For most of Saturday evening's game there appeared to be too many Howard defenders for Tyner to block. Time and again the Hustlin' Tigers defense swarmed the Rams in the backfield, creating turnovers, lost yardage and havoc leading to a 27-19 victory that was Howard's first in series history.
Similarly, there were too many Hustlin' Tigers defenders to single out just one individual, so this week's Times Free Press prep football player of the week is the entire Howard defense.
"Our defense played really well, especially the first half," said Hustlin' Tigers coach John Starr. "We forced turnovers and got after them with a lot of energy. We knew they had big-game potential. They can score on any snap, so we felt like our opportunity was to get to them before they could get going, at least hurry up the throws and get in the backfield."
The game had been postponed a day because of the city's water-main break and was played in 90-degree temperatures Saturday evening. In only the second game played at Howard's new Reggie White Field, the Hustlin' Tigers snapped a 24-game losing streak to Tyner that dated back to 1975.
Staff Photo by Robin Rudd/ Howard's Javion Robinson (6) intercepts a pass intended for Tyner's Ronald Neal (10). The Howard Hustling Tigers hosted the Tyner Rams in TSSAA football on September 14, 2019. 
Staff Photo by Robin Rudd/ Howard head coach John Starr instructs Kerrick Thorne (35) and Malik Hamilton (14). The Howard Hustling Tigers hosted the Tyner Rams in TSSAA football on September 14, 2019. In the first half, which set the tone for the game, Howard held the Rams to minus-14 yards of total offense, including minus-49 rushing yards as all five Tyner ball carriers had negative yardage at halftime.
The Hustlin' Tigers (3-1) also forced turnovers on five of Tyner's first six possessions and finished with seven turnovers for the game (four fumble recoveries and three interceptions). Among the defensive leaders were Jarquell Wooten, who had five tackles and two for lost yardage, Ivan Hardwick (five tackles, one for loss and an interception), Nicky Banks (four tackles, one for loss), Javion Robinson (three tackles, one for loss and a fumble recovery) and Davontay Smith (three tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery).
Each of Howard's three first-quarter touchdowns - all runs by Eric Johnson - were set up by turnovers from the defense, giving the offense a short field to travel. Howard's final score, which put the game away, also came from its defense when Dicorius Knight returned a fumble 79 yards for a TD with just 1:28 remaining.
"To be a senior and be a part of the team that finally beat them, that tells me that no matter what happens in life, you never quit. You just keep going hard," Knight said after the game.
Tyner's first TD came off its defense with an 89-yard interception return just before halftime. Tyner, which was ranked No. 3 in Class 2A going into the game, finished with 196 yards of total offense. Howard now will face Class 4A fourth-ranked Anderson County at home this Friday in a key Region 2-4A showdown.
"It'll be a challenge to get the kids refocused, but we've got to get past Tyner and move on to this next week," Starr said. "I hope our kids are mature enough to understand what needs to happen. They need to know the real season starts now with this region game.
"We were forced to play so many kids both ways, so we ran out of gas a little in the second half, but we stood up when we needed to."
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.