Howland hands Salem its first loss of the season
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HOWLAND -- The Howland Tigers have arrived, and the Salem Quakers are undefeated no longer.
Clinging to a six-point lead during the fourth quarter, Howland put together a season-defining drive when it needed it most. The Tigers marched 91 yards to deal the finishing blow on Friday night, knocking Salem from the ranks of the unbeaten with a 28-14 victory at Lombardo Field.
"It's our signature win, there's no doubt about it," Howland head coach Brian Jones said. "I'm just so happy for our team. My message to the team, especially for these seniors, they've been here through the grind for all four years with us. They've been through the thick and mostly the thin, and if we could go out tonight and execute for 48 minutes, they would have a game to talk about for the rest of their life.
"I'm just so proud of everyone, top to bottom, coaching staff, the community and the players. They believed all week, and they came out and did their job. Tip of the cap to Salem, they're a heck of a ball team."
All night long, Howland continuously made timely plays in the passing game. Tigers quarterback Darren Douglas constantly made difficult plays look easy, while big-play receiver Carter Nielsen demonstrated why he's "one of the best players in the area," according to Jones.
The Quakers simply had no answer for the Howland duo, as Douglas threw for 296 yards and three touchdowns, while Nielsen hauled in two of those touchdowns to go along with over 200 receiving yards.
"Clearly the best team won tonight. They significantly outcoached us and significantly outplayed us in every facet of the game," Salem head coach Ron Johnson said. "We made too many mistakes to be a championship team. But we gotta battle back, and all of our goals are still intact. We just have to regather and be ready to come out and play really well next week.
"[Douglas] was the best player on the field, and [Nielsen] was a real close second."
The two teams battled to a stalemate in the first half, and were scoreless by the end of the first quarter after a pair of three-and-outs and a turnover on downs at the end of a promising drive by the Tigers.
However, the Quakers began the second quarter with a third-and-goal at the 5-yard line. It took them two plays, but Bairon Exline put Salem on the board first by plunging into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown run.
After Douglas was picked off by Salem's Kevin Blackburn on fourth down on the ensuing drive, the Quakers had a chance to extend their lead and almost did, but a penalty wiped out a 62-yard catch-and-run touchdown. Salem eventually punted, and the Tigers partially blocked it to set up good field position.
"We just had to be physical. They're a physical football team, and we know we had to match their physicality for 48 minutes and we did that," Jones said. "Made some great plays and we tackled well tonight."
It took Howland just one play to tie things up, as Douglas found Nielsen over the top of the Quakers' defense for a 47-yard touchdown pass to make it 7-7 heading into halftime.
After the Quakers punted on their opening drive of the second half, Howland stumbled upon some good fortune.
A high snap sent the ball over the Howland punter's head. Yet, he corralled it and got the punt away. The ball was muffed by the Quakers, and the Tigers recovered in the red zone.
Howland capitalized on the Salem turnover to take the lead, 14-7, when Douglas hit Anthony DeNiro in the corner of the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown strike.
The Tigers' advantage was short-lived, however, as the Quakers equalized with a 29-yard touchdown run by Exline in the final minute of the third quarter.
On the penultimate play of the period, Douglas put Howland back in front, 20-14, with a 38-yard touchdown pass to Nielsen.
"He made a couple big plays early," Jones said of Nielsen. "They adjusted their coverages, and they doubled him a little bit. Then they backed off it a little bit. If we're going to go down, we're going to go down trying to get the balls to our guys. He made plays. He's a big-time player too, and he showed why."
In the fourth quarter, Howland put the finishing touches on its victory.
Holding onto their slight six-point advantage, the Tigers got the ball back deep in their own territory with about eight minutes left.
Salem largely stifled Howland's run game, so the Tigers had to rely on Douglas' arm to see them across the finish line. Howland went 91 yards in 14 plays, eating more than six minutes off the clock, as Delmar Cox rumbled into the end zone from 10 yards out to put the Quakers away with just over two minutes left.
During the drive, Douglas found Nielsen behind Salem's defense one last time, hitting him for a 35-yard pass that converted a critical third-and-long and kept the possession alive.
"We obviously wanted to take as much time as we could off the clock there," Jones said. "Credit to Salem, we couldn't get a lot going in the run game, so they forced us to throw sometimes when we didn't want to. But we executed when it mattered most, and then Delmar was able to pop one off there to close out the game."