Football Recap: Beau Bishop's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Covington over North Central

Covington and North Central squared off in some playoff action on Friday, but Covington had to settle for second. They fell just short of the Thunderbirds by a score of 28-26. The matchup was a 12-12 toss-up at halftime, but the Trojans couldn't quite close it out.

Kyven Hill

Receiving Yards

09/12/25 vs Fountain Central	97
10/24/25 @ North Central	95
09/26/25 vs Parke Heritage	39
10/03/25 @ Seeger	35
09/19/25 vs South Vermillion	18

Covington's loss 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 two TDs, and also rushed for 43 yards and one score. Bishop showed off some serious burst, cutting through the defense on one rush that went for 51 yards. A healthy portion of Bishop's aerial production (95 yards to be exact) went to Kyven Hill, who also brought in a receiving touchdown.

North Central's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Sawyer Cox, who rushed for 133 yards and one touchdown while picking up 7.4 yards per carry. Cox was even better on defense, picking up two sacks, forcing one fumble, and making nine total tackles (4.0 for loss). Another player making a difference was Lane Phegley, who rushed for 87 yards.

This is the second loss in a row for Covington and nudges their season record down to 5-5. Admittedly, the team was facing some tough opposition over that stretch, including 9-0 Riverton Parke (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 85% over those games). As for North Central, their victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 7-3.

Covington does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for North Central, they will square 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.