Lions roll to fast start; win boosts postseason chances
Golden Bears can’t recapture magic of last week’s win vs. River Hill
Intimidation was clearly not a factor for the Howard football team Friday night.
One week after No. 13 Hammond completed 31 passes for 440 yards in a 47-38 win over previously undefeated River Hill, ending the Hawks’ 30game winning streak, visiting Howard (6-2) held the vaunted Golden Bears offense in check in a 26-7 win.
“Our kids did a great job. We thought we had a good game plan coming into the game, trying to take away what they like to do and make them do other things, Howard coach Bruce Strunk said. “We were willing to give them some stuff, but the kids executed the game plan and played hard.”
The Lions took a 20-point halftime lead on rushing touchdowns of 18 and 3 yards by running back Terrell Charles, and a 29-yard touchdown pass from Kevin Sheahin to Keenan Fischer.
Hammond (5-3) finally broke through with less than two minutes left in the third quarter on a 96-yard touchdown pass from Tyler Martin to John Mbah, and the Golden Bears defense stopped the Lions on their next drive.
But on the ensuing punt return, Howard’s Shane Kieta recovered a fumble after the ball bounced off a Hammond player’s leg. Charles scored his third touchdown of the game on a 12-yard run five plays later.
“It was just a tough game, but we’re going to have to play through it. We came out a little bit weak in the first half,” Mbah said. “We’re just going to pick back up and prepare for next week. … [This] game just let us know that anybody can get it any week.”
The win helped Howard’s chances of qualifying for the 4A North Region playoffs and hurt Hammond’s postseason bid.
The Golden Bears entered the week holding onto the fourth and final spot in 2A South.