By Ryan Deal 

605 Sports

ALEXANDRIA -- Howard captured a regular season title and will now shift its attention to the postseason. 

The Tigers blanked Hanson, 26-0, in both team’s regular season finales on Friday. Howard (8-0) won the Cornbelt Conference title with the win, while Hanson finished the regular season at 7-1. 

“It is special,” Howard coach Pat Ruml said about winning the conference title. “There’s a lot of great teams in it year in and year out. For us to go through the season as we did and play everybody. Sometimes we didn’t play everybody because we had different divisions, but to play everybody and beat everybody, that’s a big deal.”

Howard capped off the undefeated conference and regular season with its fourth shutout win of the season. The Tigers broke away from a 7-0 halftime lead with two touchdowns in the third quarter and sealed the victory on a Karsyn Feldhaus fourth-quarter run with under nine minutes left. 

Once the Tigers went ahead in the third quarter, their ground game began to wear on Hanson’s defense throughout the second half. 

“I thought we did a good job overall defensively,” Hanson coach Jim Haskamp said. “But when you are out there a long time on defense, that’s pretty tough when they are playing that style of football and they still execute their offense well, 

Feldhaus scored two rushing touchdowns, while John Callies also scored a rushing touchdown. Taiden Hoyer connected with Jace Sifore on a 36-yard touchdown reception for Howard’s score in the second quarter. 

It is Sifore’s seventh touchdown reception of the season and his longest of the season.

“He put it right in my spot and put it right there,” Sifore, a 6-foot-3, 250-pound lineman committed to South Dakota State. “I just had to try to beat my guy to the end zone.” 

Hanson's Hadley Wallace (24) carries the ball against Howard on Friday in Alexandria. (Ryan Deal / 605 Sports)

Sifore’s touchdown reception came after both teams exchanged possessions in the first half. Hanson failed to score after Jackson Jarding intercepted a Hoyer pass intended for Sifore. 

The Beavers drove the ball down the field, but their drive was halted after Howard intercepted a pass at the 1-yard line to preserve the 7-0 lead. 

“Offensively, we had maybe some opportunities to click early and we just didn't,” Haskamp said. “We weren’t able to put the ball in the end zone over there and that was huge.”

After Hanson fumbled on its opening possession of the second half, Feldhaus bounced, plowed and weaved his way into the end zone for a 15-yard touchdown. Callies’ one-yard score later made it 19-0. 

That’s when the Tigers could feel the momentum on their side. 

“You get stops on defense and they have to punt and the ball is in your hands again,” Sifore said. “So it felt great. We knew we were in control because we kept getting the ball back and we just kept pounding it and kept rolling.” 

Both teams will now prepare for the postseason, but their opponents are currently undetermined. 

“We are 0-0 at this point,” Haskamp said. “We just have to get ready to go next week.”

Ruml echoed his counterpart’s sentiments. 

“But our next season is coming up and we have to be ready by Thursday,” Ruml said.