Even without top two rushers, O-line paves way for Howell football playoff win
NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...
HOWELL — When Howell quarterback Preston Barb hands off the football, it doesn’t seem to matter which running back takes off with the rock.
Big things are bound to happen whether it’s a highly recruited back like junior Bryce Kish or someone who might only get a few carries a game.
The Highlanders have had 10 100-yard rushing performances from five different running backs this season. Their top two rushers didn’t even play in their playoff opener against Kalamazoo Central on Friday, Oct. 31, but Howell’s offense continued to grind out yardage on the ground.
Howell racked up 379 yards and four touchdowns on 61 carries during a 45-20 victory over the Maroon Giants.
The common denominator, regardless of who runs the ball in a three-back T-formation, is an offensive line around which Howell has forged its identity the past two seasons while going 20-2 and winning three playoff games.
It’s not flashy, but the hand-to-hand combat in the trenches is as responsible as anything for the Highlanders’ resurgence.
“Just bear-crawling, killing the guys up front,” is how senior left tackle Mason Schumaker put it.
The Highlanders’ success revolves around the play of Schumaker, senior left guard Landon Joiner, senior center Nate Rogowski, junior right guard Brennan McLearon and senior right tackle Sam Gondick. And don’t forget senior tight ends Jackson Pahl and Brody Stack, two big boys with college football futures who essentially give Howell seven offensive linemen.
“It’s smash mouth, do what we do,” Rogowski said. “We’re going to be more physical than you. That’s what it was tonight and that’s what it’s going to keep being.”
Kish, Howell’s leading rusher with 935 yards and 20 touchdowns, dressed but didn’t play. Christian Farren, who has 709 yards and 11 touchdowns, didn’t dress. Christian Greene, who has 348 yards and six touchdowns, played on defense and special teams.
That’s three players with 1,992 yards and 37 touchdowns who never carried the ball. In their place were three players who combined for 639 yards and three touchdowns coming into the game.
Sophomore Jack Gondick has been a revelation, getting his third straight 100-yard game by running 20 times or 169 yards. Arber Korkut, who had six carries all season, ran 11 times for 72 yards and a touchdown. Palmer VanDeven has 52 yards on 12 carries and Barb, who doesn’t run much, had seven carries for 31 yards and two touchdowns.
“We all trust each other, that’s the big thing,” Rogowski said. “Anyone behind us running, we’ll block for anyone.”
The reason Howell switched to a T-formation a few years ago was because of the depth of linemen in the program.
“We kept putting the top players we have in the program on a list,” Howell coach Brian Lewis said. “Who are your top 11? Regularly, eight of them would be linemen. We needed to put more linemen on the field, because they happened to be overall football wise our better players. That attributed to the switch to the offense to make sure we’re utilizing the right position groups to the max at Howell.”
The first possession of the game was a typical Howell drive, going 70 yards in 15 plays and consuming 8 minutes and 24 seconds before Korbut scored on a four-yard run. Howell scored touchdowns on six of its first seven drives and kicked a field goal on the other.
Two of the touchdowns, surprisingly enough, came through the air. Barb threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Gondick on fourth-and-three to give Howell a 14-7 lead and a 31-yarder to Stack with 36 seconds left in the first half to put the Highlanders ahead 27-14.
As a team, Howell threw only two touchdown passes in nine regular-season games. The touchdown to Stack came after the Highlanders took over at their own 36 with 1:03 left in the half.
“It was huge,” Lewis said. “They go down and score that big one and then we come back and extend the lead before the half. That was obviously a big play. What a throw, what a catch.”
Howell (9-1), which has won its last four first-round playoff games, will host East Kentwood (8-2) in the district championship game.
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on X @BillKhan
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Howell grinds out football playoff win over Kalamazoo Central
More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos