Staff photo / R. Michael Semple Howland’s Carter Nielsen (7) scores a first-quarter touchdown against East and celebrates with teammate Cole Manners during a game on Friday in Howland.

HOWLAND — It was homecoming for the Howland Tigers, and they celebrated the 50th anniversary of the class of 1975 with a hard fought 18-14 victory over East on Friday.

The Tigers received the opening kickoff, and they didn’t waste any time getting on the scoreboard as junior quarterback Darren Douglas threw a touchdown pass down the sideline for a 7-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Each team punted the ball multiple times in the second quarter. However, the Howland (2-4) defense got the biggest stop of the first half.

The Golden Bears drove into Howland territory. In fact, they got into the red zone before the Tigers got a huge stop on fourth down to force a turnover on downs.

Then, the Tigers went on a 12-play, 66-yard drive. Douglas capped off the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run. Plus, he ran it in for a two-point conversion to put Howland ahead 15-0 at halftime.

East (4-2) drove down the field to start the second half. But, once again, the Howland defense forced a turnover on downs on the Tiger 22-yard line.

Howland punted on its next possession before the Golden Bears got into the end zone. East quarterback, junior Jadon Ervin, made a great play to pick up a first down, on the ground, on third-and-7.

Three plays later, the Bears faced a third-and-14. Ervin had some more magic when he launched a 44-yard touchdown pass to LezTwan Casey-Jones. The extra-point was no good, and the score was 15-6 heading to the fourth quarter.

Howland got the ball, and after a 10-play, 37-yard drive, senior Jack Litton made a 35-yard field goal to give the Tigers a 18-6 advantage.

The Golden Bears got another touchdown when Ervin connected with Khali Simmons for a touchdown. The two-point conversion made it 18-14 with 4:20 left in regulation.

East forced another punt. However, the Howland defense stepped up one more time. This time, Brady Morrone recovered a fumble, and the Tigers got into victory formation.