Mikes can’t contain Clairton’s Howard, fall in quarterfinals
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Carmichaels’ Garrett Ponick (22) is denied a catch by Clairton’s Tre’sean Howard Friday.
Carmichaels’ Dylan Wilson (27), Charles Lowry (2) and Brennen Pelzer (34) bring down Clairton’s Kishawn Wright (6) on a play
Carmichaels’ Hunter Voithofer (32) and Chad Ruse (3) fail to stop a touchdown by Clairton’s Tre’sean Howard
Carmichaels’ Nathan Broadwater (8) and Dylan Wilson bring down Clairton’s Tre’sean Howard on a play
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Carmichaels’ Brennen Pelzer runs past Clairton’s Deonte Reddick, center, and Kenlein Ogletree Friday night.
Carmichaels Kevin Kelly is pushed into the endzone for a touchdown against Clairton
CHARLEROI – There are several reasons why Carmichaels lost to Clairton 37-12 in the WPIAL Class A football quarterfinals Friday night.
- The Mikes don’t have the raw talent Clairton has.
- They didn’t have big plays on offense.
- They didn’t capitalize on a couple of offensive drives.
But most of all, it’s because they couldn’t tackle Tre’sean Howard.
Howard used his elite speed and blurring shiftiness to score four touchdowns to put the Bears in the semifinal against No. 3-seeded Jeannette next Friday.
“That kid is one of the better players that we’ve had in years,” Clairton head coach Wayne Wade said. “The only reason you can’t stack him up with Tyler Boyd and Lamont Wade is because he’s a smaller kid (5-9, 170 pounds). When they see a smaller kid they say he can’t play big-time, D-I football. I’m telling you, he can. He can straight up play the game.”
Two of Howard’s touchdowns came on the ground in the Bears’ wildcat-esque offensive set. The senior ran for touchdowns of 21 and 47 yards, totaling 90 yards on six carries.
His other touchdowns came on long returns. The first was a 68-yard punt return, as Howard weaved in and out of Mikes defenders to waltz into the end zone. The second was a blazing 98-yard kickoff return to seal the win for Clairton (9-2).
“I knew we had a couple people out with suspension,” Howard said about several Bears missing the game after being ejected from a fight in last week’s game. “I just wanted to be the best I could be tonight. I went a little harder this week because those guys were out, and it showed tonight.
Carmichaels head coach Ryan Krull said the team’s philosophy all season has been to trust his special teams to contain Howard’s punt and kick returns to avoid putting his defense in bad field position.
“This season, we’ve been pretty good at (covering returns),” Krull said. “You could say he’s just that good. He is a good player, but I think we had some breakdowns there coverage-wise, and that’s on me. I have to do a better job of putting guys in position.
After a Carmichaels (8-3) three-and-out to start the game, the No. 2-seeded Bears started off the night’s scoring when Howard scored on his 21-yard dash on Clairton’s first drive.
The No. 7-seeded Mikes defense stopped the Bears on their next two drives, but their offensive counterparts couldn’t hold up their end of the bargain and score to tie the game.
“We just couldn’t finish drives tonight,” Krull said. “That was the frustrating part.”
With five minutes left in the first half, Howard broke off his second big run of the game to give the bears a 13-0 lead.
Another Mighty Mikes three-and-out led to a punt to Howard, who returned it 68 yards for a Clairton score.
In the last three minutes of the first half, the Mikes put together a nine-play, 61-yard drive, capped off by a 1-yard QB sneak by Kelly, to make the score 19-6 going into halftime.
“They have some big guys up front,” Wade said. “They’re basically a running team from what the scouting report said. I think that wore on us a little bit in spurts.”
After forcing a three-and-out to start the second half, Carmichaels staged another long, methodical drive.
Short dives and traps took almost put the Mikes in the red zone to make it a one-score game. Kelly fumbled on the 12th play of the drive, though, and Aaron Thompson returned it 63 yards to put Clairton back up three scores.
“The fumble was huge and to go on and score and separate there was pretty much the play of the game,” Wade said. “That put us in place to win the game.”
Jacob Lowry responded quickly for Carmichaels, running 55 yards on the first play of the Mikes’ next drive, setting up a 2-yard touchdown run from Brennen Pelzer. The score reduced Clairton’s lead to 13 points with about 16 minutes left in the game.
Howard crushed the Mikes’ comeback hopes on the ensuing kickoff, taking it 98 yards for a score, for his fourth touchdown of the game.
Clairton quarterback Brendan Parsons scored the game’s last touchdown with an 8-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter to give the Bears the 37-12 victory.