Howard earns third straight win after defeating Spalding 20-13

Howard special teams play leads to region win over Spalding

On a night in which they lead throughout most of the game, the Howard Huskies found themselves tied with the Spalding Jaguars with less than a minute to go in the fourth quarter of Thursday night's region matchup between the two teams, but with safety and Florida State commit, Tashawn Poole back to receive the ensuing kickoff following a Jaguars touchdown, which helped them tie the game 13-13, time was not an issue for the Huskies, as Poole returned the kick for the eventual game winning touchdown

"We figured out a way to win a tough one," Howard head coach, Jessie Porter III, said following Howards' 20-13 win, noting the Huskies' "offense wasn't flowing" to which he credited the Spalding coaching staff for how they schemed defensively against Howard. "We made mistakes on special teams too early in the game. For us to win it off a special teams play, that shows our perseverance and just the testament to this team," Porter III said.

With the win, the Huskies improved to 4-2 overall and 3-0 in the Georgia High School Association Class 4A, Region 2 standings and with Mary Persons, Peach County, Troup County and Westside, all region opponents, Bates III was not hesitant to acknowledge to tough the road ahead of the Huskies will be. "I call this the SEC of high school football," Porter III said of the Howard region.

"It's a tough region and so every week, it's going to be like this," Porter said of the level of competition Howard has to face within their region. "Everybody is going to have to bring their A-game every night in this region and the best team is going to figure out how to win late in the ball game. And in the case of the Huskies, Poole was there to answer the call.

"For him to come out on special teams and get a big one like that on the kickoff, he showed why he's one of the best players, if not the best player in the state of Georgia," Porter III said of Poole. Howard will head into their bye week and then travel to Mary Persons in two weeks.