2 weeks Ago By Nathan Swaffar
CANISTOTA, S.D. — Strong in all phases and keeping their rivals off the scoreboard, Howard remained undefeated on the season on Friday night.
The Class 9A No. 1-ranked Tigers dominated on both sides of the ball all night to claim the Cornbelt Conference showdown by a 32-0 score over the Class 9B No. 5 Hawks.
Offensively, they relied on their balanced rushing attack, collected 302 total yards on the ground and had 350 total offensive yards. Defensively, they never let Hawks quarterback Blaise Showers ever get comfortable and only gave up 134 total yards. ADVERTISEMENT Head coach Pat Ruml said one of the things he was worried about as the game went on was the lack of full-game experience as Howard has been so dominant this season, the second-team is usually in the game long before the game ends.
But he said he was impressed with the stamina kept up throughout the game. “We haven't played a full game yet,” Ruml said. “The first game of the year we played was the most we played, but since then, we've been playing half games, so I was a little concerned about how we do with some things.
We got a little sloppy with the ball, a couple of turnovers we don't usually have, but I think a lot of that had to do with playing a conference opponent that we know pretty well and they're familiar with us. I think that the physical play kind of showed itself tonight. We played really physical.
” The win avenged one of only two losses Howard has experienced since the start of the 2023 season, a 30-18 Canistota win in Howard in the second week of the season. Ruml commended both sides of the ball, but gave extra credit to the job the defense did by allowing no points. “The defense was great,” Ruml said.
“They had a couple of big plays and we had a couple of penalties down there and they were moving the ball a little bit, but they didn't hang their heads. We came back, got a stop and got the ball back. I’m very happy with our defense.
” After a scoreless defensive possession from Canistota to begin the game, Howard wasted no time getting on the board. The Tigers drove down the field and quarterback Carson Hinker capped off the drive with a one-yard quarterback sneak to make it 6-0 after a missed PAT. The Tigers would score again only seconds into the second quarter off a 20-yard touchdown run from Weston Remmers to make it 13-0.
The Tigers found the end zone one more time before the end of the half. Tate Miller had the honors this time with a 27-yard rushing touchdown which made it 19-0 after a missed PAT. That would be the score at halftime.
ADVERTISEMENT The two teams traded turnovers on back-to-back plays early in the second half with Howard throwing an interception and Canistota fumbling it right back on the next play. However, just a few plays into the Tigers’ next offensive series, they turned the ball over yet again with a fumble to give the Hawks the ball at their own 17-yard line. But neither team scored in the third quarter.
With 8:38 left to play, Miller padded Howard’s lead with a seven-yard touchdown run to make it 25-0 after an unsuccessful two-point conversion. The Hawks threatened after a big 37-yard pass from Showers to Easton Miller put them at the Tiger 28-yard line, but the Tigers once again tightened up on defense and forced a turnover on downs. Canistota had one more chance with the ball, but the Tigers defense came up with another turnover off an interception.
For good measure, Howard added another touchdown on a 14-yard rush from Owen Feldhaus with 30 seconds left to make it 32-0. For Howard, Miller finished with a team-high 110 rushing yards while Remmers finished shy of a 100-yard game with 99. Carson Hinker finished the night with 48 yards on 4-of-6 passing.
For Canistota, Showers went 9-of-19 with 85 passing yards and was the leading rusher with 43. Howard (5-0) will return home after a bye week to face Hanson on Oct. 4, while Canistota (3-2) will play at Sioux Falls Lutheran on Sept.
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