Late Safety Pushes Howland Past Niles McKinley

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Shane Lux | August 22, 2025

Niles – Carter Nielsen’s blocked punt for a safety with 1:59 to play proved the difference in Howland’s 10-8 victory over rival Niles McKinley Thursday night.

What could be more exciting than opening up the season against a rival on Thursday night?

“It means everything to us,” said Howland head coach Brian Jones. “I don’t know how many teams get to start the season off against their archrival. We do, and we’ve been laser-focused on Niles since the start of the summer. We knew it was going to be a battle. Tip your hat to them; they did a heck of a job. They’re growing just like we are, but I’m proud of my kids. We had our backs against the wall multiple times, and we found a way.”

And they found a way to do it, though not in the most traditional sense.

They say special teams are special, but perhaps that rings slightly more true when the offenses have managed only 16 points in the first 46 minutes.

“We expected to be a little more adept on offense, but credit to Niles,” Jones said. “They didn’t let us get into a rhythm. We have some things we need to work out offensively. Our guys on defense stood up to the test of time; they never put their heads down and made plays when they had to.”

The two schools battled into the fourth quarter in an 8-8 stalemate. Then what seemed like a harmless Tigers punt that resulted in a touchback turned out to loom as one of the game’s biggest sequences.

On the initial play of the following Red Dragon drive, signal caller Joey Leham was sacked for a loss of 14 yards. Despite a 6-yard gain from Vinny Broll, it was the game’s leading rusher, Davae Honzu, who again sacked Leham, and the subsequent delay of game penalty pushed Niles McKinley back to their 3-yard line, where Jaden Burnett was forced to punt from his end zone.

“I told my special teams coordinator that I just wanted the ball,” Jones said. “He said Do you want to go it after it, or do you want to ensure the kick? I just said I wanted the ball, but I trust my coaches. They made the right decision, and Carter is a great player who shows up on the tape. We don’t take special teams off.”

On the ensuing snap, a missed assignment allowed Carter Nielsen to come in untouched. The block went off his shoulder and out of the end zone, giving Howland the lead. After recovering the onside kick, the game was secured.

“It was great to come out here and get the win,” said Nielsen. “But we need to execute better. They’re definitely a better team than we thought. They’re well-coached, but a little dirty. We kept our composure and got the win. For some reason, they didn’t block me on that play.”

Unfortunately for Niles McKinley, it was the second special disaster of the game. In the second quarter, a bad punt snap led to a 39-yard loss that set up the Tigers at the Red Dragon 21-yard line.

That drive was thwarted by Vinny Broll’s interception on a 4th-and-28, but Howland’s defense forced a quick punt and took over at the Niles McKinley 46-yard line, and six plays later, tied the game when Darren Douglas connected with Nielsen on a 4-yard touchdown pass with five ticks left on the first-half clock.

“That was big, but Darren just got me a ball I could catch, so it was pretty much all him,” Nielsen said. “I just worked my way into the end zone. We do a drill like that in practice to help us turn hips and get into the end zone. So that’s what I decided there.”

For the Tigers, it was a sign of relief after taking the football on their opening possession and driving from their 45-yard line inside the ten of the Red Dragons, only to lose a fumble that resulted in a 7-yard loss and a recovery by Burnett.

“That whole series of events was critical,” said Jones. “If we don’t tie the game there, then maybe it’s a different outcome. We were going into score, and that took the sails out of us early. I was worried about how we’d bounce back.”

On the ensuing drive, for the lone time in the game, Niles McKinley drove 87 yards in 11 plays and scored on a 5-yard run by Lehman. Nikolas Cvengros had a 38-yard gain on the drive.

Following that series, the Howland defense completed shutting down the Red Dragon offense as they limited them to only 75 yards of offense in the game, including negative two in the second half.

“Obviously, Niles took the ball right down the field and punched it in; that was tough,” said. Jones. “But our kids never doubted themselves. The way they bounced back showed our resilience. We fit the run well; they ran the ball a lot. We did a good job with our run defense, especially after that 87-yard drive. We made a couple of adjustments. We were able to get them in third downs and get off the field when we needed to.”

Davae Honzu rushed for a game-high 71 yards on 18 carries for the Tigers. Nikolas Cvengros led the Red Dragons with 55 yards on four attempts.

Game Highlight Reel

Howland 10 Niles McKinley 8

Score by Quarters

Howland – 0 8 0 2 – 10

Niles McKinley – 8 0 0 0 – 8

Score by Quarters

First Quarter

N – Joey Lehman 5 yd run, (Lehman rush), 1:48 – 11-87

Second Quarter

H – Carter Nielsen 4 yd pass Darren Douglas, (Davae Honzu Rush), 0:05 – 6-46

Fourth Quarter

H – Nielsen blocked punt safety, 1:59

Individual Stats

Rushing: H – Honzu 18-71, Delmar Cox 3-3, Douglas 7-(-5), Anthony DeNiro 2-20, Nielsen 1-(-3), Frank Hoso 1-(-8), Team 1-0. Totals: 33-78. N – Vinny Broll 13-40, Lehman 9-(-6), Nikolas Cvengros 4-55, Takees Fambro 1-(-1), Jaden Burnett 1-6, Imari Boyd 1-(-1), Team 2-(-39). Totals: 31-54.

Receiving: H – Joshua Jarvis 4-39, Frank Hoso 1-3, Nielsen 5-28. N – Cash Carey-Hardin 1-3, Cvengros 1-13, Mason Burns 1-(-5), Burnett 1-8.

Passing: H – Douglas 10-for-15, 70 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT. Lehman 4-for-8, 21 yards.

Interceptions: N – Broll, Burns.

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