Sports
Howell stuns Belleville led by Bryce Underwood in KLAA football title game
HOWELL Howell coach Brian Lewis had a question for his football players as they huddled after the biggest win of their lives.
Are we real or what?
The players believed in themselves all the time. They couldn't shock the world if they didn't have confidence.
But now the entire state of Michigan knows one undeniable fact that the Highlanders actually exist after defeating No. 1 Belleville 30-29 in the KLAA championship game on Friday night.
It will be tough for everyone when the state playoffs begin Friday after potentially gaining three rounds of home field advantage after beating the No. 1 and No. 4 (Hudsonville) teams in Division 1 this season.
Howell on third down won the game by converting two fourth downs before running back Justin Jones caught a 1-yard touchdown pass from Preston Barb with three seconds left to tie the score. Luis Maldonado-Vazquez scored the winning extra point.
Everyone on this team was the only ones who believed in each other, senior running back Justin Jones said as he was surrounded by fans storming the field. Were the only ones who believed we would actually win this game. The expectation was that we would win. This changes nothing.
How did the Highlanders beat a team that was 56-1 in KLAA competition, including season-opening crossover games, and win all six championship games by a combined score of 203-43?
By being herself.
We know who we are, Barb said. We know we can beat anyone in the entire state, especially Belleville as No. 1. We can beat anyone, anywhere, anytime. I think that was on display today with the No. 1 team in the state.
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Sticking with his high-powered identity, Howell pulled off long drives that not only produced touchdowns but kept Belleville's LSU-bound quarterback Bryce Underwood on the sidelines.
Howell scored touchdowns on four of five complete possessions, took a knee to end the first half and was stopped on fourth down at the Belleville 1-yard line.
But being stopped a yard from the goal line while trailing 29-21 was perhaps the best thing that could have happened to the Highlanders.
On the next play, Jones and Tyler tackled Mira Belleville running back Andre Thomas before he could get out of the end zone for a safety with 5:29 left in the game. Howell was now within six points and would get the ball back after a free kick.
They didn't protect the edges, said Jones, who had two touchdown runs. Coach (Mitch) Zajac made a great call with outside blitzes. Me and Tyler came in and tackled him together.
Milan Fulton's kick return put Howell at the 46-yard line for the final drive. Barb hit Bobby Kanka on fourth-and-4 and Jones ran four yards on fourth-and-3 to the 3-yard line to keep the drive going before Barb and Jones connected for the touchdown.
There are eight seconds left on the clock, Howell coach Brian Lewis said. For coaches, that's an odd amount of time. You don't want to run it and risk running out the clock. If you roll it and it's incomplete, you usually have one more play. Barb knew full well that if it wasn't there, he would have to be thrown out of the back of the end zone. We wanted to throw it, and if that didn't work, we were going to run it, but the throw worked.
After defending a return on the ensuing kickoff, Howell was able to celebrate its first KLAA championship and first 9-0 regular season since 1963. Several members of that team were recognized at the game.
Underwood did more damage with the ball than with his arm. The only deep shot he made was a 52-yard pass on third-and-15 to Antwon Thomas to set up a touchdown and two-point conversion that gave Belleville a 29–21 lead with 10:47 left in the game.
Contact Bill Khan at [email protected]. Follow him on X@BillKhan
Sources 2/ https://www.livingstondaily.com/story/sports/high-school/football/2024/10/25/howell-stuns-bryce-underwood-led-belleville-in-klaa-football-title-game/75732849007/ The mention sources can contact us to remove/changing this article |
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