Landin Cassel carried 30 times for Covington in a win over Miami East. (Press Pros Feature Photos By Julie Wright-Daniel)
Covington stunned Miami East 14-13 with a few fortunate bounces and avoided a Michigan-like ‘last second’ Hail Mary
Covington, OH — No matter how many football games you might watch, there is always a chance of seeing something you’ve never seen before.
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Other times, you see something you just saw for the first time a week earlier.
Both happened Friday night in the span of a few minutes at Covington High School— to the delight of the Buccaneers and the devastation of the Miami East Vikings.
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First came the improbable: Trailing 13-7 with 2:07 left in the fourth quarter, the Buccaneers pretty much needed to block a punt to have a realistic chance of snapping a five-game losing streak to their cross-county rivals.
Covington (2-2) had moved the ball at times, but with no downfield passing game to speak of, going the length of the field in less than two minutes seemed all but impossible even with the seemingly indestructible Landin Cassel at quarterback.
The 6-4, 210-pound senior ran the ball 30 times on the night for 117 yards, including a 40-yard touchdown in the first quarter, but he completed only 9 of 15 passes, and most of those were at or behind the line of scrimmage.
Jordan Miller carries for Covington against Miami East.
As fate would have it, Cassel would get a chance to win the game, and he would only need to cover about 25 yards to do it when a blocked punt bounced up into his arms, seemingly waiting for him to return it to the end zone and send the fans in the decked-out home stands into delirium.
Who blocked Viking K.J. Gustin’s punt was uncertain — neither Cassel nor Covington coach Austin Morgan nor the scorekeeper knew after the game — but it happened. Against all odds, it happened.
“It was all luck,” Cassel said matter of factly after the game. “I mean, we did everything right as a team, and it just happened to become the outcome that it became.”
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Although Cassel’s teammates swarmed him in the end zone, there was still work to do.
Filip McMaken, a senior like Cassel, made the PAT kick to put Covington on top 14-13 with 1:58 on the clock, and even then the Buccaneers faced the prospect of still having to hold off the talented Gustin, a three-year starting quarterback for the Vikings.
KJ Gustin had a rough night for Miami East at Covington.
He stands 6-2 and possesses an impressive right arm, but Covington had kept limited the damage most of the night — all but two plays to be exact.
Gustin found Jack Hamaker with a 52-yard fade pass to the Covington 8, but that went for naught when they failed to convert a fourth-and-goal because Gustin dropped the snap.
One possession later, the same duo didn’t leave anything to chance. This time Gustin hit Hamaker on a post pattern between the safety and the cornerback, and there was no denying him. That 46-yard touchdown made it 7-6 before Hamaker tied the game himself with the PAT kick.
“They have dudes,” Morgan said. “They’ve got ballplayers. They’re probably gonna win the rest of their season out. There’s some scary dudes.”
Parker Hoying carries the ball for Covington against Miami East.
By this time, the Covington offense seemed to have run out of tricks.
Cassel right, Cassel left and the occasional swing pass or screen for a yard or none wasn’t getting much done, so it seemed only a matter of time before the Vikings finally pulled ahead.
They did just that on a 3-yard touchdown run by Gustin with 8:55 to go.
This time the PAT was no good because the snap rolled back to Gustin, the holder, and he wan’t able to place it in time for Hamaker to try a kick.
Given the state of the Buccs offense — regardless of the bravery of Cassel to take hit after hit — that did not really seem like it would matter.
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And yet the blocked punt scoop-and-score was not the end of the madness.
Covington’s ensuing kickoff bounced off a Viking up man and then right into the arms of Buccaneers offensive lineman/linebacker Diego Lopez, who didn’t let it get away.
Jack Hamaker hauls in a long pass for the Vikings that resulted being stopped on the 4th down at the one yd line by the Buccs.
Was it a brilliant bit of gamesmanship by Covington coach Austin Morgan? Well, no, as it turns out.
“It wasn’t an onside kick,” he admitted. “It was a squib. Again, the ball found a way.”
But when Covington was not quite able to run out the clock, the Bucks found themselves having to line up to punt with 7.4 seconds left.
Wouldn’t you know it? That kick was deflected by the Vikings and began rolling around near midfield.
They recovered the ball, but it seemed time had run out anyway — except the head official blew his whistle and raised one finger in the air. That immediately brought to mind the controversial ending to the Michigan-Western Michigan game last weekend, but this was a bit different.
Miami East’s botched PAT kick ended up costing them in the end at Covington.
Unlike his counterparts in Ann Arbor, Friday night’s official did not have to consult replay to determine if any time was left (and he appeared to be correct). A second was put back on the clock, and the Vikings had one more chance.
“I’m like dude,” said Morgan, who of course immediately had visions of a game-winning Hail Mary like the one the Wolverines pulled against the Broncos — especially given the talent in Gustin’s right arm and his receivers. “Uh yeah, nervous a little bit.”
Gustin did get off a good pass down the middle of the field, but it was intercepted by Covington’s Jordan Miller near the goal line.
Then it was safe to celebrate, and celebrate they did all over the lush natural grass with the big white ‘C’ in the middle, bit of turf that has seen lots of winning over the years — but not so much lately.
Landin Cassel picks up a blocked punt and runs it in for the Buccaneers 2nd touchdown tying the game.
Covington is a proud program that’s fallen on hard times, though the Buccaneers improved to 2-2 with six more chances to prove this team might be different — more like the ones from the late 1990s and early 2000s than recent vintages.
Cassel was happy to entertain such a thought — he is a teenager, after all — but Morgan was not thinking that far ahead.
He is a coach, after all.
“So what? Now what?” Was Morgan’s mantra. “It’s one of those things like great, awesome. But tomorrow we get back to work getting back after it. So what, man? It’s great. Enjoy it tonight, but now what are you gonna do tomorrow? You can’t rest on your laurels. Next play.”
Next would be a trip to Riverside for the Buccaneers. Then they go to Troy Christian, both teams that entered the night with winning records.
Filip McMaken’s squib kick bounced off a Miami East player and was recovered by the Buccs.
“We preach toughness, and we just want to maximize ourselves,” Cassel said. “We don’t really care about the outcome, we just we choose to maximize ourselves, and that’s about it. Just to do our own thing. Yes, it feels great to win, but we just need to focus on ourselves and the next step, one play at a time.”
As for visitors, Miami East coach Hunter Folkertsma looked like he had been hit by a truck after delivering his somber postgame speech to a stunned bunch of Vikings.
For most of the previous two hours, the game had all the makings of a frustrating win, but a win nonetheless, until the bounces started going Covington’s way at the end.
That is liable to happen, though, when you throw an interception at the goal line, fumble on the following possession and struggle to snap the ball at times. 
Instead of a learning experience in a win, the Vikings absorbed their first loss.
“It’s tough,” Folkertsma said. “This is a long-time rivalry, and we knew they were gonna come out and play. They were the better team tonight. You’ve gotta take care of the football. Can’t have penalties, and yeah, that’s just what it comes down to.”
They will face host Bethel next hoping for better luck — even if they have to make it themselves.
Covington celebrates a big win over Miami East
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