COVINGTON – Covington dropped their third straight defeat as Milton-Union put a damper on the Buccs’ homecoming festivities by handing the Buccs a 29-7 loss.
In the same fashion as the previous losses Covington suffered, there were so many opportunities for the Buccaneers that were not taken advantage of due to mistakes. Against a good team like Milton-Union, mistakes limit a chance to win on the scoreboard.
“We just have to get better,” said Covington coach Austin Morgan. “It’s on the coaching and the entire team. We are in this together, so we have to find a way to get better.”
A credit does go to the Bulldogs as they started off fast by forcing Covington to punt on its opening possession and then executing nearly perfectly on their first drive that was capped by a 38-yard touchdown run by Charlie Lane. A two-point conversion by the Bulldogs pushed the lead to 8-0.
The Buccaneers then put together a great drive by mixing up the running and passing game to put themselves near the red zone. Unfortunately, on fourth down with less than a yard to go the Buccaneers were called for a delay of game penalty because the ball was snapped before the whistle was blown for the play to begin. This eliminated a potential scoring drive in the first quarter.
Covington was able to score midway through the second quarter on another well executed drive that was capped by a 21-yard touchdown run by Landin Cassel to close the gap to 8-7.
After an onside kick by the Buccs didn’t work out, the Bulldogs were able to push their lead to 15-7 at the break on a short touchdown run with 29 seconds left in the half.
Overall, in the first half the Buccaneers committed three turnovers, one on a fumble and two on interceptions, but only trailed by one score at the break.
In the start of the second half the Buccaneers put together a well executed squib kick that started Milton-Union off at its own 24. Covington’s defense then forced the Bulldogs to punt and moved the ball inside the red zone once again.
Unfortunately, the drive was stalled due to the toughness of the Bulldog defense and the Buccaneers were forced to attempt a 21-yard field goal, which sailed wide to the left to keep the score at 15-7 in favor of Milton.
On the ensuing possession, Covington’s defense put the Bulldogs into a 3-and-18 situation and the Bulldogs threw a pass to the left, which was right into the hands of a Buccaneer defender with a clear path to the end zone for a pick-six. Unfortunately, the ball bounced out of the defender’s hands and into the hands of Payton Mayfield of Milton for a first down.
A few plays later the Bulldogs took advantage of the opportunity as Charlie Lane broke free for a 32-yard touchdown run to put Milton-Union up 22-7 with 32 seconds left in the third period.
From that point on the Bulldogs dominated the rest of the game by controlling the clock through the ground game and converting some huge first downs on short passes in the flat – one coming on another pass that was tipped off of a Buccaneer defender’s hands into the hands of a Bulldog receiver for a key first down.
Milton-Union put seven more points on the board in the fourth quarter on an eight-yard run by Charlie Lane, who scored three touchdowns and ran the ball for 151 yards on 16 carries.
Two other very talented players the Bulldogs had in the run game were Seth Lowry and Payton Mayfield, a duo who combined to rush for 102 yards on 19 carries. Payton Mayfield is obviously the fastest player in the TRC, but Covington’s defense was able to at least prevent him from torching the Buccaneers the same way he did a year ago.
Much of that was due to the outstanding performance by Jack Blumenstock, who made some very big tackles in critical situations.
“Jack, Jack had a huge game for us,” Morgan said. “He played really well tonight.”
What was the most positive part of the game for the Buccaneers was the overall effort the team put forth on the field.
The Buccs’ record now is 3-4 overall and 1-3 in the TRC.
Up next is another stiff contest against Lehman Catholic next Friday at Sidney High School
SCORING SUMMARY:
1st – MU: Charlie Lane 38-yd run. (2pt Conversion) – 0-8
2nd – COV: Landin Cassel 21-yd run. (Wyatt Parker Kick) – 7-8
2nd – MU: Wyatt Kimmel 1-yd run. (PAT Good) -7-15
3rd – MU: Charlie Lane 32-yd run. (PAT Good) – 7-22
4th – MU: Charlie Lane 8-yd run. (PAT Good) – 7-29
1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | FINAL | |
BUCCS | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
BULLDOGS | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 29 |