Howard holds off Veterans

Barney Hester kept trying to talk over the band, and a few times he could be heard outside of 5 feet away.

"Great win," Howard's head coach said, his face filled with intensity and joy. "A great win against a good football team."

And he mentioned something about seeing what happens when his team fights for the full four quarters.

Howard took some control but had to hold off Veterans' fourth-quarter rally to claim a 36-27 win Friday night in GHSA Region 2-AAAA action at Henderson Stadium.

Howard improves to 6-3 overall and 2-3 in region play while Veterans falls to 4-5 and 3-2. The Huskies kept their playoff hopes alive while clinching their first winning season.

If Howard beats Baldwin and Upson-Lee tops Veterans next week, the Huskies win the tiebreaker over the Warhawks for the final spot in Region 2-AAAA.

Quarterback Courvoisier King had a monster night for Howard, completing 20-of-40 for 302 yards, surviving three interceptions.

One was an early pick-six as Howard later converted a fumbled kickoff into the lead for good and just when the Huskies appeared in control, they had to scrape to survive.

They led 22-14 at halftime and 29-14 after Robert Jarrell took a fake punt snap 46 yards for a touchdown with 18.6 seconds left in the third quarter.

Veterans struggled all night on offense and promptly turned the ball over on a rare fumble three plays into the ensuing possession. The Huskies then ate up about four minutes before failing on fourth-and-1 at the Veterans' 19.

And just like that -- that being an 81-yard run up the middle by quarterback Logan Byrd -- the Warhawks were back in the game. Byrd went 99 yards against West Laurens two weeks ago in a 14-7 win. This one, and Dylan Blevins' kick, pulled the Warhawks to within 29-21 with 6:48 left in the game.

Howard was able to cross midfield, but Veterans' defense stepped up with a sack for a 6-yard loss on third-and-5 to force a punt.

It pinned Veterans on its 10, but the Warhawks moved, getting 11 yards on third-and-6, then a 40-yard pass from Byrd to Jeremy Horton, Horton getting a few dozen yards after the catch. Five plays later, Desjuan Harris scored from the 2, and it was suddenly 29-27 with 44.6 seconds left. The conversion went Howard's way, with Byrd rolling to his left looking to pass but getting stopped a few yards short of the goal line.

Still, an onside kick awaited. And so did Avery Vining. The Howard junior caught the kick and just kept running as those around him slowed down, for a 44-yard touchdown with 38 seconds left.

It was unexpected icing for the Huskies, who lost an early lead after Veterans' Isaiah Gray returned an interception 45 yards for a score early in the second quarter.

Howard's Antonio Stephens -- who had a remarkable night with 13 receptions for 200 yards -- made a superb catch in the right side of the end zone for a 5-yard touchdown with 3:26 left in the first half, King running in the conversion.

Then the evening of squib kicks broke for Howard when Kyle Pioli recovered Veterans' muff. On the second play, King hit Stephens for a 25-yard touchdown with 3:02 remaining in the half.

The teams exchanged early third-quarter turnovers, and Veterans seemed primed to score before Byrd mishandled a shotgun snap for a 12-yard loss that led to a fourth-and-long that it didn't convert.

A few plays later came the fake punt, setting the stage for a wild fourth quarter.

This story was originally published October 30, 2015 at 11:35 PM with the headline "Howard holds off Veterans ."