Howe’s that for a running back?
At six feet tall and 270 pounds, Greater Fort Erie’s Colin Howe is not a typical running back.
“He’s not the natural looking running back for us, but he’s big, strong and he’s quick,” Greater Fort Erie head coach Dave Sauer said. “He has been playing with me since he was eight years old and we had him playing running back back then.
“He’s smart, he works hard and he doesn’t give up.”
The 17-year-old, who scored two touchdowns in a 35-0 in over the Churchill Bulldogs Thursday in Niagara Region High School Athletic Association senior play, loves a chance to play running back in addition to defensive tackle.
“It’s down and dirty smashmouth football,” he said. “Some guys are finesse and if you get in their way, they are going to go around you.
“If you get in my way, I am going to ruin your weekend.”
Howe relishes that role.
“Oh God, I love it,” he said. “I have been playing linebacker and D (defensive line) my entire football life and going on offence I use the same mentality.
“I go through people instead of around them.”
He’s not sure where he gets his speed and footwork from, but thinks his hockey-playing background might have something to do with it.
“I play rep (Niagara Spears) football in the summer and they push the big guys to be quick,” the Grade 12 student said. “I think that summer training really pays off when I play offence.”
Howe admits he had tried to get the Spears to let him carry the ball a bit but he hasn’t been able to convince the coaching staff that it would be a good idea.
“I’ve asked and some of the coaches who have played against me in high school are all for it, but they want to keep me on defence and keep me healthy.
“They tell me I am one of the best defensive linemen on the team and they want to keep me healthy for my primary spot.”
Howe has scholarship interest from the University of Toronto, St. Francis Xavier, Queen’s and McMaster, but is planning to return for his 12B year.
“I want to go into engineering so I am trying to get my grades up a little,” he said. “I’m taking a lot of prerequisites and making sure I am eligible for the courses I need.”
Thursday’s game was all about playoff positioning — also known as avoiding the A.N. Myer Marauders in the semifinals at all costs — and the Bulldogs (2-2) didn’t come up with their best performance.
“It was no different with them, but we had a short turnaround from last Friday,” Churchill head coach Peter Perron said. “We came back Tuesday and Wednesday and sickness killed us this week. I had four lineman at practice.”
But Perron gave the Gryphons full credit for the win.
“They are a very good team and they play good crisp football,” he said. “They didn’t make many mistakes and we did.”
After opening the season with two wins, Churchill has now been outscored 87-0 in its last two games versus Greater Fort Erie and A.N. Myer.
“Last week, A.N. Myer gave it to us and they’re a very, very good football team,” Perron said. “Against this team, if we would have played our A game, it would have been a lot closer.
“I’m not saying we would have won, but we potentially could have won.”
The Bulldogs were hurt by an interception in the red zone and falling a foot short on a third-down gamble.
“We had our chances and we just didn’t capitalize on those chances,” Perron said. “We play another good team (Westlane/Stamford) next week and we will give it our all and we will go from there.
“If we can get third place, we will play one of these guys again. Fourth place and you are going in the lion’s den.”
Sauer knew the importance of the game going into it and his team responded with a strong effort.
“Avoiding that fourth slot is a big deal and we’ve got them (A.N. Myer) next week,” he said. “We get to see what they are all about.
“They are good, they are fast and they are the champs for a reason.”
It’s where Sauer want to take the Greater Fort Erie program.
“Dave (head coach Buchanan) does a great job there and they’ve got great athletes playing, who play fast, strong and tough.”
STATS PACK
Gryphons 35 Bulldogs 0
Mick and Angelo’s/Johnny Rocco’s Player of the Game: Greater Fort Erie’s Colin Howe with a strong game on defence, TD runs of four and 45 yards and more than 100 yards rushing.
For the Greater Fort Erie Bulldogs: Howe two TDS; Cliff Witbeck, TD runs of 50 and seven yards; Colin Western, interception and four-yard TD run; two-point convert on pass from David Stewart to Ethan Van Natter; sack by Nick Snache; interceptions by Adam Lukacs (2) and Jacob Baumgartner.
For the Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs: Eric Neilson, 72 rushing yards; interception by Ahmed Gismelseed; Hawkin Paleczny, sack.
Game stats: First downs: GFESS 15, SWC 7. Net offence: GFESS 354, SWC 127. Turnovers: GFESS 2, SWC 5. Penalties: GFESS 3 for 30 yards, SWC 9 for 55 yards.
