Sometimes the technical adjustments coaches make during halftimes of football games make the difference in ultimate outcomes. In the case of Howard on Friday, the coach’s speech made the difference.
The Hustlin’ Tigers went from owning an eight-point lead at halftime to leading by 30 after three quarters and went on to a 42-12 victory over Brainerd in the District 6-AA high school game at Howard.
Howard led 14-6 at halftime thanks to quarterback Thomas McCauley’s two completions in the first half – a 56-yard touchdown pass to Desmond Ford and a 21-yard TD throw to Kelvin Bowser. The Panthers had eight first downs in the opening half to the Tigers’ five.
“We talked about a lot of things at halftime,” Howard coach Alvin Tarver said. “The main thing I said was we were not playing Howard football. I think they got the message.”
Brainerd’s first-half score came in bizarre fashion and on the last play. The Tigers’ Horace Hector intercepted a pass inside the 5-yard line, and on the runback he was hit and fumbled. The Panthers’ Darren Hanna scooped the ball and, thanks to Maleek Rooks’ peel-back block on Eric McCullough, covered the 23 yards needed for a score.
Howard (5-1, 3-0) and McCullough seemed unaffected because the first possession of the second half ended in McCullough’s 58-yard touchdown run. He took a handoff on a counter play and someone on the Tigers’ sideline was heard saying “Bye-bye” before he was through the hole.
“Every play when I’m getting the ball, I think to myself that I want to do something good,” McCullough said. “I’m always trying to think positive. When I got the ball on that play and saw the line blew all that up, all I had was one person to beat.”
McCullough added a 3-yard burst through the middle at the 3:11 mark of the third quarter that increased the margin to 36-6. He led the Tigers with 80 yards on nine carries.
Between McCullough’s TDs, Howard ended up with a first-and-goal at Brainerd’s 2. McCullough was late getting on the field on defense, but he kept his running start from the sideline and headed straight toward quarterback William Hughes.
McCullough, encouraged by the words of his defensive coordinator, ended up knocking the ball loose, and Keonta Bush recovered. A penalty on Brainerd moved the ball half the distance to the goal, and McCauley ended up sneaking in from the 1.
“Find the ball, pursue and wrap up,” McCullough said. “That’s what we work on in practice. Coach [Ardante] Dawson talks about that all the time.”
Joseph Derrick had six catches for 85 yards and a touchdown for Brainerd (1-5, 0-3).