TROY – The Covington Buccaneers put together a fairly dominating performance in a 49-7 victory over the Troy Christian Eagles.
Offensively, the Buccaneers tallied 556 total yards with 495 yards on the ground and 61 through the air. The defense held the Eagles to just 99 yards of offense despite giving up 60 yards on one play.
The Buccaneers opened up the game kicking off to Troy Christian and then held the Eagles on a three-and-out. Covington then took the ball at the 35 and three plays later freshman Xander Feight scored on a three-yard run after he ran the ball 35 yards. Filip McMaken’s extra point gave the Buccs a 7-0 with 9:13 left in the first quarter.
Covington defense then held Troy Christian on a three-and-out once again due to a huge tackle for loss by Eli Brooks. Unfortunately, an offensive pass interference penalty ended a first down and forced the Buccaneers to punt for the first time in the game.
Troy Christian was forced to punt for the third straight possession and the Buccs got the ball at their own 41. Landin Cassel put together a long run to the six for a first and goal and Jordan Miller ran the ball into the end zone on the next play to take a 14-0 lead with 3:52 left in the first quarter.
On the next kickoff by Covington, sophomore Cutler Robbins drilled Troy Christian’s returner to force a fumble and sophomore Wyatt Kerber recovered the ball at the Eagle’s 30. Unfortunately the Buccs threw an interception on the first play to eliminate a very potential scoring opportunity due to great field position.
The Buccaneer defense then forced a fourth straight punt and Xander Feight scored a 12-yard touchdown run to push the lead to 21-0 with 16 seconds left in the first quarter.
Troy Christian punted again and the Buccs got the ball back at their own 10. Covington then put together a well executed drive that was capped off by a 19-yard touchdown run by Landin Cassel. The extra point made by Filip McMaken put the Buccaneers up 28-0 with 7:59 left in the half.
The one offensive play by Troy Christian that embarrassed the Buccaneers came on the first play in the ensuing possession for the Eagles. Running back Gabe Wilkins raced 60 yards down the right side to score a touchdown with 7:38 left in the half.
The Buccs returned the kickoff to their own 21 and moved the ball into the red zone. Unfortunately, Covington fumbled the ball and the Eagles recovered it at the six.
Fortunately, a couple plays later James Kuether intercepted a pass and ran the ball 22 yards to the end zone for a pick six. The extra point snap went way over the holder, Rider Robbin’s and Filip McMaken, the kicker, scooped up the ball. McMaken then ran the ball into the end zone for a two-point conversion to push the lead to 36-7 with 2:17 left in the half.
After forcing the Eagles to punt quickly, the Buccaneers got the ball back with just over one-minute left in the half with three timeouts left. Fittingly, the offense put together a very well executed drive as Rider Robbins made several great passes to Parker Hoying and ran the ball 12 yards to the one. With 19 second left, Trenton Havenar powered in to the end zone and Filip McMaken made the extra point to close out the half with a commanding 42-7 lead.
Covington received the ball to start the second half and drove down the field in all running plays. The drive was finished with a five yard run by Landin Cassel to push the lead to 49-7 with 7:35 left in the third quarter.
Throughout the rest of the game the Buccaneer coaching staff rotated all of the younger players on the field. Due to the running clock the time in the second half went by very fast.
Overall, the Buccaneer offensive line played extremely well that led the team to 495 yards on the ground. Senior quarterback Landin Cassel rushed for 242 yards on 16 carries and freshman Xander Feight rushed for 109 yards on nine carries in his very first varsity contest.
Even with the final score, there are situations where the Buccaneers need to find a way to improve – primarily, the two turnovers, the five penalties and the one mistake made by the defense.
With four games left in the regular season the Buccaneers are now 3-3 overall and 2-1 in the TRC. The next game is next Friday at home against Bethel.
SCORES:
1st – COV: Xander Feight 3-yd run (Filip McMaken PAT) – 7-0
1st – COV: Jordan Miller 6-yd run (Filip McMaken PAT) – 14-0
1st – COV: Xander Feight 12-yd run (Filip McMaken PAT) – 21-0
2nd – COV: Landin Cassel 19-yd run (Filip McMaken PAT) – 28-0
2nd – TC: Gabe Wilkins 60-yd run (PAT Good) – 28-7
2nd – COV: James Kuether 22-yd interception return (Filip McMaken 2pt Run) – 36-7
2nd – COV: Trenton Havenar 1-yd run (PAT Failed) – 42-7
3rd – COV: Landin Cassel 5-yd run (Filip McMaken PAT) – 49-7
