The Season Continues:
Centre-Louisville-October 28, 1922
Centre was now 4-1 on the season and 42-4 since Uncle Charlie took over the program following the loss to DePauw over 5 years ago, on October 20, 1917. The 4 losses included 2 games with Harvard, and 1 each to Georgia Tech and Texas A&M, all formidable foes, and all on the road.
The coaching staff had learned not to schedule any team after the Harvard game which could be much of a challenge, and the University of Louisville fit that bill perfectly.
Louisville dropped football completely from 1917 through the 1920 season. When the University, the second oldest in Kentucky, resumed the sport in 1921, it did so with minimal impact, going 2-2-1 against a lightweight schedule, and thus far was 0-4 in 1922. ( U. of L. was founded in 1792, Transylvania, in 1780.)
Louisville 0 Western Kentucky 6
Louisville 12 Bethel 14
Louisville 0 Kentucky 73
Louisville 6 Franklin 27
When you lose to Bethel ( TN) and Franklin (IN) and get blown out by Kentucky, 73-0, your program is in need, big time, and Louisville hoped that the exposure from being placed on Centre's schedule would at least generate some publicity and let the sporting world, and potential players for the school, know that its team was in business again.
Uncle Charlie decided not to run up the score against the Cardinals. The Colonels scored two touchdowns, each followed by a successful extra point. The highlight was Herb Covington's exhibition in kicking field goals. Covey set a national record by booting 6 dropkicks through the goal posts, with Centre being content to kick whenever it got within range.
In the period of the Colonels' heyday, field goal records fit into two categories which were designated by whether the kick was made with the ball being held in place by a holder, or simply by being dropkicked. The record from field goals using a holder was 7, by a dropkick, 5.
Covey was good on 6 of 8 dropkick attempts from 40, 30, 32, 30, 30 and 33. He hit the goal post on a 40-yard effort and the ball bounced back. The 8th attempt was just wide.
His 6 exceeded the old dropkicked record of 5 set by Harvard's B.W. Trafford in 1890 against Cornell, and tied twice by Walter Eckersall of the University of Chicago against Illinois in 1905, and Nebraska in 1906.
Herb Covington's dropkick record was another example of the national coverage
of Centre football, this time from the Iowa City "Press-Citizen"
The one consolation for Louisville was that it scored the first points on Centre's Cheek Field since Georgetown was successful on a field goal on November 28, 1918, which was 12 games ago. The final score was 32-7.
After the game, it was announced that Centre had hired another assistant coach, "in order to give the team the best opportunity of winning the Southern grid title."
Jim Kendrick had played under Uncle Charlie at Texas A&M. With the addition of first Jim Bond and now Kendrick, plus the Chief helping out when possible, and Chick Murphy coaching the freshmen, Centre now had a staff which was at least comparable to some of the mid-sized schools playing football.
Ben Cregor joined the Centre staff as a line coach after graduating in 1923. Jim Kendrick was added to the coaching team as another line coach midway through the 1922 season. It must be assumed that Kendrick's apparel improved during his time in Danville. This photo was taken in the fall of 1923. "Creagor" is misspelled and the upper spelling of the new coach is mistakenly spelled "Hendrick."