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Spartans tame Tigers

Staff photo / R. Michael Semple Boardman’s Vince Butto, left, congratulates Terrell McDowell (right) on his first-quarter touchdown at Howland on Friday.

HOWLAND — Boardman’s opening drive set the tone on Thursday.

Drive. Eat clock. Score. Repeat.

The Spartans rolled through their road romp, dispatching Howland 35-7.

Boardman closes out the regular season with three road games. With one in the books now, the goal is to be the best they can come Week 11.

“Our guys know, though, it’s never about anybody we play; it’s always about us,” Spartans coach DJ Dota said. “We watch film and we see improvements. Our job every day is to show up and keep getting better. I hope we continue to do that so we can be the best team we can for Week 11.”

Thursday was a microcosm of Boardman’s season.

“I thought we’ve done a really good job establishing a run. We played really good defense. Special teams have all been solid all year. We played good complementary football, and at the end of the day too, we’ve been in the plus in the turnover margins. When you’re not turning the ball over, when you’re getting turnovers, you’ve got a chance to win a lot of football games.”

Boardman got things started with Zach Haus and Co. driving down the field, capitalizing on a 6-yard pass to Terrell McDowell.

The Spartans hit paydirt once again before the end of the quarter, with Kyle Hoffman punching it in.

Howland’s lone score of the night came off a 5-yard run by Davae Honzu.

Part of the reason is the team’s defense stifling the Tigers (1-7) at crucial moments, including a defensive stand on the goal line.

“Me and (defensive coordinator Mike Popio) put that together,” Dota said of the team’s goal line defense. “He’s done a really good job of just getting us some calls. I think our kids understand what we’re doing, and I think that’s more important than anything. Our guys seem to be executing down there. When we get in the red zone, we’ve played really well as of late.”

Senior Marcus Rutledge scored twice for Boardman. Once in the second quarter and once in the fourth.

“He’s a very explosive player,” Dota said. “He gets out. He’s slippery and kind of reminds me of a Darren Sproles type of kid. Goes strong, he runs low, hard to see, and he bursts out of things. He’s been doing it all year for the most part. We probably gave him the ball more than we have in the past.”

Boardman (5-3) travels to Fitch next week for a rivalry game against the Falcons.

“I just think that comes down to, and we talk about it all the time with our guys. It’s all about us,” Dota said. “How do we execute? How do we block? How do we tackle? Usually the team that does that better is going to win. So hopefully our guys, I think they’re going to be excited for the game next week, so we’ll see how it goes.”

Howland travels to Canfield next week before closing the year out at home against University School.

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