By Doug Chapin

Howland’s junior quarterback connected with three different receivers for touchdowns.

HOWLAND — Junior quarterback Matt Preston fired touchdown passes to three different receivers and the Howland High defense stifled Niles McKinley in a 23-8 victory Friday night at Richard Lombardo Field.

Their fourth straight win leaves the Tigers (5-3 overall) with a 3-1 record in the All-American Conference Red Division. Canfield is unbeaten in division play with two games remaining.

Before Friday’s game, Howland stood seventh in the Division II, Region 5 computer ratings. Coming off a big win over previously undefeated Poland, the Tigers play at undefeated Liberty next week.

“Our defense has stepped up all year even in our losses,” Howland coach Dick Angle said. “We’ve gotten better and our young kids aren’t young anymore.

“We talked about wanting to be considered a good football team, and one win does not give you the right to be called a good football team. You’ve got to be consistent every week. We came out the first half tonight and showed good consistency.”

Excluding the Red Dragons’ final possession of the night, which came against Howland’s second-team defense, the Tigers held Niles to 26 net yards through 31‚Ñ2 quarters.

Preston gave Howland’s offense good balance as he completed 11-of-17 attempts for 148 yards and the three scores.

The Tigers posted their usual strong rushing numbers, gaining 201 yards on the ground. Dante Marsh (11-for-72), Solomon Jackson (8-for-59) and Mike Mangiarelli (9-38) led the Howland ground game behind the offensive line of seniors Clay Cooper, Mike Zakrajsek, Craig Stan, Kyle Stan and Matt Cash, and freshman Anthony Stanko.

“When we were 1-3 and everybody was looking at us like we weren’t going to win another game, we stayed the course and started saying we’ve got one game a week and that’s the only thing that matters,” Angle said. “Next week’s game against Liberty is a big game because it’s the only game we get to play next week.

“Of course we know it has special meaning because it’s against a good football team. Obviously, we have to be at our best.”

Howland opened the scoring against Niles on the second play of the second quarter, a 41-yard field goal by Eric Albani. The kick came after a 12-play drive which ate up more than five minutes.

The Tigers’ next possession lasted only three plays, a 19-yard run by Jackson, a 9-yard run by Marsh and a 25-yard pass from Preston to Tyler Scott. The score came with 7:42 left in the half.

Howland then drove 85 yards for its second touchdown, recording seven first downs on the way and taking 6:32 off the clock. Preston found Marsh in the front corner of the end zone for the score with 1:10 left in the half.

The final touchdown for Howland came with 5:43 left in the game when Preston connected with Kyle Spence for a 40-yard scoring pass. The Tigers overcame three penalties during the possession to open their lead to 23-0.

“We had some nonsense penalties in the third quarter that took us out of some drives, which is disappointing,” Angle said. “They [Niles] fought like we knew they would and we played well enough to win. We’ll come in tomorrow and see what our mistakes were and try to correct them. Dumb penalties can be corrected real fast.”

On Niles’ final possession, quarterback Morgan Brogdon connected with Joe Moss for a 23-yard completion, then the pair got together for a 47-yard scoring pass with 1:32 left in the game.

The Red Dragons (2-6, 1-2 AAC Red) have lost four straight and face Canfield next week.