FOOTBALL PREVIEW:
The Covington Buccaneers are coming off of a 1-9 season a year ago where it lost six quality seniors to graduation; Jensen Wagoner, Connor Sindelir, Jake Dilley, Ricky Stephan, Cam Kirker and Landon LaPoint.
“It was a transition year and there was a lot of learning between players and coaches,” said second-year Buccaneer coach Austin Morgan. “It was a year to build a groundwork for the future of the program.”
The Buccs enter the 2022 season with a youthful roster once again, as ten players return who were on the roster a year ago. Still, coach Morgan is extremely excited to see the growth and development of his young team over the course of the season.
“Yes, we will be a very young team this year and it will be a lot of learning and growing,” said Morgan. “The goal for the Buccs in 2022 is to maximize the ability of everyone in our program as people and players.”
The Buccaneers hit the practice field on a high note after a very productive offseason.
“In our offseason program, we’ve been lifting three days a week since December, and it has been awesome,” Morgan said. “We’ve had a lot of guys show leadership in there and we lift at six in the morning.”
Covington returns one two-way starter from a year ago in sophomore Izaiah Sherman, plus three additional lettermen in senior Brian Morrison, junior Grayson Wells and sophomore Garrett Leistner.
Morrison has emerged as the team leader.
“Brian has been there and I don’t think he missed a day in the weight room,” said Morgan. “He’s an example of the kids who do things the right way.”
Leistner and sophomore Jack Blumenstock have made huge strides throughout the offseason and hope to have a huge impact in 2022.
“The Garrett Leistner’s and Jack Blumenstock’s, those type of kids look so much stronger because they never miss – they show up all the time,” Morgan explained. “They not only look stronger, but looking at the numbers, they are stronger.”
Another key player returning is junior Derrick Meyer, who is slated to play at wideout and outside linebacker. Meyer suffered a major injury a year ago, but his hard work and determination led to a quick recovery.
“Derrick Meyer, he hurt his knee last year,” Morgan said. “It stunk for us and him because it happened in day one of practice last year, I think in June. But he’s had one of the fastest recoveries I’ve seen. I think the main reason why was because of his urgency. He couldn’t stand not playing.”
Sophomores Zeb Woodward-Roeth, Ashtin Gardner, Kian French and Kayden Thompson also return after contributing greatly to the scout team last season as freshmen.
Senior DeAnthony Bennett, who played as a sophomore, also returns to give the Buccaneers a dangerous weapon in the backfield and in the secondary. Senior Tyler Basye, who last played as a freshman in 2019, is back in uniform as well.
The remainder of the roster is filled with youthful and inexperienced players, but kids who are chomping at the bit to earn playing time. This has made the competition on the practice field fierce.
“Every kid has a ton of potential in them,” Morgan explained. “The hard part is getting it out of them. It takes a lot of work, a lot of time and a lot of effort, a lot of strain and discomfort to get that maximize out of them. That’s one of our goals this at the end of this year, ‘Did you maximize the player that you are, and the person too?’.”
Yes, the Buccaneers are extremely young for the second straight season, but the potential is there for building the program back to prominence in the near future.
VOLLEYBALL PREVIEW:
The Covington Lady Buccs volleyball team has high aspirations for 2022 as six key players return from last year’s team that finished with a 17-7 record and was runner-up in the TRC.
Returning are seniors Nigella Reck, Lauren York and Reaghan Lemp, along with juniors Carlie Besecker and Kearsten Wiggins, along with sophomore Taylor Kirker. Four of the six earned all league honors a year ago with Nigella Reck being named “Player of the Year” in the TRC.
“We are excited for this season as we have five returning starters, along with three other dedicated players who will be make a difference on the floor,” said Covington coach Ellie Cain. “All of the girls gel very well together and we will be able to step up our game in many different ways because of it. They all work extremely hard and we look forward to working hard throughout the entire season.”
Senior Ella Remley, junior Karyanne Turner and sophomore Mazelle Reck return after contributing to the program a year ago, while freshman Hailey Naff looks to contribute in her first season at the high school level.
“Our team goals this year are to finish in the top of the league and go on a longer tournament run than any other Covington team has before,” Cain said. “We also have many individual milestones to focus on throughout the year that will help us reach our goals.”
The deepest tournament runs for Covington came in 1989 and 1995 where the Lady Buccs reached the regional finals.
BOYS CROSS COUNTRY PREVIEW:
The Buccaneers return a talented group of runners, as well as some strong newcomers.
We have five of our top seven runners returning from last year’s league championship team and they have really picked it up a notch this summer. We are really excited to see what we can do this season.
Junior Asher Long, was the TRC runner of the year in the league and finished All Ohio in the State Meet, will lead the way once again for the Buccaneers. Also returning is Senior and fellow all-league runner Mic Barhorst.
Sophomores Beck Wilson, Calub Hembree, and Tanner Palsgrove all return from last year’s top seven. Runners looking to make their way into the top seven this year include, Junior Drew Gessner, Sophomores Noah Chaney, Chris Deaton, Avery Gooding, Wyatt Parker, Preston King, and Freshmen Isaac Angle, Deonte Baker, Brock Gessner, Chris Ha, Will Hand, Caleb Ryman, Zach Steele, and Colt Williams.
“We have a solid group returning and we have some young runners that are going to challenge for a varsity spot, which will make everyone better in the end,” said Covington coach Josh Long. “Our league (TRC) will be competitive this year, but if we work hard and stay healthy we could be in the mix for our third straight league title.”
GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY PREVIEW:
The Covington girls cross country team is young, but returns plenty of experience from a team that finished third in the league last year.
The Lady Buccs will be led by last year’s TRC runner of the year and state qualifier sophomore Elyza Long. Also returning for the Lady Buccs is All-league runner junior Johanna Welborn, Seniors Teylor Meyer, Summer Anderson, Eve Welborn, and Junior Ella White. New to the team this year and looking to make an immediate impact are freshmen Delaney Murphy, Kassidy Turner, Bella Welch and sophomore Kylie Brown.
“We are excited to get the season started to see how much the girls have improved,” said Covington coach Josh Long. “We really like our team chemistry and their overall great attitudes. This should be a really fun year and we believe that this team could surprise some people by the end of the year.”
BOYS GOLF PREVIEW:
The Covington Buccaneers have high aspirations in 2022 due to the talent returning from a team that qualified for districts with a 4th place finish at sectionals and finished 3rd in the league with a record of 10-4.
“The goals for this season are to win the league championship and return to the district tournament,” said coach Bill Wise, who returns in his 18th season as head coach. “Our varsity has the experience and ability to have a great season if they continue to work hard and maintain their hunger.”
Returning letterman Hunter Ray is the only senior on the roster, but the core of the team are returning juniors Bryson Hite, Cameron Haines, Connor Humphrey and Sam Grabeman.
“Hunter should provided leadership and the juniors are returning lettermen and should have strong seasons,” Wise said.
In the mix to contribute are veteran junior Levi Weldy and newcomer junior Grant Blore, as well as sophomore Matthew Dieperink and freshman Brody Manson.
“Matthew (Dieperink) could be one of our top golfers this season if he plays up to his abilities,” Wise stated. “Brody (Manson) appears to be a solid player and should put pressure on the upper classmen for varsity time. Levy (Weldy) and Grant (Blore) will be trying to crack the varsity lineup as well.”
With the depth and talent on the roster, the competition for varsity action will be fierce. Those who have spent a significant amount of time on the course throughout the summer have a leg up on the competition.
“For the most part, the kids have spent a lot of time on the course working on their games,” said Wise. “They know what is ahead of them and what they need to do to reach their goals. I stressed to them that nobody is going to give them anything, they have to go out and earn it.”
This should lead to consistent improvement throughout the year and hopefully result into a strong showing in the league and in the post season.
GIRLS GOLF PREVIEW:
Dave Tobias takes over as the head coach for the Lady Buccs golf team and hopes to establish goals for each one of his golfers.
“We will set individual goals for each athlete to accomplish – play with confidence and sportsmanship throughout the season,” said Tobias. “As we strive to achieve our individual goals, we will play with dignity, manage the course, and respect the game.”
Playing with dignity and respecting the game are standards Tobias has established in other sports he has coached for over thirty years at Covington, football and track. This has led to huge amount of success in those sports and hopefully it will translate into success for the Lady Buccs golf program.
The roster Tobias has to work with isn’t filled with experience players, but that could be beneficial in the long run as he will be able to set the standards from the outset. The team’s success will be determined on how well the ladies buy into the expectations.
The players with the most experience are juniors Amie Burtrum, Kara Stephan and Kila Stephan. All three are entering their third seasons on the course. Junior Kori Moore enters her second season in golf, while senior Lainee McMakena and freshman Calleigh Edgell take to the course for the first time in 2022.
As the girls process under the leadership of Tobias, the Lady Buccs hope to improve on a season from a year ago where Covington finished 0-4 in the conference.
