COVINGTON – Friday night was a great evening for Covington as the Homecoming parade and ceremony were exciting and the Buccaneers’ 34-6 victory over Bethel was enjoyable.

Five Buccaneer football players were selected to the Homecoming Court: Eli Brooks, Jordan Miller, Trenton Havenar, Sam Helman and Filip McMaken, along with five Lady Buccs volleyball players: Cassidy Iddings, Mary Larson, Kylie Palsgrove, Ava Hartwig and Ramsé Vanderhorst. Trenton Havenar was honored as the Homecoming King, and Mary Larson was chosen as the Homecoming Queen.

This led to an exciting game, as the Buccaneers pretty much controlled Bethel throughout all four quarters.

The Buccs opened the game with an onside kick that Bethel recovered at the 42-yard line. Sam Helman then made a critical tackle for loss to force Bethel to punt, and freshman Xander Feight returned the punt to the Buccs’ 29.

Covington’s offense put together a well-executed opening drive with running plays outside of one pass caught by Parker Hoying. Landin Cassel closed out the drive with a one-yard touchdown run to put the Buccs up 7-0 with 2:52 left in the first quarter.

The Buccaneer defense then held Bethel on a critical fourth-down play to take over the ball at its own 20.

Covington followed with yet another well-executed drive that was capped by an impressive catch by Filip McMaken, who broke a tackle and scored on a 40-yard touchdown reception. McMaken then made his second straight extra point to put the Buccs up 14-0 with 6:32 left in the half.

Quickly, the Buccs got the ball back at Bethel’s 25 after a fumble recovery by Eli Brooks. A few plays later, Jordan Miller scored on a 14-yard run to put Covington up 20-0 with 2:49 left in the half.

Once again, the defense made another critical play as Lucas Lester recorded a huge sack that forced Bethel to punt with 1:06 left in the half. The Buccs got the ball at their own 25 following the punt and moved the ball to the Bethel 23 with 18 seconds left and one timeout remaining.

Unfortunately, Covington threw an interception that the Bees returned to the Covington 33. A personal foul by the Buccs moved Bethel into the red zone, but fortunately, the defense stepped up by stopping the Bees at the 5-yard line with one second left. Bethel attempted a field goal but failed to put it through the goalposts, allowing Covington to close out the first half with a 20-0 lead.

The Buccaneers opened the second half with the ball and faced a fourth-and-5 when Gunner Uderman made a great catch for a first down. Landin Cassel then scored on a five-yard run to increase the lead to 27-0 with 6:44 left in the third quarter.

On Bethel’s next possession, Diego Lopez intercepted a pass to give the Buccs the ball back at the Bees’ 39. Unfortunately, two plays later, the Buccs fumbled and Bethel recovered to take possession at the 34.

The Covington defense continued to eliminate offensive success for Bethel as the Buccaneers forced the Bees to punt again. The offense followed by putting together another solid drive that was capped by a 7-yard touchdown run by Landin Cassel. This pushed the Buccaneers’ lead to 34-0 with 10:17 left in the game.

With the running clock in effect, the Buccaneers’ coaching staff rotated younger players into the game, and they continued to play well. However, Bethel’s starting lineup was able to score a touchdown with 59 seconds left in the game. This made the final score 34-6 in favor of Covington.

Overall, the Buccaneers tallied 334 yards of offense, with 239 on the ground and 95 through the air. The defense held Bethel to just 143 total yards throughout the game.

Covington now has a 4-3 overall record and is 3-1 in the TRC. Next up is a road contest at Northridge next Friday.

SCORING:
1st – COV: Landin Cassel 1-yard run (Filip McMaken PAT) – 7-0
2nd – COV: Filip McMaken 40-yard reception from Landin Cassel (Filip McMaken PAT) – 14-0
2nd – COV: Jordan Miller 14-yard run (PAT Failed) – 20-0
3rd – COV: Landin Cassel 5-yard run (Filip McMaken PAT) – 27-0
4th – COV: Landin Cassel 7-yard run (Filip McMaken PAT) – 34-0
4th – BET: Mason Stortenbecker 6-yard run (PAT Failed) – 34-6