By Steve ruman

sports@vindy.com

NILES

Having lost two in a row and giving up 129 points in the process, Niles entered Friday night’s game against arch-rival Howland desperately seeking to right the ship of a once-promising season.

To suggest that the Red Dragons accomplished what they set out to do would be an understatement.

In front of a large and enthusiastic home crowd, the Red Dragons dominated on both sides of the ball in a 50-20 win over the Tigers.

The victory evens Niles’ record at 4-4 (1-3 All-American Conferece, American Division). Howland also finds itself at 4-4 (0-3).

After giving up 70 points to Canfield and 59 to Hubbard in back-to-back weeks, the Niles defense played perhaps its best and most inspired game of the season. In fact, if not for Howland freshman Victor Williams, the Dragons may have pitched a shutout. Williams scored the game’s first touchdown when he returned an interception 71 yards to paydirt. He returned a kickoff return 87 yards for a score, and later rushed in from two yards out.

However, beyond that, the Tigers’ offense could do nothing against the Dragons defense.

Howland was only able to muster up 113 total yards and five first downs. The Tigers’ offense struggled mightily to remain on the field, running just 37 plays on the night.

“Our guys showed up tonight and played our style of defense,” said Niles coach Brian Shaner. “We had two rough weeks against two good opponents, and tonight they answered the call against a great physical running team in Howland.

“We played fired-up. We challenged them, and they answered the call.”

The Niles offense continued its assault on the school record books. The Dragons amassed 567 yards. They were on the field for 72 total plays and compiled 26 first downs.

Senior quarterback Kyle Paden added to his single-season school passing record by completing 21 of 34 passes for 291 yards. Paden threw touchdown passes to Chris Parry (9 and 40 yards), Justin Lopes (38 yards) and James Tate (13 yards).

However, the story of the night for the Niles offense was its running game. Until Friday, the Dragons struggled to gain yardage on the ground. That changed with a 276-yard night, including a career game for John Cicero. The senior rushed for 198 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 31 carries.

Niles was aided by the return of Josh Krok. The 6-foot-8, 320-pound left tackle had missed four games because of an injury.

“I never would have thought I’d have a night like this, this was the biggest game of my life,” Cicero said. “Having Josh back in the lineup was huge. He opens up giant holes.

“We had a lot to prove tonight. I just kept fighting for yards, and trying to do my part to get this win.”

Shaner said the Dragons’ success on the ground even caught the coaching staff by surprise.

“We came out looking to throw the football, but Howland did some things to take us out of our passing game,” Shaner said. “We thought we’d run a little more tonight, but we never imagined this.”

Howland trailed 22-14 at halftime, and cut its deficit to 22-20 when Williams scored from two yards out in the early stages of the third quarter. However, Niles answered that score with a 13-play, 60-yard drive capped by a Paden-to-Parry nine-yard touchdown pass. The Dragons were never threatened from that point on.

“This was a big win against a very good opponent,” Shaner said. “We needed a game like this.”