COWBOYS ROPE IN THE TIGERS
HOWLAND, OH – The Chaney Cowboys have been one of the hottest teams in the Mahoning Valley in 2022, and they showed just why on Friday night as a strong performance led them to a 42-0 shutout victory over the Howland Tigers on the road.
It did not take the Cowboys very long to score as Jawann Harmon took the carry and bursted down the field for a 60-yard touchdown run on Chaney’s second play from scrimmage to make it a 7-0 game after one. They then fired it up in the second quarter with 21 points in the stanza, with Matt Jones getting a 1-yard touchdown off of a quarterback sneak, Harmon getting his second touchdown from 29 yards out, and Jones bursting down the middle for a 19-yard touchdown score. Jones went 5/8 for 45 yards and one passing touchdown while rushing for 31 yards on 9 attempts and two rushing touchdowns. Harmon led the team in rushing with three carries for 113 yards (37.7 average) and his two scores.
The second half would not be much different for Chaney, all thanks to a superb defense led by players like Clifton Scott and Anthony Helmick, which held Howland to just 66 yards of total offense, only giving up one of them in the last two quarters. They also only let up two first downs on the night. The offense continued its hot streak as it would finish with 415 total yards (358 rushing). They turned on the running clock in the third quarter with Jones making a third down completion for Dewayne Thompson for a 15-yard touchdown. Jawan Freeman then capped off the scoring in the fourth quarter with his 15-yard touchdown run. Freeman rushed for 104 yards on 13 carries (8.0 average) to go with that touchdown.
Despite the shutout defeat, there were some strong points for Howland. They had a huge opportunity to score when John Perry hooked up with Michael Goussios, who sprinted down the sideline and fell just short of the pylon, giving them their best scoring opportunity of the night (which ended in a 58-yard blocked field goal return by LeBron Donlow). The defense also held strong throughout the first three quarters, as they got two fourth down stops in the first and third periods, respectively, along with a fumble recovery. The Tigers’ Carter Mock would help lead that kind of charge, as he got huge tackles for loss on key third and fourth and short situations.
The Cowboys will improve to 7-1 on the year with the shutout victory. Despite Ursuline jumping over the Cowboys in the playoff standings and pushing them down to #4, Chaney officially clinched a playoff berth with the win. They have a huge test next week as they host Warren Harding at Rayen Stadium, a team they lost to 35-26 a year ago. The Cowboys are looking to finish the regular season strong as they are looking to host their first home playoff game since 2001.
The Tigers will drop to 2-6 with the defeat as their two-game winning streak has been snapped. They will have a tough foe ahead of them on the road next week as they travel to archrival Canfield, a team looking to move up in the playoff standings and stay ahead of Chaney. The Cards defeated the Tigers last year at Lombardo Field 42-14.
*Contributed By YSN’s Noah Ricks
