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SALT LAKE CITY — Junior Britain Covey is counted on to do a little bit of everything for the T-Birds, and when tendonitis prevented the usual Timpview starting quarterback, Isaiah Holloway, from playing under center against Alta, Covey accepted the challenge of being thrust into action as the new signal caller.
“He’s a smart player,” Timpview head coach Cary Whittingham said. “He didn’t get all the reps in the preseason, so for him to come out and do that with the limited reps he got shows a lot about his ability.”
Covey led the Timpview offense up and down the field all night, accounting for four of the T-Birds' five touchdowns.
“This week in practice we really focused on becoming a team,” Covey said. “At some point there’s going to be a turning point in the season where you really mold together in order to go in the direction you want to be headed in, which is to a state championship. I think this week is the week we did it.”
Timpview trailed Alta 14-3 early on, after Hawks quarterback Chipper Lucero threw a pair of touchdown passes on consecutive drives to Mack Richards, the second coming with just over 11 minutes remaining in the second quarter. The T-Birds recognized the amount of time Lucero had in the pocket and made the adjustment.
“We needed to keep the pressure up front,” said Whittingham. “Chipper is a really smart, polished quarterback. We knew that without pressure, we’d be picked apart and in trouble.”
The T-Bird defense finished the night with nine sacks.
“Our defense is amazing,” Covey said. “We’ve got a D-line and linebacker core that truly is unbelievable.”
Lucero and the Hawks were held scoreless for nearly 29 minutes of action, during which time the T-Birds put 38 unanswered points on the scoreboard.
“I’m pretty sure I’ll be the quarterback now,” Covey said. “It was tough tonight — we moved all of our receivers around and they did a great job adjusting to it.”
Covey scored both of his first two touchdowns on the ground by way of the read-option.
“We noticed on film that they brought their backside linebacker most of the time,” Covey said. “We gave it a couple of times and once I saw him turn his shoulders in, I would just take it outside. My receivers and line did a great job blocking.”
Covey finished with 119 yards rushing to go along with 156 yards through the air.
“It makes me kind of mad because I can’t return kicks anymore,” Covey said with a grin.
The following Timpview scores came after successfully setting up the play-action, which allowed Covey to find receivers wide open in the end zone. Running back Kendall Tu’ua, who finished with 77 yards rushing of his own, hauled in the first.
Timpview (2-1) will return home to face Salem Hills next week, while Alta (1-2) will face Allentown, N.J., at Rio Tinto. Kyle Spencer is a native of Colorado Springs, Colo., and has four brothers. Contact him at kspence04@gmail.com
