Tigers look to bounce back after rough 2023
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HOWLAND -- Following a tumultuous start to his tenure with the Howland football team, head coach Brian Jones said last season showed how hungry his team is.
Last season, the Tigers finished the season winless, but the heart and character of the team shone bright week-in and week-out. One of the things that impressed Jones was the camaraderie between the players on his team.
"Each week they came back and were ready to go come Monday," Jones said. "We didn't meet the standard we set out for ourselves and the kids never gave up on the mission. That's something I was most proud of and I think that will go over to this year's group."
Last year, in his first year as head coach for Howland, Jones said that he wanted to establish a new culture within the program. Adding to the point of pride in his team, Jones said the team is banding together.
"They're hungry and we want to get in the win column," he said. "If our culture remains the way we've built it thus far, hopefully our guys don't stray too much and can stick together through good times and bad."
A downfall this year, however, is the loss of players in key positions, but Jones said he anticipates the new, albeit young, talent will be able to step in and make a seamless transition. One big position that needed to be filled is the quarterback position and Jones believes Luca Fronzaglio will be the right piece in the offensive scheme. Speaking on the team holistically, Jones said the skill positions have a lot of youth.
"It's a next man up mentality," Jones said. "We're still relatively young and have about 58 guys on the roster, but we do like where we're heading in most positions."
Fronzaglio served as a backup quarterback last season, but spent most of the year at wide receiver. Another piece of the offensive scheme will be Davae Honzu. The junior ball carrier saw some playing time last year, but will have a crucial role in the offense in the new campaign.
"He's got a much better understanding of the expectations of the position and had a full year of reps and understanding of how to read things at the varsity level," Jones said. "We're expecting big things from him."
Thankfully, Jones said the younger guys who will see substantial playing time are in year two of the offensive scheme. He added that the team will remain in the gap scheme and mix in a few zone plays to air the ball out when necessary.
Jones said, in looking back on the season last year, the offense was very run heavy. As at every level, establishing the run game is overtly necessary to set up an air attack, but Jones said he and his coaching staff need to be more aware of when to pass the ball.
"We want teams to defend the entire field and not just load up the box," he said. "We need to be more cognizant of getting the ball out and let Fronzaglio and the young guys make plays. I think we have a chance, as long as we stay healthy, to get outside and force defenses to defend the entire field. If things go right, we can get in packages that put pressure on defenses."
For the 2024 campaign, Jones said he wants his team to "take the next step" and find success on Friday nights. That next step is finding themselves in positions late in the game that will give his team a chance to win ball games.
"Obviously we want to win, but there's a lot of things that go into winning. It's not something that just happens," he said. "There's a lot to be done still, but I think if we can get in the fourth quarter and give ourselves an opportunity to win, that's where we want to be."
OFFENSE
With a new starting quarterback in Fronzaglio, a younger running back in Honzu and a host of young receivers, Jones said he's thankful there are only two spots on the offensive line that needed to be filled due to vacancies. Those returning three lineman are center Carson Wolanzyk, tackle Landon Luman and Jason Davis. Jones said Davis has been the most consistent in the infancy of the season, and after doing well last year, Jones hopes to expect big things from the senior lineman.
"It's a good group. They work well together," Jones said. "We're still trying to find two more guys, but they all know the scheme and know what we're trying to do. If everyone does their part we can have a really good run game this year."
Throughout training camp, Jones added he's looking for his front five to play cohesive football and understand the different blocking assignments. He said he credits their intelligence as football players for retaining and executing what they are being told.
"They're a bright group of kids too. They can handle a lot of information and that's a plus," Jones said. "If you have guys that understand what you're trying to accomplish and can understand the scheme with the technique, you'll have a good chance."
Speaking on Fronzaglio, Jones said his athleticism is what will carry him throughout the season. As the season nears, Jones said some of the offensive plays will work well with Fronzaglio's skillset.
"He has a good sense about the offense," Jones said. "He's a pretty natural athlete, can throw a little bit and does a nice job in the run game. He gives us a couple of elements that you hope to have with your quarterback. He puts a lot of onus on things and knows that how he plays is how we're going to play. We're excited to see where he can take us."
Sharing the load with Honzu in the backfield will be Fronzaglio, Terrance Belden and Nate Belden -- along with some of the receiving group.
In speaking of Honzu, Jones said the junior is going to be called on a lot this year and credits Honzu's work ethic in the off season to prepare for the varsity level.
"Honzu is definitely someone we're going to count on this year. He's had a good camp and we're seeing those 'aha' moments," Jones said. "He started getting a lot of reps last year but we kind of pulled back in favor of Brandon Ray. He was humbled a little bit and handled it the best way he could -- he came to work and got better and improved his body in the weight room. He knows what it takes to be a varsity running back, so we're excited about that."
Rounding out the offense is the receiving group. Jones said this aspect of the offense will be the youngest and will be led by two-way starter Josh Jarvis. Jones said Jarvis was thrust into the position as numbers dictated so, but credits him with adjusting and gaining confidence weekly. Jones will also call upon Darren Douglas, Carter Nielsen and Cole Manners to step up and haul in passes.
"We're pretty young in the skill game, but they're all having a good training camp so far," Jones said.
DEFENSE
On the defensive side of the ball, Jones is looking at the returning players to step up in a big way. Across all positions on the defense, Jones said there is a large group returning, such as linemen Chris Mijavec, Sami Pagano and Anthony Hayes; at linebacker is Gavin Swogger and Miguel Hernandez; and in the secondary is Fronzaglio, Jarvis and Frank Hoso.
"Some were very young as sophomores," Jones said. "In the win-loss column, we underperformed, but not everything is lost in that. Guys have a lot of reps now coming back as juniors and we're hoping that parlays into success this year."
For the defensive line in Mijavec, Pagano, Hayes and Aidan Anders, Jones said the quartet has been performing well during summer camp. Anders did not play last season, so Jones has to go off of the strength of what he's seen during camp.
"We like what we're seeing out of our defensive line right now and we're trying to build depth," Jones said. "Just like every other team in the area, when you get out of that starting group it starts to get thin. We're trying to put the pieces in the right positions but we like what we've seen."
For Swogger and Hernandez, Jones said he needs those two to have a big year as linebackers.
"Those two have been mainstays throughout camp so far," Jones said.
Complementing the Swogger and Hernandez duo will be Terrance Belden, Nate Belden and Cam Robinson, but similarly to the defensive line, the coaching staff is looking to build more depth.
"We have some work to do there, but we feel those guys will have to make a lot of plays for us to be successful in stopping the run. We like what we have," Jones said. "Hopefully we can build some depth there."
Jones considers the strength of the defense to be the secondary of Fronzaglio, Jarvis, Hoso and Darren Douglas. The experience of the group, coupled with the talent of those on the field, will be helpful for getting the defense off the field.
"We struggled getting off the field last year and struggled giving up points. We've got to get better in every facet, so we're hoping our defensive line is a big positive for us," Jones said.
The star of the secondary is Hoso, according to Jones.
"He's the mainstay back there. He has a great pedigree, loves contact and is the vocal leader the kids gravitate toward," Jones said. "He's a great kid to have back there. Over the next few years, you're going to hear a lot about him."
SPECIAL TEAMS
Returning to kicking duties will be junior Jack Litton. Last year, Litton handled all kicking responsibilities and Jones believes Litton has gotten better.
"He did a nice job for us last year and has an explosive leg. He really puts a lot into it, has talent at place kicking and is coming along at punting," Jones said. "He takes a lot of pride in it and will man those duties for us."
Howland opens the 2024 season Aug. 22 at home against Niles.
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