Football Recap: North Central Finds Playoff Glory Versus Covington

It's playoff time, and North Central had no trouble coming through when it counted. They narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past the Covington Trojans 28-26. The victory was nothing new for the Thunderbirds as they're now sitting on five straight.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead North Central to victory, but perhaps none more so than Sawyer Cox, who rushed for 133 yards and one score while picking up 7.4 yards per carry. An impressive showing, but Cox really ramped things up playing D: he picked up two sacks, forced one fumble, and made nine total tackles (4.0 for loss). Another player making a difference was Lane Phegley, who rushed for 87 yards.

Thunderbirds

Rushing Yards

10/24/25 vs Covington	340
10/03/25 vs Edinburgh	251
09/26/25 @ Mitchell	145
09/19/25 @ North Knox	158
09/12/25 @ Cloverdale	67
+ 8 more games

They were just one part of a punishing run game: North Central was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 340 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in September of 2024.

Covington's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Beau Bishop, who threw for 159 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and also rushed for 43 yards and one TD. Bishop showed off some serious burst, cutting through the defense on one rush that went for 51 yards. Sully Stadler also helped with two scores in total.

North Central's record now sits at 7-3. As for Covington, they have traveled a rocky road recently, having lost four of their last five contests. That's put a noticeable dent in their 5-5 record this season.

North Central will head out to face off against Riverton Parke at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The Thunderbirds will need to watch out since the Panthers have now posted at least 31 points every time they've taken the field this season. Covington does not have any more games scheduled as of now.