CINCINNATI – The Covington Buccaneers put together an outstanding season in 2026, but suffered a tough 44-10 loss to a very talented Deer Park team in the regional quarterfinal.

What made the matchup against Deer Park so difficult was the blazing speed the Wildcats possessed in all three phases of the game — offense, defense and special teams.

Offensively, the Wildcats torched the Buccaneers by running the ball to the outside of the defense, making it extremely difficult for Covington to shut down the running game.

Defensively, Deer Park intercepted five Buccaneer passes and even returned one of them 51 yards for a touchdown.

On special teams, the Wildcats consistently put themselves in excellent field position with long kickoff returns. Plus, Deer Park kicked the ball deep to force the Buccaneers to start their offensive possessions deep in their own territory.

The Buccs received the opening kickoff, and Jordan Miller returned the ball to Covington’s 20-yard line. Jordan then put together several impressive runs and capped off the opening drive with a two-yard touchdown run to give the Buccs a 7-0 lead with 7:54 remaining in the first quarter.

Covington then attempted a short kickoff to the left near the sideline, but Deer Park’s returner broke free for a long return to Covington’s 10-yard line. The Wildcats scored a touchdown three plays later to tie the game at 7-7 with 6:46 remaining in the first quarter.

Filip McMaken returned the ensuing kickoff to the Buccaneers’ 30-yard line, but three plays later, Deer Park intercepted a pass. The Wildcats capitalized on the turnover three plays later with a 20-yard touchdown pass to take a 13-7 lead with 4:35 left in the first quarter.

The Buccs started their next possession at their own 20-yard line after the kickoff went into the end zone. Covington moved the ball into Deer Park territory, but another interception eliminated a potential scoring opportunity the Buccaneers desperately needed. The Wildcats then put together a time-consuming drive and scored on a touchdown run to extend their lead to 19-7 with 5:27 remaining in the first half.

The Buccaneers responded with an impressive drive behind strong running by Jordan Miller and completed passes from Rider Robbins to Parker Hoying. The well-executed possession resulted in a 31-yard field goal by Filip McMaken, cutting the deficit to 19-10 at halftime.

Unfortunately, the entire second half went in the opposite direction of what the Buccaneers did not need.

Covington attempted an onside kick to start the second half, but Deer Park recovered it and drove 50 yards in a handful of plays to extend its lead to 25-10 with 8:57 remaining in the third quarter.

The Buccs moved the ball deep into Deer Park territory once again, but came up short on a fourth-and-two play. A couple of plays later, the Buccs were called for a facemask penalty that moved Deer Park to midfield. On the next play, the Wildcats broke free for a 52-yard touchdown run to extend their lead to 31-10 with 5:15 left in the third quarter.

Covington drove into Deer Park territory again on the ensuing possession, but was forced to punt. The ball went out of bounds at the three-yard line, pinning the Wildcats deep in their own territory. However, two plays later, Deer Park broke free for an 86-yard touchdown run to increase its lead to 38-10.

On the next possession, the Buccs threw another interception, and Deer Park returned it 51 yards for a touchdown to push the score to 44-10.

A few plays later, the Buccaneers threw their fourth interception. Fortunately, the defense responded by getting the ball back on a fourth-down stop, allowing the offense to drive near the red zone. Unfortunately, the final play of the game resulted in the Buccs’ fifth interception.

The season came to an end with a 44-10 loss to a talented Deer Park team.

Statistically, the Buccaneers accumulated 336 yards of total offense, including 235 rushing yards and 101 passing yards.

Jordan Miller led the Buccs with 148 rushing yards, closing out his senior season with an impressive 1,002 yards on the ground.

Deer Park accumulated 335 total yards, including 318 rushing yards and 17 passing yards. Despite finishing with one fewer yard of total offense than Covington, the Wildcats took advantage of numerous short-field opportunities throughout the contest.

The Buccaneers closed out their outstanding 2026 season with an 8-4 record and a share of the Three Rivers Conference (TRC) championship with Miami East and Riverside.