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 the game by kicking off to Troy Christian and then held the Eagles to a three-and-out. Covington then took over at its own 35-yard line, and three plays later, freshman Xander Feight scored on a three-yard run after breaking off a 35-yard run. Filip McMaken’s extra point gave the Buccs a 7-0 lead with 9:13 left in the first quarter.
The Covington defense then held Troy Christian to another three-and-out, thanks in part to a huge tackle for loss by Eli Brooks. Unfortunately, an offensive pass interference penalty erased 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-yard line. Landin Cassel put together a long run to the six-yard line for a first-and-goal opportunity, and Jordan Miller ran the ball into the end zone on the next play to give Covington a 14-0 lead with 3:52 left in the first quarter.
On the ensuing kickoff by Covington, sophomore Cutler Robbins drilled Troy Christian’s returner, forcing a fumble that sophomore Wyatt Kerber recovered at the Eagles’ 30-yard line. Unfortunately, the Buccs threw an interception on the first play, eliminating a very promising scoring opportunity after gaining excellent field position.
The Buccaneer defense then forced a fourth straight punt, and Xander Feight scored on 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-yard line. Covington then put together a well-executed drive that was capped by a 19-yard touchdown run by Landin Cassel. Filip McMaken’s extra point 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 of the Eagles’ ensuing possession. 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-yard line and moved the ball into the red zone. Unfortunately, Covington fumbled the ball, and the Eagles recovered it at the six-yard line.
Fortunately, a couple of plays later, James Kuether intercepted a pass and returned it 22 yards for a pick-six. The extra-point snap went way over the holder, Rider Robbins, and Filip McMaken, the kicker, scooped up the ball and ran it into the end zone for a two-point conversion, pushing 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 and three timeouts remaining. 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-yard line. With 19 seconds left, Trenton Havenar powered into 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 using all running plays. The drive was finished with a five-yard touchdown run by Landin Cassel, pushing 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 onto the field. Due to the running clock, the second half went by very quickly.
Overall, the Buccaneer offensive line played extremely well, helping lead the team to 495 yards on the ground. Senior quarterback Landin Cassel rushed for 242 yards on 16 carries, while freshman Xander Feight rushed for 109 yards on nine carries in his first varsity contest.
Even with the final score, there are areas 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
