Football: Lightning rally falls just short as Howard wins on homecoming, 38-37

In neighborhood rivalry games, they say, you can throw the records out the window and it will still be a hardfought, competitive affair.

But what about when both teams enter the game with even records?

Well then you get what happened on Saturday afternoon at Howard, when the Lions (3-1) held off crosstown rival Long Reach (2-2) in a wild homecoming game, 38-37, as the two teams combined for 42 points in the fourth quarter.

"In a neighborhood game like this, anything can happen," Howard coach Bruce Strunk said.

Howard took an early lead on a 25-yard touchdown run by Joey Bonavitacola set up by a Noah Johnson fumble recovery midway through the first quarter, but that was just the beginning of the excitement.

On its first drive of the second quarter, Long Reach — primed by a 36-yard Eugene Swen punt return into the red zone — was on the virge of scoring. On the virge, that is, until three penalties backed the Lightning up to midfield again. In the first half alone, Long Reach committed more than 100 yards worth of penalties, undermining several forays deep into Howard territory.

"We could never get in synch with our offense, which we've been running the ball with very well against everyone," said Long Reach coach Pete Hughes, whose team is averaging a league best 34.5 points per game. "We were in those third and long and second and long situations but our passing group came in and they showed that not only can we run the ball we can throw it as well."

The Lions took advantage of Long Reach's struggles, scoring on a 22-yard pass from Ryan Wade to Evan Jackson on 4th-and-8 with 5:34 left in the half.

The Lions extended their lead to 19-0 on a 10-yard touchdown run by Michael Anderson capping their first drive of the second half.

It appeared that the rout was on, until the Lightning offense kicked into gear to score 14 unanswered points.

The first score, set up by a 50-yard kickoff return by Michael Evans, came on a Daquan Dixon dive from two yards out. Two plays into Howard's ensuing drive, Swen laid a direct hit on Howard's ballcarrier in the open field, popping it free and allowing his team to recover it inside the Howard 20. Five plays later, Allen Cross scored from two-yards out and Long Reach was down, 19-14, heading into the final quarter.

It didn't take long for the seesaw to swing back in favor of the Lions though. Less than three minutes into the fourth quarter, Bonavitacola scored from six yards, a touchdown that was set up by Konner Ruggles' 45-yard gallop.

The Lions once again made it a three-score game when, three plays into Long Reach's responding drive, Steven Marsh intercepted a pass and sprinted 30 yards for a touchdown and a 31-14 Howard lead with only 8 minutes left in the game.

Long Reach, undeterred, answered with an 80-yard drive, ending in a 24-yard pass from Elijah Harris to Swen. Swen then slipped into the endzone for a 2-point conversion, making the score 31-22 Howard with five minutes to play.

Despite Howard's four missed extra point attempts, and Long Reach's four points after touchdowns, the Lions still held a two-score edge. That deficit prompted Long Reach's Kyle Jones to attempt an onside kick, and the gambit paid off as sophomore Tom Montag recovered on Howard's side of the field.

"I think we made the game too close by not executing," Strunk said. "But that's a very good Long Reach team, their line is big and their backs run hard … they keep fighting."

It took only four plays, highlighted by a 12-yard Elijah Harris scramble, an 18-yard pass to Donovan Foster and a 17-yard touchdown pass to David Pipken, for Long Reach to score again, cutting Howard's lead just two at 31-29 with 3:47 still left on the clock.

"We can't do this at the end, we can't have missed tackles and fumble the ball. We did everything to let them back in the game," Strunk said. "We deserved having to play until the end."

By that time, all of the momentum was on Long Reach's side. But it took only one play for Howard to take all of it back.

The Lightning defensive stand started off strong, as they backed Howard up to third-and-ten from midfield, but then Michael Anderson hit the equivalent of a walk-off home run. Anderson burst through the middle of the field and dashed up the home sideline. Kicker Josh Lee drove the extra point through the uprights with authority, and Howard led by nine, 38-29, with less than two minutes left and no time outs left for Long Reach.

"It was great blocking by the line, they made the holes and I was just determined to get into the end zone to win the game," Anderson said. "The momentum had shifted, but I knew we were going to get it back … we were hungry for this one."

Despite the odds against them, Long Reach was unwilling to go down quietly. Harris engineered a 60-yard two-minute drill — including a 16-yard completion to Pipken and 23 rushing yards — which was capped by Pipken's second touchdown reception of the quarter as time expired. Ahead by three with no time left on the clock, Howard graciously allowed Swen to jog into the endzone for the 2-point conversion that left his team's wild comeback attempt only one point short.

Howard is now one of two 3-1 teams left in the county, along with Atholton. Glenelg and Hammond, who square off next week at Hammond, are the only undefeated teams left. Long Reach is one of four 2-2 teams — the group also includes recent state champions River Hill (2007, 2008) and Wilde Lake (2010) — hoping to win out for a strong shot at the postseason.

"We're going to learn from our mistakes and try to win the remaining games and make it to the 2A playoffs, if this team gets to the playoffs we're going to do some damage," Hughes said.

LR (2-2) 0 0 14 23 — 37

Ho (3-1) 6 7 6 19 — 38

First quarter

Ho: Bonavitacola 20 run (kick blocked), 5:49.

Second quarter

Ho: Jackson 22 pass from Wade (Lee kick), 5:34.

Third quarter

Ho: Anderson 10 run (run failed), 7:52.

LR: Dixon 2 run (Evans kick), 3:56.

LR: Cross 2 run (Evans kick), :32.

Fourth quarter

Ho: Bonavitacola 6 run (pass failed), 9:16.

Ho: Marsh 30 interception return (kick failed), 8:26.

LR: Swen 24 pass from Harris (Swen run), 5:04.

LR: Pipken 17 pass from Harris (Evans kick), 3:49.

Ho: Anderson 50 run (Lee kick), 1:58.

LR: Pipken 8 pass from Harris (Swen run), 1:00.