SEPTEMBER 17, 2020 – COVINGTON
The unbeaten Covington Buccaneers had expectations of taking control of the CCC in a Thursday night showdown with another unbeaten team, the Fort Loramie Redskins.

And those expectations seemed attainable early in the first quarter as Covington marched the ball 65 yards through the heart of the Fort Loramie defense for a score in the opening possession of the game.

It was a drive that epitomizes the tradition of Covington football – hard-nosed, physical play in the trenches with backs who grind out tough yardage. Senior Duncan Cooper capped the drive with a four-yard plunge – dragging multiple Redskin defenders into the end zone for a 7-0 lead after the point-after kick was true.

But that would be the final highlight for Covington as Fort Loramie controlled the remainder of the action to hand the Buccs a frustrating 41-7 defeat.

And it was the duo of Fort Loramie quarterback Collin Moore and wideout Logan Eilerman who gave Covington fits. The Buccaneers didn’t have an answer for either Redskin standout and those around the dynamic duo assisted in Loramie’s success.

The Redskins responded to Covington’s scoring drive to start the game on their very first offensive snap. Moore faked out the Buccaneer defense and raced 65 yards up the gut untouched on the quarterback keeper to tie the score at 7-7.

Covington, who accumulated just 47 yards of total offense after the 65-yard scoring drive, couldn’t get anything going against the Redskin defense on the ensuing possession and was forced to punt.

Fort Loramie wasted little time taking the lead as Moore dove in from a yard out after hitting Eilerman again on a long pass to set the Redskins up inside the Buccaneer 15. The point-after attempt was true as Fort Loramie held a 14-7 lead after one quarter of play.

With Covington’s offense held in check, Fort Loramie went back to work on its next possession and scored on a seven-yard hookup between Moore and Eilerman to push the lead to 21-7 with 8:04 left in the half.

The Fort Loramie defense followed by holding Covington to a three-and-out, but the Buccaneers received a huge break on the punt as the Redskin returner put the ball on the ground and Buccaneer senior David Robinson pounced on the loose pigskin to give Covington possession just 32 yards from the end zone.

But Covington couldn’t penetrate the stingy Redskin defense and turned the ball over on downs at the 27.

From there the Redskins drove the steak through the heart of the Buccaneer faithful as Moore connected with Eilerman once again on a 49-yard scoring strike to make the score 27-7 at the break.

Covington has a proud tradition of fighting until the end and this was evident in the third quarter as the Buccaneer defense stepped up to hold a potent Fort Loramie offense in check.

But the Redskins were too talented on this night and scored twice more in the fourth quarter on a five-yard plunge by Nate Meyer and a one-yard run by Moore. The end result was an impressive 41-7 win for the Redskins and a soul searching opportunity for Covington.

The score and the stats tell the entire story as Fort Loramie racked up 467 yards of total offense – 251 rushing and 216 through the air. Covington tallied 112 yards of offense with 84 yards on the ground and just 28 yards in the passing game.

The Redskins churned out 18 first downs to just 6 for Covington – four of those coming on the opening drive.

Logan Eilerman and Collin Moore accounted for 5 touchdowns on the night as Eilerman caught nine passes for 190 yards and two scores, while Moore tallied 125 yards on the ground and 216 through the air. Moore also scored three times.

With the win, Fort Loramie takes control of the CCC with a 4-0 record, while Covington drops to 3-1 and looks rebound next Friday at Tri-County North.

SCORE BY QUARTERS:
BUCCS – 7 – 0 – 0 – 0 = 7
REDSKINS – 14 – 13 – 0 – 14 = 41

SCORING SUMMARY:
1st – COV: Duncan Cooper 4-yard run (David Robinson Kick)
1st – FL: Collin Moore 65-yd run (PAT Good)
1st – FL: Collin Moore 1-yd run (PAT Good)
2nd – FL: Logan Eilerman 7-yd pass from Collin Moore (PAT Good)
2nd – FL: Logan Eilerman 49-yd pass from Collin Moore (PAT Failed)
4th – FL: Nate Meyers 5-yd run (PAT Good)
4th – FL: Collin Moore 1-yd run (PAT Good)