Two of BC’s best head south: Loffler & Covington press conference

Taylor Loffler signs with Boise St… Christian Covington to Rice…

(Vancouver) Two more BC High School Football stars have announced their college selections at a signing ceremony today at the BC Lions Football Club’s practice facility.

Kelowna LB/QB, Taylor Loffler, has accepted a full scholarship to Boise St University. Vancouver College defensive lineman, Christian Covington,has signed with Rice University in Houston, TX.

Loffler verbally committed to Boise St early in the season. Covington recently made his decision after taking his official visit to Rice last weekend.

Over the past seven years nineteen High School Football players from BC have now received NCAA Div. 1 scholarships.

Taylor Loffler
Kelowna High School
Safety/QB – 6’4”, 200 lbs

After one of the most dominant seasons in recent BC high school football memory, Loffler becomes the first ever player from the Kelowna program to earn a football scholarship to an NCAA Div 1 school. He is a three-year starter and was named the BC High School Football AAA Player of the Year in 2010. Loffler was involved in a whopping 41 total TDs (20 passing, 16 rushing, 5 returns) this past season and led the Owls to an undefeated record in conference play. In all, he set over 20 school records during his career.

“I chose Boise State because it just felt right,” said Loffler. “Boise is great town and the quality of the coaches and program is first class.”

Boise St, the NCAA’s winningest program since 1999, offered Loffler a full scholarship shortly after his impressive performance at their summer camp in June. He also drew interest from numerous universities on both sides of the border, drawing offers from other high profile schools such as Oregon State and Stanford. Loffler is expected to play safety.

“We are very excited about Taylor and can’t wait to get him to Boise,” said Broncos Head Coach, Chris Petersen, on a recent visit to Kelowna. “We expect him to compete right away”

“We knew we had something special from the first day he showed up” says Kelowna head coach, Roy Anderson. “Taylor is not only a terrific athlete but he brings a great work ethic at all times and makes others around him better, he’s the best all-round player I’ve been fortunate to be around.”

Stats/Awards/Accomplishments:
– 1[SUP]st[/SUP] Team All-Canadian, 1[SUP]st[/SUP] team All-Western Canadian by All Canada Gridiron
– 2010 BCSSFA – AAA Player of the year
– 2009 BCSSFA – AAA Grade 11 Player of the year
– 2009 and 2010 Okanagan Conference MVP
– 2008, 2009, 2010 KSS Owls MVP

School records:
Passing yardage – Career (2734), Season (1732), Game (326)
Pass completions – Career (164), Season (97) Game (17)
Passing TDs – Career (30), Season (20), Game (4)
Rushing yards – Season (1619)
Rushing TDs – Career (37), Season (20), Game (6)
Interceptions – Career (11), Season (4), Game (2 – tied)
Most TDs – Career (42), Season (21), Game (6)
Longest Kickoff return TD – 85yds Longest Punt return TD – 70yds

Boise State University Information:

– City: Boise, ID

– Nickname: Broncos

– Overall record: 12-1 (7-1 in WAC), ranked 9[SUP]th[/SUP] in NCAA

– Largest crowd in 2010: 86,567 at Fed Ex Field (Landover, MD) vs Virginia Tech

– BSU Players in NFL (11): Orlando Scandrick (CB, Dallas), Korey Hall (FB, Green Bay), Quintin Mikell (S, Philly)

Daryn College (OL, Green Bay), Legedu Naanee (WR, San Diego), Chris Carr (DB/KR, Tennessee)

CHRISTIAN COVINGTON
Vancouver College
DL/OL – 6’3”, 275 lbs

Covington had a strong three year career at the varsity level with the Irish, playing on both sides of the ball at 4 different positions. He was a dominant defensive tackle and on offense he was a part time starter on the offensive line at both Guard and Tackle. In the Subway Bowl victory over Terry Fox in December, he also played TE. Covington made the biggest impact on the defensive side of the ball, where he was named as the outstanding player in BC this past season.

Covington is the ninth Irish player since 2002 to receive an NCAA Div I scholarship (Peter Dyakowski, LSU, ’02; Jon Conlin, WSU, ’03; Shea Emry, EWU, ’04; Joe Eppele, WSU, ’05; Rob Nazarinia, EWU ’06 and Trey Henderson, Brody McKnight and Daniel Cordick all VC ‘07). He will be one of 7 Canadians on the Owls roster, including fellow British Columbian, Hosam Shahin (DL), of Hugh Boyd Senior Secondary. Both players were recruited to Rice by former CFL LB Darryl Patterson. Christian will major in sciences and hopes to become a doctor.

“I chose Rice because it prides itself on being one of the nation’s top learning facilities,” said Covington. “It is a prestigious school that strives to help each student reach their goals in life, but most importantly, it is a university that does not want their students to fail. And as a football player, we must remember that football accounts for maybe ten percent of our lives but the education and degree that you earn at university will last a lifetime. At Rice, they help that dream become a reality.”

“Christian has been a dedicated teammate and worker for our football program” said Vancouver College Head Coach, Todd Bernett. “He is a young man of great faith and an ultra high character kid. His talent has earned him this scholarship, but the man he is will keep him on track once he arrives on the campus of Rice.”

Christian is the son of Grover and Natasha Covington of Surrey, BC. Grover is the CFL’s all-time sack leader and a member of the CFL Hall of Fame

Stats / Awards/ Accomplishments:
– 1[SUP]st[/SUP] Team All-Canadian, 1[SUP]st[/SUP] team All-Western Canadian, Academic All Canadian by All Canada Gridiron
– 2010 BC AAA Provincial defensive player of the year.
– 2010 BC AAA Western Conference defensive player of the year.
– 2010 Team Captain
– 2010 Stats: 83 Tackles, 15 Sacks, 6 fumble recoveries, 1 interception, 2 defensive TDs
– Helped team win the Subway Bowl in 2010
– 13 year man at Vancouver College, attending the school since Kindergarten.

Rice University Information:

– City: Houston, TX

– Nickname: Owls

– 93% graduation rate (4[SUP]th[/SUP] in NCAA Div 1 FBS)

– Overall record: 4-8 (3-5 in Conference USA), Won Texas Bowl in 2008

– Largest crowd in 2010: 70,445 (Reliant Stadium, Houston) vs Texas

– RU Players in NFL: Patrick Dendy (DB, Carolina), Larry Izzo (LB, New England), N.D. Lalu (DL, Houston), Terrence Melton (LB, Carolina), Ryan Pontbriand (LS, Cleveland)

Farhan Lalji, BC High School Football