Covenant football’s offense is designed to control the clock by picking up yards in short increments via the option.
But the Eagles will also be just fine with how that offense operated Saturday as Covenant beat Virginia Episcopal 21-15 thanks to a trio of three big plays on offense and a defense that held VES scoreless for three quarters.
Covenant quarterback Nic Sanker got the Eagles on the board shortly after his brother Jonas Sanker made a key second quarter interception. The signal-caller kept an option and raced 81 yards to put the Eagles up 7-0 with just 3:42 left before the half. A couple of minutes later, Nic Sanker connected with Jonas for a 59-yard catch and run for a score that put Covenant up 14-0 headed into the break.
Donavan Jackson then provided what became the game-winner for the Eagles early in the third, scoring from 71 yards out up the middle. The big fullback finished with 149 yards on 13 carries on the night. Nic Sanker rushed for 148 yards on 10 touches and threw for another 74, completing 2 of 3 passes. As a team, Covenant averaged better than 10 yards per rush.
After Jackson’s touchdown, the defense held on, with VES scoring twice through the air, with the last coming in the closing seconds of the game. That wasn’t enough though as the Eagles moved to 2-1 on the year. They’ll travel again to wrap up the four-game road stint to start the year when they head to Hargrave Saturday.
