A tale of two coaches: Inside the aftermath of Westside’s wild 26-20 overtime win against Howard

As an out-of-breath Spoon Risper stood behind the endzone after his Westside Seminoles defeated cross-town rival Howard 26-20 in overtime Saturday night, scores of people lined up and took turns shaking his hand.

Risper, panting though he was, grinned wide as he dapped up members of the crowd . Whether the head coach’s exhaustion stemmed from sprinting off the field with his team after the win or from the zany, back-and-forth victory itself, one thing was certain.

Spoon Risper felt good, heavy breathing and all.

“I feel like dancing,” he said. “And you better quote that, too.”

The Seminoles won, aptly, on a walk-off touchdown by star running back Kadiphius Iverson — the rusher waltzed in on Westside’s first possession of OT after the Seminole defense held the Huskies out of the endzone on four plays to begin the extra period.

“What can you say, man. He’s the bell cow. He’s it,” Risper said. “There’s no mystery that he’s gonna get the ball, but you got to stop it. And stopping it is tough.”

Many presumed that “KD,” as he’s known, would be the focal point of the offense. They presumed correctly.

Iverson paced the Westside offense with three touchdowns and 290 yards of total production, 237 of which came on the ground. 

Iverson’s presence made all the difference in a game that featured four total hours of lightning delays, multiple fumbles and a barrage of penalties for both sides — the Seminoles finished with 15 flags on the night, many of them pre-snap offensive fouls.

“Relying on him does a lot for us, but the entire team fought hard through a very hard game, it was hard to focus,” Risper said. “At Westside, they never quit. I’ve been here 27 years, and they never quit.”

Westside trailed 20-6 at one point after Howard, sporting a new triple-option look in the backfield this year, got hot in the third quarter. The Seminoles defense stepped up, though, stuffing the Huskies’ powerful rushing attack in the fourth quarter and in overtime to secure the comeback win.

“They know no matter what the deficit is, they’re going to play the same,” Risper. “We look at the film, we want the team to be the same in the first quarter, the same in overtime. When we went down, they just kept playing hard.”

With their backs against the wall after what appeared to be a backbreaking Howard two-point conversion late in the third, the Seminoles buckled down. A forced fumble on a kickoff return and some impressive stops gave them the edge they needed in the fourth quarter.

Westside also overcame their penchant for penalties in the final quarter and overtime, avoiding the encroachment and false start calls that had bitten them and killed drives in the first half.

So, when a flag hurt the Huskies in the extra period, the Seminoles pounced. Iverson was ready. He needed just one play to score after Westside’s defense shut Howard out on four plays.

But while the ‘Noles basked in their win, a story just as compelling wrapped up on the opposite sideline.

‘We’ll worry about us’

Howard head coach Trey Porter, though not as ecstatic as Risper, was far from downtrodden after such a tough loss. The new Huskies coach may have even smiled just a bit as he talked about his players.

Porter had, after all, just come within a few small breaks of knocking off one of the Huskies’ biggest rivals in his debut game.

“We fought hard, nobody won regulation. We just couldn’t punch one in during overtime, and they gave it to their workhorse,” Porter said. “We saw a lot of potential in this game, and I think we have the skill to do some really special things.”

The rivalry has been a tough series for Howard in recent seasons — this year’s loss marked the fifth straight, a stretch punctuated by a particularly gut-wrenching 34-33 defeat in 2022.

Now, as the team searches for consistency, the Huskies showed promising signs to open the year thanks to an option run game that morphed as it needed to while the game progressed.

The game began with an electric kickoff return touchdown by Jaidon Grayer to give Howard a 6-0 lead. The rushing game impressed early as well thanks to Jacolbie Allen slashing the Seminoles for plenty of chunk gains.

When the Huskies scored 14 of their 20 points across a thrilling third quarter, it was second back and wide receiver Kameron Clark who made it happen. The short, shifty skill player caught Westside’s secondary completely flat-footed on multiple pitch plays in the quarter, including a go-ahead score that made it 12-6.

Then there was quarterback Deon Wellons, the manager of it all, distributing the ball throughout the contest and often rushing himself to set up scores. 

His best play might have come through the air, however, on a surprisingly gorgeous throw, a fade pass for a two-point conversion that made the game 20-6 and sent the Howard faithful into a frenzy.

The combination of Wellons, Clark and Allen finished with 235 combined yards on the ground and a touchdown. Rusher Deondray Sheffield also chipped in with a touchdown.

“We have a quarterback who can run, and we like to make them defend all our skill guys, all six of them,” Porter said. “As long as we have (Wellons) running the offense, we’ll have the chance to make some plays.”

There were mistakes, of course. Wellons, more prone to moving the ball on the ground, made some ill-advised throws and overshot receivers at times. The Huskies fumbled a kick return late, and a holding penalty killed their lone chance in overtime.

“We have to play disciplined, that’s a big change we need to make. We had some unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, too, and our penalties gave them explosive plays,” Porter said. “We’ll iron those things out. They were juiced up in this game. You love it when it’s good for the team, but you have to control it.”

Even after a heartbreaking loss, that unlikely two-point conversion stood out.

The pass, which came from 15 yards out thanks to a penalty on the prior touchdown and elicited one of the strongest fan reactions of the entire Gridiron Classic, set a high watermark for the Huskies.

It set a tone.

“We’re here. We’ll worry about us, we’ll worry about 6400 Forsyth (Road), and we’re going to build,” Porter said. “We’ll keep on fighting like we did tonight. I just appreciate everyone coming out and supporting the team.”

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KEY NUMBERS

• 290: total offensive yards for KD Iverson, Westside running back
• 235: Combined rushing yards for Deon Wellons, Jacolbie Allen and Kameron Clark, Howard’s three-pronged rushing crew
• 25: Combined penalties between the two teams, one of which came on the Huskies’ overtime possession in the form of a crucial holding call
• 4: total turnovers for the two teams, including a fumble inside the 5-yardline by Westside