THE LEADER THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2012 ▪ VO L . 1 2 9 , N O. 5 ▪ T H E VO I C E O F TIPTON COUNTY S I N C E 1 8 8 6 ▪
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Next stop: Cookeville!
Covington assistant coach J.R. Kirby, with help from coaches Colin Pinner (left) and Matthew Shearon, leads the Chargers through a set of celebratory pushups following the team's 34-14 home win Friday night over Liberty in the state semifinals. Covington, now 14-0, takes on Knoxville Fulton on Saturday in Cookeville looking for the program's first state title. Photos by Phil Ramsey/www. covingtonchargerfootball.com.
Chargers to play for state title By JEFF IRELAND jireland@covingtonleader.com
What: Covington (14-0) vs. Fulton (12-2) in the Class 4A BlueCross Bowl When: Saturday at 3 p.m. Where: Tennessee Tech in Cookeville Tickets: $12, available at 9:30 a.m. at the gate TV: WKNO Channel 10 Radio: 93.5 U.S. 51 Country, commentators Rodger Beasley and Tom Barton Online: ESPN3, tssaa.org Notables: The football team will leave for Cookeville tomorrow at 9 a.m. The team will caravan by Crestview Middle School and around the Square before leaving town. The community is invited to send them off.
W
hen the ball takes flight after the opening kickoff of Saturday afternoon's
Class 4A BlueCross Bowl, the head coaches taking in the action from opposite sides of the field will be familiar with one another. Back in 2003, the last time Covington made it to the state title game, the Chargers played Fulton. Current Covington head coach Marty Wheeler was an assistant for the Chargers and Rob Black, Fulton's current head coach, was an assistant for the Falcons. The game didn't go well for the Chargers. Fulton jumped out to a 28-0 halftime lead en route to a 36-9 win and its first state title. Covington came up empty in its third trip to the title game. Although the players are different nine years later, Black believes some things will be the same. “There are a lot of similarities when you look at it,” Black said. “They have a lot of athletes … It's Covington. That's what you expect.” Wheeler remembers the game as well, and he's familiar with Covington's state title game loss in 2000 too. He believes things look better, at
least on paper, this time around. “I think we match up better with Fulton than any of the teams we played in previous trips to the finals,” Wheeler said. Fulton won state titles in 2004 and 2006, has finished second three times and has been in the playoffs 21 times. Although Covington will be looking for its first state title, the program's postseason resume matches up favorably. The Chargers have finished second in the state three times, made the semifinals five times and been to the postseason 16 times, posting a 34-16 record. Covington hasn't finished undefeated since 1956 when the team (then named Byars-Hall) went 11-0. There was no state title game back then, but the team won the Big 10 Conference title. Fourteen wins is already a team record. History is fun to talk about, especially for fans who have followed Covington football over two and three generations. Wheeler certainly has a sense of Covington football history. But he's been focused on the here and now since his team dispatched Liberty last week in the semifinals. “I just hope,” Wheeler said moments after last week's win, “we're standing here in a week after we've done something we've never done before.” Steve Holt contributed to this story.
HOLIDAY TOUR OF HOMES
WILLIAMS SIGNS Senior Carlos Williams, a baseball standout at CHS, signed with Ole Miss this week. A20
Reader's Guide Opinion A4 Obituaries A6 Community A7 Correspondents A8 Sports A11
Faith Puzzles Classifieds Legals Tour of Homes
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The Diamond Club announces the homes on its annual tour. A21
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