Covington blanks Pine to give Scobel initial win

The Covington Fighting Lions opened their new era under head coach Malter Scobel in lopsided fashion Friday night, blanking the Pine Raiders, 27-0, in the final game of the Covington Jamboree at Jack Salter Stadium.

Lions’ junior quarterback Tyler Scott looked sharp, connecting on six-of-eight passes for 91 yards and two touchdowns.

In the opening game, Bogalusa’s Lumberjacks nipped the Varnado Wildcats, 8-6. St. Paul’s got its season off on the right foot in the second game, edging the Franklinton Demons, 7-6.

Covington-Pine

Scobel said it was fantastic to get the first victory at his new school with a solid team performance.

“We played a good ball game. We had some mistakes, but they weren’t big ones. Our players did their jobs and filled their roles. Our focus is working as a group, and it’s all about the team,” Scobel said.

Pine fumbled on its first possession, with senior defensive end Barry Grinnell making the recovery for the Lions.

“We held strong to our assignments. We were where we needed to be for the most part, and we made the tackles. When the defense can be strong, and the offense runs the ball the way they did you can put the ‘W’ on the board. Turning in the goose egg is something extra,” Grinnell said.

Grinnell said it was good to get the first win for his new coach (Scobel). “Hopefully, it will be one of many to come,” Grinnell said.

CHS took over at the Raiders 31 with Scott engineering an eight-play drive, finished off by junior running back Phillip Bickham’s 11-yard TD scamper with 7:27 left in the first 12-minute half. Lions’ senior place kicker Luke Baudean converted the point after. Bickham picked up 23 yards on his first carry and ran the ball four times for 40 yards during the Lions’ initial drive. Bickham capped off the night with a team-high 62 yards on 10 carries.

“I just went out there and tried my best,” Phillip Bickham said. “It was all about the play of our offensive line. I love my boys. If they don’t have the hole open I can’t do anything. They look out for me all the time,” the senior running back added.

Bickham’s younger brother Jarius, a sophomore, picked up 28 yards on just three carries.

On Pine’s second possession, Cody Clemons recovered a fumble, but the Lions returned the favor on second down, turning the ball back to the Raiders.

The CHS defense held with Denizel Ladner partially blocking the punt, giving the Lions possession at the 36 with 2:49 remaining in the first half. Phillip Bickham toted the ball three consecutive times for 9 yards, and Scott called his own number for a 5-yard gain. Facing third-and-seven with 56 seconds left, Scott hooked up with senior Eddie Pea on a slant pattern for a 22-yard scoring strike. Baudean tacked on the PAT to make it 14-0.

Following the kickoff, Pine continued to mishandle the ball with senior linebacker Jeffry Joiner falling on the Raiders’ third lost fumble.

The Lions were in business on the 23-yard line with just 29 seconds remaining. Scott wasted no time finding senior Chris Arnoult, who broke a couple tackles, making his way into the end zone. Baudean clicked on the point after to build the margin to 21-0 with 20 seconds left.

Pine’s fumble problems continued early in the second half when the Raiders put the ball on the turf again with Clemons, claiming his second recovery. On first down from the 11, Jarius Bickham bulled his way for nine-yards and the ball was moved to the one on a face mask penalty.

The younger Bickham hit pay dirt to push the score to 27-0 with 7:53 to play. Baudean pushed the extra point try wide left.

St. Paul’s-Franklinton

St. Paul’s sophomore running back Mikhail Washington scored the Wolves’ lone touchdown on a 6-yard run with 9:39 left in the second 12-minute half. Jake Saltalamacchia booted the point after touchdown.

Franklinton, which finished 12-1 last year after suffering its only loss in the quarterfinals, hurt itself with a 5-yard punt with just over 10 minutes to play.

St. Paul’s took over at the Franklinton 30. Following an incompletion by Wolves’ starting quarterback Ricky Wendel, senior fullback Josh Pereira blasted off right tackle for a 24-yard burst, setting up first-and-goal at the 6.

“Mikhail Washington gave me a great block along with Jonathan Lilly and Casey D’Angelo to open the hole. I just made a cut to the right and went for the end zone. I didn’t get in, but we had the momentum,” Pereira said.

Washington took care of the rest, going around right end and beating the Franklinton defense to the end zone as he turned the corner.

Franklinton took over at its 18 following the kickoff. Demon sophomore quarterback Terrance Magee generated an 11-play scoring drive.

With 6:05 left to play, Magee connected with sophomore Reggie Wilson for a 30-yard score to cut the lead to 7-6. Franklinton lined up with Spencer Jennings to kick the extra point, but St. Paul’s was assessed a half the distance to the goal penalty.

Demon head coach Shane Smith changed his mind and had his club attempt to go for a two-point conversion.

St. Paul’s Jordan Bodenheimer and Tyler Adams put pressure on Magee as he rolled to his left before over throwing his intended receiver in the back of the end zone.

St. Paul’s and Franklinton exchanged possessions without either club being able to mount much offense.

The Wolves took over with 2:46 to play. Facing third-and-two, from the Franklinton 49, Pereira carried a couple of tackles for the necessary yardage to pick up the first down, enabling the Wolves to run out the clock.

“We needed that first down to run out the clock to secure the victory. “It was an option read. I was able to drive for the necessary yardage,” Pereira added.

SPS coach Ken Sears said he felt like his club could run the ball.

“We are still a long way from where we need to be. We’re just not crisp running our pass routes. We’re kind of searching for some things. I did like the way we came off the ball. Our offensive line was able to create some holes, popping some runs here and there,” Sears said.

“We gave up the one score, but overall I thought we played pretty good defense. Our defense was able to hold strong after that,” Sears said.

Sears described Franklinton as a fine football team.

“If we were in a full four-quarter ballgame, who knows what might have happened. They have so many athletes,” Sears added.

St. Paul’s junior defensive end Houston Bates credited Franklinton with being a fine, competitive football team. Bates described Franklinton’s quarterback Magee as being a lot faster than he looked on film.

“He definitely has speed along with elusiveness. He’s a solid football player,” Bates said.