In a game in which everything was close - the distance between the schools, the two head coaches, the talent of the players - the most impactful performance came offensively from a player listed on the roster as a linebacker.
Howard's Tawon Billups redefined the term workhorse Friday night on Reggie White Field at Red Gaston Stadium, racking up 107 yards and two touchdowns on a bevy of carries - including the eventual game-winner in the Hustlin' Tigers' 14-7 win over visiting Chattanooga Christian.
"It was a tough game in every way," first-year Howard head coach John Starr said. "We had to overcome a lot of things tonight including injuries, but nobody got distracted when it mattered."
Howard ran the ball 21 times with six different players in the first half, but their sophomore linebacker-turned-running-back matched that total and then some in the second half to keep the clock on their side.
"The only thing he told me was keep the ball tucked and just run straight forward," Billup said after walking gingerly out of his team's postgame huddle. "With the way our line played, that's all I had to do."
"We had a lot of injuries that we were trying to hide, so we knew we could trust him with the ball," Starr added. "It was more of an offensive-line thing, but they allowed us to just ride him all night."
Chargers starting quarterback Matthew Mercer completed only four of nine passes for 39 yards in the first half before dealing with a rolled ankle early in the third quarter that haunted the senior for the rest of the game.
With four minutes left in the game, down seven points, Mercer and CCS turned to backup Matthew Neff to lead the charge for the tie. Three plays in, the sophomore found Will Sabourin, who split the Howard defenders down the middle of the field for a 66-yard gain to the 21-yard line.
But senior linebacker Cameron Thomas had enough of the potential comeback - getting to and sacking Neff back-to-back times to force an unsuccessful fourth-down conversion try that essentially ended the game.
"I was just wanting to get a big play there," Starr said of the late-game situation. "Cameron Thomas came off the line great both times, and him stopping them like that just tickled me to death."
Contact John Mitchell at sports@timesfreepress.com.