By John Bassetti

The Eagles handed Howland their second straight loss.

HUBBARD — If Cincinnati Bengals’ Chad Johnson can change his name why can’t Andre Givens?

Well, he did — over the winter.

But Givens, whose name was Andre Taylor last season, didn’t go to the “Ocho Cinco” extreme.

However, opponents will come to know the 5-foot-10, 180-pound junior by his jersey: No. 3.

Many Howland tacklers saw the speedster spin out of their grasp or leap over them as the Tigers suffered a 13-7 defeat in overtime in the Eagles’ home opener.

If seems that the only person stopping Givens — who scored 12 of the Eagles’ 13 points — is Givens.

Except for two occasions when he mishandled a snap from center or a pitch in the third quarter, Givens gained 152 yards on 29 carries, including the game-winner in overtime.

After Howland (1-2) was held on its first possession of the extra session, Givens made three straight runs.

He gained 9 yards on the first and 7 on the second before running 7 more to end the game.

“We had the nice run and I was positioning for the field goal,” Hubbard coach Brian Hoffman said of his inclination. “But we had a little break there and Andre came over and said ‘I’m getting it in.’ So, he did.”

Hubbard (2-1) took a 7-0 lead before the Tigers tied it with 10:41 left in regulation on quarterback Matt Preston’s 1-yard run and Eric Albani’s point-after kick.

The Eagles held Howland on several occasions, including a stop after David Savage blocked a Cory Farcas punt, which Rob Moore recovered.

“Our defense just rose up tonight,” Hoffman said, thanking defensive coordinator Jon Mosora and assistant coach Jason Diaz for their part in forming the game plan.

“The kids stepped up numerous times when they needed to. Many times their backs were against the wall and they showed their character and resiliency. They played hard and deserved this win. This was our Super Bowl. We needed this after losing week one [to Poland].

“We had a lot to prove. There’s a lot of people going against us. We like that. I’ll take being the underdog every week. You can pick against us next week, too. I relish that.”

Cody Kilar, Blake Novotny, Tim Schiraldi and Sam Bellino were instrumental in stopping Howland after the blocked punt.

Bellino, a 5-11, 180 senior who was injured most of last year, was playing with a banged-up ankle suffered in the JFK game. On Friday, he played safety and gave Matt Shelton an opportunity for his first start as quarterback.

“Matt played in all three games and we’re bringing him along,” Hoffman said. “Tonight, he was the leader on offense and he played the role.”

Bellino, along with Kurtis Drummond, Chase Myers and Tommy Jackson, were outstanding in the defensive backfield.

Drummond made a big defensive play while covering Savage on a pass attempt in the end zone in overtime.

Kicker Mike Lopuchovsky had Hubbard’s other point.

“We had no consistency offensively and that’s my fault,” said Howland coach Dick Angle. “We’ve got to get some consistency, somehow, down the line. Hubbard deserved to win the game: they played hard and they played tough. It’s just a frustrating night. We had an opportunity in overtime to do something, but you can’t go four-and-out in overtime. In a game like this, no team deserved to lose, but Hubbard deserved to win. They got it done when they had to. My hat’s off to them. It doesn’t get any easier next week [at Canfield].”

bassetti@vindy.com