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Coldwater shows poise in downing Covington

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By B.J. Bethel, Staff Writer 12:27 AM Saturday, November 5, 2011

COVINGTON — Losing two of its last three, Coldwater High School football coach Chip Otten wanted to get a message through to his players during the team’s weekly Thursday meeting.

Otten had the school principal deliver a speech and also showed his teams highlights from last year’s playoff run. It was a reminder of what it takes to be successful in the postseason, a lesson Coldwater took to heart in a 31-7 win over Covington in the first round of the Division V playoffs Friday.

“I think our seniors realized, if they didn’t play well we’re done,” Otten said. “We showed them highlights of last year’s playoff run — just the effort and enthusiasm that was put in and the effort you need in the playoffs to get a win.”

Junior quarterback Austin Bruns was 10-of-16 passing for 175 yards. He also rushed 10 times for 71 yards and two touchdowns in what Otten called his best game of the year.

But the game didn’t start so fast for Bruns and Coldwater. Covington used its running game and a roughing-the-kicker penalty on a punt to keep the ball almost the entire first quarter. Coldwater was limited to a handful of plays, while quarterback tandem Isaiah Winston and Trent Tobias took turns running Covington’s option game and tied the game early in the second quarter

But the Buccaneers couldn’t keep Bruns on the bench forever. Coldwater fired off 24 points in the next two quarters and the Cavaliers showed the poise of a team that’s made five trips to the state finals since 2000 — and is battle-tested again this year.

“We’ve played six playoff teams and seven teams with winning records,” Otten said. “We tell our guys, just do what you do and you have a good shot to win.”

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