Howell football coach Brian Lewis stood before a semi-circle of anger, disappointment, hopefulness and grit late Friday night in the west end zone of rain soaked Howell Stadium.
He did not gather his team to berate or dress it down after a disappointing 14-6 loss to Novi (6-1 overall, 6-0 in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association West division), which will play Northville (7-0, 6-0) in a winner take call clash next Friday in Northville for the right to play Belleville (7-0, 6-0 in the KLAA East) for the conference crown.
Lewis thanked his players for their effort and said he was proud of them for playing Novi toe to toe before mistakes, youth and the elements doomed them.
He was proud of his offensive line and running backs for pounding out a masterful 14-play, 72 yard drive made possible by converting five consecutive fourth down plays that was capped off by Aiden Horvath’s 1-yard plunge on fourth down of course.
The drive took 10 minutes, 42 seconds off the clock and was a major reason why Novi’s potent offense watched much of the first half on the bench and had just two possessions.
PRIDE.
He told his team he was proud of their never give up attitude and determination. The play before Novi took a knee to end the game, players huddled up on the sideline scheming up ways the Highlanders could swiped the ball and swipe the game.
Later Lewis said his team showed him a lot.
“The grit and character I know that we have,” he said. “These guys have been through a lot. We did a lot of good things tonight. We can’t put the ball on the ground three times on the ground and win. In three of the losses we had it was eight times we put the ball on the ground.”
PRIDE.
Lewis was proud of a secondary that held Novi quarterback Caleb Walker to 132 yards passing on 10-of-17 attempts. This is significant because Walker has passed for 1,853 yards and 18 touchdowns this season.
PRIDE.
Lewis had a special moment with senior quarterback Brandon Hamilton who kept his composure until midway through the third quarter before fumbling the ball inside Novi territory as the Highlanders drove to tie the game. By then things were beginning to unravel for Howell. Procedure and off sides penalties and a personnel mix up, helped sparked Novi’s third consecutive comeback win in a row.
Hamilton is Howell’s fourth string quarterback. He replaced freshman Palmer VanDeven, (illness) who stood in for junior Justin Jones and sophomore Preston Barb.
“Nobody cares,” Lewis said. “You’ve got to get it done. Yes, we had a fourth string quarterback, but so what.”
The next stop for Howell is a Friday night trip to arch rival Brighton for the Little Brown Jug. Brighton (4-3) is fighting for a playoff spot. Howell’s chances to make the playoffs are slim. However, the Highlanders will still show up and will try to show out before Brighton’s home coming crowd.
There is still plenty to play for.
“Howell pride. Our community,” Lewis said. “No. This is not fun. This is not what we wanted. It is not the standard we have a Howell. But we will get better. I promise you.”