COVINGTON – Friday night was a memorable night for the Miami East Vikings and their long-time assistant coach Scott Donaldson. The Vikings rewarded Donaldson with a 37-0 win over rival Covington in Donaldson’s final game coaching.
After turning the ball over on it opening possession, Miami East waisted little time regaining the momentum as Vincent Crane blocked a Buccaneer punt and ran it back 45 yards for the score.
On the next play Miami East executed a pooch kick to perfection by recovering the ball before it rolled out of bounds. Starting deep in Covington territory, Miami East pushed the lead to 14-0 with a 15-yard run by Connor Dalton.
The Viking defense was stellar all night, holding Covington to 31 yards of offense. This benefitted the Vikings with short fields the majority of the night. The Vikings were able to take advantage of a short field late in the first quarter with a seven-yard scoring run by Dylan Williams.
The second quarter was a dog fight as neither teams offenses could gain much success against the defenses. Miami East was able to connect on a 35-yard filed goal by Caleb Staley with one second left in the half to give the Vikings a 24-0 lead at the break.
Covington received the opening kickoff of the second half, but a long run by DeAnthony Bennett was negated by a penalty and another penalty pushed the Buccaneers back deep inside their own territory, which ultimately led to a punt.
The Vikings used the ground game to churn out yardage and eat nearly five minutes off the clock on a scoring drive that ended with a 15-yard scoring run by Connor Dalton to push the Miami East lead to 31-0.
Miami East scored again midway through the fourth quarter on a 17-yard run by Kamden Wolfe to make the final score 37-0.
As the game closed, Covington made an announcement to recognize Donaldson for his contribution to Miami East and the surrounding communities.
