FORT LORAMIE – The Covington Buccaneers showcased their significant improvement in the first full contact scrimmage at Fort Loramie on Saturday.
The three teams the Buccaneers competed against were Ada, Tri-Village and the hosted Redskins from Fort Loramie. All three teams were significant challenges, but fortunately the Buccaneers were able to execute very well on both sides of the football.
“Our culture really showed through today,” explained Buccaneer coach Austin Morgan. “Kids staining all over the field, not flinching from any challenge and constantly doing the right thing. Our energy was through the roof all day.”
In the scrimmages, all teams competed against each other and had ten offensive plays starting at the 40 in one series and then 8 offensive plays starting at the 20 in the red zone series. Overall, Covington scored nine touchdowns and only gave up four touchdowns throughout the entire scrimmage. There were no yard markers and two touchdowns by opposing teams happened after very limited yards in several previous plays.
Defensively, the Covington Buccaneers played aggressive, physical and with so much intensity. Only three plays with long yards were given up by the defense, one resulting into a touchdown.
Offensively, the Buccaneers executed well more often than not. All of the offensive possessions other than one was successful as first downs would have been accomplished. Eight of the nine touchdowns scored by the Buccaneers were legit as only one happened after the offense failed to capture at least 10 yards on four plays.
What was most impressive was how well the Buccaneers played even without all of the key starters. Plus, the coaching staff rotated several players in and out of the lineup so they had opportunities to showcase their abilities and progression.
“We brought a ton of physicality today.” Morgan mentioned. “With some injuries currently, we had a lot of guys step up and excel in their roles.”
With a solid first full contact scrimmage in the book, the Buccaneers have to find a way to continue increasing their success.
“Can we carry this into next week practices and games?” is the question Coach Morgan is asking his players. “Continue to focus on the small details; footwork, hand placement, eyes in the correct spot, etc. This is where elite teams shine. We need to continue to have more and more leaders stepping up. This team has a lot of potential and leadership will drive it.”
There are thirteen days left for the start of the 2026 season and one more scrimmage is scheduled at home against Bradford next Friday. Hopefully the Buccaneers showcase more progression.
