SEPTEMBER 29, 2007 – NEW PARIS
Sometimes the games coaches worry about the most are the games where their team is a heavy favorite. The concern of a mental letdown, threat of injuries or a lack of focus is something that can drive a coach crazy.

Covington coach Dave Miller didn’t have to worry much as his Buccaneers jumped all over winless National Trail for a 37-0 half time lead and cruised to a 44-0 victory.

“We achieved some goals tonight, which is good,” said Miller. “We played at our level and not at their level. We eliminated the turnovers and came out of there healthy and with a win. Those are the things we wanted to accomplish and we did that.”

It didn’t take Covington long to get rolling as it stopped National Trail on its opening possession and then took only four plays of its first possession to score the game’s first touchdown.

Senior fullback Jordy Burelison burst up the middle for a 37-yard score – breaking several tackles along the way.

Burelison was economical running the football as he ended the contest with three touchdowns and 114 yards on just five carries.

Sophomore Garrett Clark also had over 100 yards rushing with 108 yards on 20 carries.

“Jordy ran the ball hard,” Miller said. “All of our backs ran hard, but the offensive line gets a lot of credit because the backs didn’t get hit much until they were down the field.”

The next two Covington scores came through the air as Bill Dickey hooked up with Brock Iddings from 9 yards out and on a 59-yard scoring strike.

Dickey completed 4 of 5 passes on the evening for 84 yards and 2 touchdowns.

“Bill did a great job throwing the ball and running the option,” said Miller. “We threw the ball a few times there in the first quarter and got some big plays out of it.”

Burelison then scored back-to-back touchdowns on runs of 11 and 47 yards before Iddings connected on a 35-yard field goal to make the score 37-0 at the half.

Still, it could have been much worse for the Blazers as Covington had three more scores nullified by penalties. Two of those touchdowns that were called back were by Brock Iddings.

“That (penalties) is something we need to look at,” said Miller. “We’ll review that on film. I want the kids to continue to play hard to the whistle, but we have to make sure we are smart about it too.”

Iddings got a little bit of comfort from the two touchdowns that got away by scoring his third touchdown of the game in the early moments of the third period.

The senior did it with his legs this time as he scooted untouched from two yards out.

Covington then turned the game over to the younger kids and cruised home with a 44-0 shutout win.

“For the most part our first team played pretty well,” Miller praised. “Defensively, we held them to 40 yards in the first half so most of their yards came in the second half. Offensively, we got out to a quick start and put points on the board. We did the things we needed to do.”

Covington tallied 306 yards on the ground and 390 yards of total offense. The Buccs held the Blazers to just 100 total yards and an average of 1.6 yards-per-carry for 68 yards.

The victory improves Covington’s record to 6-0 overall and 5-0 in the CCC.

The Buccs host Ansonia next Friday in another Cross County Conference match-up.

Scoring by Quarters:
Covington ………27…..10….7……0 – 44
National Trail ……0……0…..0……0 – 0

Scoring Summary:
Covington: Jordy Burelison 34-yard run (Brock Iddings kick)
Covington: Bill Dickey 9-yard pass to Iddings (Iddings kick)
Covington: Dickey 59-yard pass to Iddings (Kick blocked)
Covington: Burelison 11-yard run (Iddings kick)
Covington: Burelison 47-yard run (Iddings kick)
Covington: Iddings 35-yard field goal
Covington: Iddings 2-yard run (Iddings kick)