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HOWARD – The Howard Tigers left no doubts about whether their offense was clicking Friday night by producing over 500 yards to cruise past Freeman/Marion/Freeman Academy 51-0.
From the opening possession, the Class 9AA No. 1 ranked Tigers marched down the field at will, thanks to the play of Howard’s speedy backfield. The Tigers produced 371 yards of offense in the first half to build a 32-0 lead after two quarters.
A 50-yard scoring drive capped by a Tate Miller rushing touchdown up the gut to put the Tigers on the board two minutes into the first quarter. From then on, Howard’s offense began clicking and never relented.
Fullback Karsyn Feldhaus breezed past the Phoenix defense and found his way to the end zone twice in the first half. The junior ran for 151 yards in the first half, which was highlighted by a big 28-yard touchdown run to take a commanding lead heading into the second half.
After running back Karsten Hamilton opened the second half with a 33 yard touchdown run, Howard showed no signs of slowing down.
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With a comfortable 38-0 lead late in the third quarter, quarterback Taiden Hoyer connected with Atticus Darnell on a 56-yard touchdown pass that got Howard fans out of their seats. Hoyer threw a pair of touchdown passes and produced over 100 yards in the air.
In the Tigers’ big offensive showing, running back Griffin Clubb pitched in on the action and added a touchdown.
On the defensive end, Luke Koepsall wreaked havoc on (3-1) FMFA’s offense. Anytime the Phoenix seemed to show signs of life, the sophomore defensive end came with a couple big sacks or forced a turnover. Howard held FMFA to just 73 yards in the first half.
Howard improved to 5-0 with Friday’s dominant win and handed FMFA its first loss of the season as the newly formed co-op in Class 9AA. The Phoenix were receiving votes for the top-five ranking spots heading into Friday’s game.
The Tigers will head to Irene on Sept. 23 and square off against Irene/Wakonda in a non-conference game. FMFA takes on Colome in Freeman.
