Tyner now 30-0 against Howard after 28-0 win

(Photo by Mark Gilliland) Howard's Antwain Monfort tries to break free from Tyner's Jaylen Bowens and Caevon Lee during the game on September 8, 2017.
(Photo by Mark Gilliland) Howard's Antwain Monfort tries to break free from Tyner's Jaylen Bowens and Caevon Lee during the game on September 8, 2017.

Things did not go well for the Howard Hustlin' Tigers in their nonregion football battle Friday night with crosstown rival Tyner. The fact Tyner dominated the game with a 28-0 shutout was merely a final product of the misfortunes in this rivalry that dates back to 1975.

Things did not go well when Howard returned a kickoff for an 80-yard score, disallowed because of an unnecessary tackle of a Tyner defender 10 yards behind the play.

Things did not go well when Howard dropped back to pass the ball, getting sacked eight times. Things did not go well when the Tigers went for it on fourth down, coming up empty six times in the game. And things did not go well when Howard sent the house to pressure Tyner quarterback Jaylen Bowens, who twice fired perfect strikes on third-down plays for scores of 48 and 60 yards.

Of course, things never have gone much right for the Tigers in a series the Rams have now won 30 straight times, including 19 times under the watch of head coach Wayne Turner. Howard has never beaten a Tyner football team, in fact.

"I was pleased with the things we did on defense, and I was pleased with the things we did on offense," said Turner, now just one victory shy of 200 for his Tyner tenure. "We needed this mentally. We played well last week but had some mistakes. We cleaned them up tonight and I think the kids have some momentum heading into next week."

Tyner will travel to Marion County for what could well decide the tough Region 3-2A title.

Tyner got on the board on its first possession when Bowens hit Ke-un Webb on a perfect 48-yard strike, and after several back-and-forth series at midfield where both teams held strong on fourth-down tries, the Rams added a 17-yard run on a pitch to Jeremy Elston for a 14-0 halftime lead. Howard didn't get a first down until the final 30 seconds of the half.

Bowens opened the second half with his 60-yard toss to Jeremiah Batiste, and the Rams added a 1-yard plunge by workhorse Tyon Young in the final period to seal the deal. Young led the Rams rushing attack with 96 bullish yards on 18 carries. Elston added 65 on his 14 runs.

It was the defense, though, that was most impressive for the Rams. Tyner recorded 18 tackles for loss in holding Howard to 36 rushing yards on 36 carries. Big Tracey Justice had four sacks and was dominant up front, while Tyrique Henry had two sacks and two stops on fourth down and was in the Howard backfield all night.

Justice also put a monster hit on Howard quarterback Marquez Williams that ended his night early. The junior Howard signal-caller had a nice evening till then despite the continual harassment.

"We wanted to control the line of scrimmage on defense, and I wanted to step up tonight and set a tone. We have a big game next week," Justice said.

Ellis Robinson caught three of Williams' passes for 65 yards. Howard (1-2) will host Anderson County next Friday. Tyner (2-2) gets that big battle at Marion County.

Contact James Beach at sports@timesfreepress.com.

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