Just before sending his Howard football team onto Notre Dame’s field Friday night, Alvin Tarver yelled four simple words of instruction: “Set the tone early!”
The Hustlin’ Tigers forced a fumble on the game’s first offensive snap and two plays later turned it into a touchdown. With the tone set just that quickly, Howard continued to pour it on in the first half, scoring on four of its first six possessions and cruising to a 48-6 nondistrict win.
“We’ve been pretty tough on defense through our scrimmages, so I expect us to be pretty good there,” Tarver said. “We told the kids to jump on them quick and take them out of it early. I thought the kids got after them pretty good defensively.”
Howard unveiled its new “Tiger-bone” offense, patterned after Georgia Tech’s option attack, but it was the defense that put the game away early. The Hustlin’ Tigers’ second touchdown came on a punt block that was returned 30 yards by Craig Steward, and their next score was set up when Demetrius Wilson forced and recovered a fumble at the Irish 3.
“It was pretty much our defense that got our points in the first half,” Tarver said. “I was actually embarrassed with how we ran the ball. The Tiger-bone looked broke tonight. We didn’t run it like we should at all.”
Howard’s defense held Notre Dame to no gain or negative yards on 13 of 19 first-half plays, allowing just 18 yards of total offense by halftime in taking a 33-6 lead. The Hustlin’ Tigers also intercepted a pass and sacked Notre Dame quarterback Jordan Middlebrooks twice. The two fumble recoveries, an interception, the punt blocked and two short punts helped Howard’s six first-half possessions average beginning at the Notre Dame 31.