MAC Howland drops third straight

Running back Jim Tabak led Struthers to a 26-15 win.
By GREG GULAS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
STRUTHERS -- After a sluggish first quarter, the Struthers High football team scored all of its points in the middle two quarters to defeat Howland 26-15 in a Metro Athletic Conference game Friday.
"We played hard tonight, but the key to our victory was the fact that we committed only one turnover," Struthers coach Gary Zetts said.
"The big difference was driving the ball without making mistakes," he added. "This was a big win for us after two heartbreaking defeats."
Howland (6-3, 2-3) lost its third straight game and now appears in danger of not making the playoffs.
A scoreless first period produced just four first downs, all by Struthers, while it took the Tigers 15:37 to get into Wildcat territory. Mark Rek's 35-yard run game Howland their initial first down.
Early lead: Senior Jim Tabak's 3-yard touchdown run capped a 10 play, 42-yard drive, giving the Wildcats (5-4, 2-2) a 6-0 lead. It was the first of Tabak's two rushing touchdowns.
On the next series, Howland took its only lead of the game when quarterback Rick Clark scored on a 9-yard run. John Airhardt's kick gave the Tigers a 7-6 lead.
"This is a tough atmosphere to play in," Howland coach Dick Angle said. "The last three weeks have me baffled and looking for answers. Struthers played well and deserved to win. We have just one more chance to fix this."
It appeared the Tigers would take that slim 7-6 lead into the locker room but the Wildcats rebounded with a 12-play, 73-yard drive, capped by Tabak's 1-yard run with 27 seconds remaining. The Wildcats held a 136-108 advantage in total offense at the half, with all the Tigers' yards coming on the ground. Clark was 0-for-1 in the first half.
In the third period, the Wildcats scored twice to increase their lead to 26-7. Quarterback Nick Leiter found Jason Martin from 6 yards out at the 6:39 mark, and Jason Mitchell picked up a Tiger fumble and scored from 42 yards out. "Nick Leiter has been a great player for us all season long," Zetts said. "He really kept us on track tonight."
Not enough: Tiger running back Brian Spence rounded out the scoring a 4-yard run with 4:07 left. Spence added the conversion run to cut the Wildcat lead to 26-15.
The Tigers held a 169-150 advantage over the Wildcats on the ground, but Struthers held a 212-206 advantage in total offense.
Tabak was the game's leading rusher with 78 yards on 22 carries and two touchdowns, while the Tigers' Rek and Spence each totaled 77 yards on 17 and 10 carries, respectively. Clark completed 3-of-8 for 37 yards. Leiter was 9-of-14 through the air for 62 yards, with Martin on the receiving end of five of those completions for 32 yards.