: AJ Ouelette 16 yard run (Owens Kick)
COV: Troy Cron 30 yard run (Owens Kick)
COV: AJ Ouelette 57 yard run (Owens Kick)
COV: AJ Ouelette 13 yard run (Kick Failed)
COV: AJ Ouellette 3 yard run (Owens Kick)
TCN: JJ Macpherson 87 yard kickoff return (Hutchins pass to Macpherson)
TCN: Billy Derringer 35 yard pass from Austin Hutchins (Run Failed)
COV: AJ Ouellette 33 yard run (Owens Kick)