Staff Photo by Matt Fields-Johnson
Howard High School junior quarterback C.J. Ross throws a first quarter touchdown to tie Boyd-Buchannan 6-6 Friday night.

It took just two plays for Grant Reynolds to learn how his Boyd-Buchanan football team would respond to second-half adversity.

After falling behind midway through the third quarter, Class 2A's top-ranked Buccaneers needed just two plays to cover 55 yards and answer Howard. That was the first of four consecutive touchdowns by the Bucs, who pulled away for a 41-18 nondistrict win at Howard.

"You're going to have bad things happen and you have to overcome those to be a good football team," Reynolds said. "You're not going to play a perfect game, but we worked to overcome mistakes tonight."

The teams traded the lead four times before Boyd-Buchanan (2-1) took control and wore down Howard in the second half, when the Bucs gained 215 of their 288 rushing yards. They were just as impressive defensively, pushing the Hustlin' Tigers backward for minus-8 yards in the last two quarters.

After a punt snap sailed into the end zone and was recovered by Howard's Kelvin Bowser for an 18-14 lead in the third quarter, Boyd-Buchanan's Ben Beasley gained 9 yards, then broke three arm-tackles on his way to a 46-yard touchdown. That was Beasley's second TD, and he finished the game with 131 yards on 21 carries.

"My offensive line gets a lot of the credit for that," Beasley said. "They made some huge holes and really wore down Howard. It was a tough game, really. They were tough and athletic, but we kept chipping away at them."

Howard, ranked No. 10 in Class 3A, had its best chance to put the Bucs on their heels in the second quarter. Ahead by six, the Hustlin' Tigers drove 73 yards to the Bucs' 5-yard line but turned the ball over on downs. From there, Boyd-Buchanan set out on a 95-yard scoring drive, with Beasley touching the ball 10 of the 13 plays, including a 6-yard touchdown run. Andrew Crowe's two-point conversion run put the Bucs ahead 14-12.

Crowe ran for 67 yards and a touchdown and completed 7 of 12 passes for 74 yards and another TD. His brother Matthew recovered a Howard fumble in the end zone to give the Bucs a 10-point lead late in the third.

"We had some guys really step up for us at crucial times and against a quality opponent," Reynolds said. "I thought we showed a lot of heart on both sides of the ball.

"Ben really got behind that big ol' offensive line and did a great job of making plays."

The Bucs opened the game with an impressive 12-play, 60-yard scoring drive, converting two fourth downs along the way for the opening touchdown. Howard countered with a nine-play, 67-yard drive to tie the game on a 10-yard pass from C.J. Ross to Chris Deloney on fourth down. And when Boyd-Buchanan lost a fumble on its next snap, Ross hooked up with a leaping Deloney for a 22-yard TD one play later.