Howard wastes opportunities late, loses to Aquinas 43-39 in major blow to playoff hopes

Howard had it, all but had it, a few times.

All but.

Up by only three after giving up a fourth-and-11 touchdown, Howard got an 87-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and a nine-point lead with less than five minutes left in the game.

Then when Aquinas scored its next possession, a botched PAT kept the lead at three.

But the visiting Irish recovered the onside kick, scored five plays later, then inexplicably tried another onside kick that went only a few yards before a hard left turn out of bounds to put Howard in great field position with 80 seconds left, the door wide open.

It shut as soon as Howard’s offense fizzled on the final possession, Aquinas surviving for a 43-39 win Tuesday night at Thompson Stadium in a key GHSA Region 4-3A game.

Because of the hurricanes, teams in the region played last Thursday, again Tuesday and will play Saturday to determine the playoff spots. Aquinas and Howard were tied record-wise at 4-4 and 3-3, overall and in region, but Aquinas had an edge in the new GHSA playoff power ranking for Class 3A, 2A, and A-Division I.

Howard was just on the outside of the 32-team 3A field going into the game, and is pretty much solidly on the outside after the frustrating loss. The Huskies have an outside shot with a win Saturday at Westside-Augusta and a lot of help.

The Huskies had the ball on the Aquinas 42-yardline with 1:20 left and got 12 yards on first down but couldn’t do anything else in a hectic final minute, as quarterback Deon Wellons was sacked on fourth and 7 to end their chances.

Of course, not quite. Aquinas botched the shotgun snap on first down and recovered, fortunately for the Irish.

“This one sucks,” first-year Howard head coach Trey Porter said. “This one sucks. A quick turnaround, you gotta get ready to play.

“In our hands, we let it slip away.”

After going  a month without a game, Howard — like most region colleagues — then had crucial games to play in barely more than a week.

“Gotta finish,” Porter said he told his players in a mighty subdued postgame chat. “Boils down to you gotta finish. Played a close game, a tight game, fixed our first-half slow start.

“But hell, we ran outta gas, didn’t finish the game.”

The Huskies lacked consistency in the second half, up 27-23 after an early Aquinas following a defensive stand. They promptly lost 17 yards on a bad sack in Aquinas territory and wasted good field position.

Howard survived a 47-yard scramble by Irish quarterback Jim Franklin and got it back on downs seven plays later, but returned possession on a bad fourth-down snap in Aquinas territory, only to get an interception from senior standout Zelin Pollard two plays later.

The Huskies punched it in thanks to a sizzling 40-yard touchdown burst from Kameron Clark — Clark finished with 16 carries 123 rushing yards — on a late pitchout from Wellons.

Another PAT kick failed, but the Huskies had a 33-23 lead with 8:37 left in the game. The good news didn’t last.

Aquinas recovered another onside kick on its 47, got a 21-yard pass on third-and-8 and a 6-yarder on fourth and 5, naturally finishing with a 16-yard TD pass on fourth and 6. The kick pulled Aquinas within three at the 5:07 mark.

Temporarily.

Jaidon Grayer took the kickoff at his 13, went left through some early traffic and sprinted down the left sideline in front of an ecstatic Howard bench for a touchdown. A celebration penalty — Howard has struggled keeping its excitement in check this season — on the score pushed the PAT try back 15 yards.

The play never got going, and the lead was 39-30 with 4:52 left. Naturally, Aquinas answered again, this time not needing to convert multiple fourth downs.

The 7-yard touchdown pass ended the 8-play drive, but the PAT snap wasn’t executed, and the Huskies led 39-36. The latest onside kick was perfect for Aquinas, who got it on the Howard 43.

Five plays later, the Irish took the lead on a 2-yard pass, converting the PAT kick by 82 for a 43-39 lead with 1:20 left.

Surviving several threats, and just like that, Howard was in deep trouble.

Rather than kick it deep — Howard hadn’t turned in many long drives to inspire fear, especially with only 80 seconds left — Aquinas chose the onside kick. Up three, with 1:20 left, against an offense that wasn’t throwing the ball much, nor with much success.

Howard never had a chance to recover it, because it didn’t go far enough and drove straight out of bounds.

After Jacolbie Allen, who finished with 115 rushing yards on 17 carries, got 12 on first down. The Huskies then lost two, gained five, underthrew a pass at the goal line, called time and watched Aquinas called time, and suffered the threat-ending sack.

“We had the one play on the wheel route that we dropped in the end zone,” Porter said. “You work for that situation. You got two or three plays to call in that situation, and we threw our first two punches, and just missed on it there.

“We had our calls. We know what we do. It’s a tempo style. It’s just one of those where we just didn’t execute on the finish.

The undersized Howard defense struggled with tackles all night, more so in a brutal fourth quarter. In the final 12 minutes, Howard ran 12 plays on three possessions, while Aquinas snapped it 34 times, 32 coming on three straight possessions. Franklin was an efficient 20 of 36 for 257 yards.

“Down the stretch, (tackling ) was (an issue),” Porter said. “We’ve just got to get better.”

The Irish averaged 11.4 yards on the final five-play, 57-yard clinching drive.

Porter now hopes for a lot of things to happen to make the playoffs, but at a minimum, a fighting effort Saturday to end the season with a win and finish 5-5.

“Ain’t no telling where we’ll drop now,” he said. “I don’t know if we’ll get five teams from our region. We’ve just got to keep working. Hopefully  the guys show up. It’s a slim chance, but it’s a chance.”