Staff photo / Brian Yauger. Howland senior Connor Gebhardt fights for possession of the ball with Midview’s Logan Bier on Wednesday night.

HOWLAND — Entering Wednesday’s game against Midview, Howland coach Nick Sheely was anxious.

While in his sixth year with the program, this was Sheely’s first season leading the area powerhouse as head coach.

The kids however, were not nervous, and the Tigers took down Midview, 4-1, in Howland’s first round matchup of the Division III, Northeast 3 District tournament.

“I’m not going to lie, I might actually feel better about (the win) than they do,” Sheely said. “I might have been a little more nervous because I’ve played in these games, I’ve coached in these games. But when you’re the first one up, and it’s your first one and it’s a game for these seniors in their last game on this field ever, there’s a little extra butterflies in there because you want to make sure you’re giving the kids the best so they can succeed. I was probably a little more nervous than they might have been tonight, but to get this monkey off the back (is great).”

A trio of first half goals from Howland gave the team a lead they would not surrender, but the Middies battled them tough, stopping multiple prime chances to extend the Tigers’ lead further.

Sitting at 12-3-2 after Wednesday’s win, the senior-laden Tigers have guided Howland to another successful season.

While still two more games to go for Howland to have a chance to keep its district championship streak alive, Sheely is confident in his veteran talent.

“This year, we’ve got six seniors, all six starting, and I think this is the first year, at least I’ve been around, every single senior has scored a goal this season. That’s something to be proud of. It’s a veteran-led team, and then we also have five or six juniors that contribute heavily to our success. It’s an older team as much, and it is more like a true brotherhood too. Like I said, they get sick of each other, but at the same time, those kids would do anything for each other. At any time, they’ll lay it on the line for the Howland crest.”

Up next for the Tigers is an Aurora team they have some familiarity with.

The teams scrimmage yearly during the preseason, and have similar strong histories.

As they prepare for the Greenmen, finishing is the focus. Missed opportunities have been an issue this season for Howland, and against a team like Aurora, that isn’t going to fly.

“It’s just repetition,” Sheely said. “It’s trying to get them into game-like situations as much as we can in practice and try to make it actually harder than a game, so that way, when the moment comes for them, it’s not a shock. It’s ‘Hey, this is a little bit easier than what I’ve done already,’ so they’re built for that moment. We’ve had spells where we were and then we’ve had spells where we missed, so it’s just kind of just continuing to hammer down on making sure they’re comfortable in those positions as a coach to get them ready for it.”

Howland hits the road for its contest with Aurora on Oct. 24 at 7 p.m.