Howland gets over the hump with Week 1 win

HOWLAND, Ohio (WKBN) – Howland won its first game since the start of the 2022 season, after a win against Niles 28-0, Friday night, Aug. 23.

Junior running back Davae Honzu led the charge as he scored three times against the Red Dragons.

“Last year I didn’t have the year I was supposed to have, but just having those three touchdowns, it felt like a dream come true,” said Honzu. “It just felt like a dream.”

Honzu rushed for 130 yards off 26 carries for the Tigers. Senior lineman Carson Wolanzyk said the Tigers blocked well and Honzu did the rest.

“We unlocked a new level to ourselves that we didn’t see in us before,” said Wolanzyk.

Second year Howland head coach Brian Jones won his first game at the helm, in the victory.

“I think to finally go out there and see our process through and have our kids be successful on Friday night, I think that’s going to do wonders for their confidence,” said Jones.

“We did, we did take the next step,” said Wolanzyk. “I feel like that’s just proves our confidence in ourselves. It shows that we can do so much more of the season, but we still got a lot of work to do.”

The Tiger’s win was the first victory since September 2022, when Howland beat Youngstown East 3-0.

“You hope eventually that the things that you’re preaching and things that you’re saying, reap the rewards of that,” said Jones.

Next, Howland faces against another (1-0) team, at Poland Friday night, Aug. 30.

“Nothing comes easy around here, we have a tough schedule as well,” said Honzu. “You just got to grind and get where we’re supposed to, where we want to be.”

“I feel like this is us just only breaking the surface, it will only make us continue to get better and better,” said Wolanzyk.

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