DIVISION II Copley's K.L. Smith helps K.O. Howland

The Tigers' season came to an end in the regional semifinals.
By DAVE DEVEREUX
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
TWINSBURG -- In order for the Howland High football team to make a return trip to the Division II regional finals, it needed to first beat Twinsburg last week in a first-round playoff game.
The Tigers did that.
But Friday night they traveled to Twinsburg, and this time they were upended by Copley 38-16.
K.L. Smith rushed for 151 yards on 25 carries and scored two touchdowns and he returned an interception 42 yards for the Indians, who advanced to the regional finals with a 9-3 record.
Howland's Tony Davis rushed for 131 yards on 25 carries and he scored on a 3-yard run. His longest run went for 12 yards.
"K.L. did a heck of a job on both sides of the ball," Copley coach Dan Boarman said. "We knew we had to slow them [Howland] down and keep banging at them.
"We had to slow down a great back [Tony Davis] and we did that."
The Tigers, who had won 10 straight games, committed four turnovers, which were converted into 21 points by Copley.
Howland fell behind 12-0 in the first quarter as Copley's Smith scored on a 1-yard run, capping an eight-play, 78-yard drive.
The Indians then recovered a Howland fumble on the Tigers' 26-yard line. Bryson Davis then caught a 22-yard TD strike from David Csepe.
Howland put together a 14-play, 80-yard drive in 8 minutes, 48 seconds, which included a 15-yards pass from Brad Lockney to Josh Settlemire. Tony Davis then tallied on 3-yard run.
On the Tigers' next possession, Cody Chappell kicked a 27-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 12-10.
Just before halftime, Smith intercepted a long Howland pass at the Copley 25. The Indians then marched that distance in six plays, with Gary Kirchenbaur catching a 13-yard pass from Csepe for a TD with 11 seconds left in the half.
"We had a great comeback in the second quarter," said Howland coach Dick Angle. "We were set to go in only down by two points.
"We got the ball back and I called an ill-advised pass and that turned the complexion of the game around.
"That's totally on me," Angle added. "It's my responsibility and I didn't make a right call and it took our kids out of a chance to come back."
In the fourth quarter with Howland trailing 25-16, Lockney was picked off by Smith, who returned the interception 42 yards for a TD, and the Tigers couldn't recover.
Angle said, "I remember my good friend Gary Barnett, now coach at Colorado, who said the only negative thing about the playoffs, unless you go all the way, is you end on a bad note.
"Hopefully this will only last tonight," Angle said, "because our kids accomplished a lot this season."
Copley's Csepe completed 11-of-15 passes for 166 yards and three TDs.
The Indians had 313 yards of total offense, compared to 275 for Howland. The turnover margin was 4-0 in favor of Copley.