ALEXANDRIA — Class 9AA No. 1 Howard showed off its passing attack in the season opener.

The Tigers, who traditionally rely on their rushing attack, received three passing touchdowns from Taiden Hoyer and their defense pitched a 26-0 shutout win over Hanson on Friday 

“We dominated defensively and the passing game surprisingly went well, too,” Hoyer said. “So everyone was happy all around.”

Hoyer, a 6-foot-1, 195-pound senior quarterback, threw two passing touchdowns to Weston Remmers and one to Luke Koepsell. Tate Miller added a rushing touchdown for the Tigers (1-0) in the Cornbelt Conference victory. 

Hoyer also churned out tough yards as Howard’s rushing attack opened up the passing game.  

“Hanson packs in it tight,” Hoyer said. “So off the play action that really opens up the passing.”

The teams exchanged punts on their opening drives. In Howard’s second possession, Hoyer hit Remmers for a 13-yard touchdown pass and their second connection, a 36-yard touchdown strike, came on a fourth down in the second quarter. 

“Offensively our passing game was good,” Howard coach Pat Ruml said. “I was just a little disappointed with the running part of it, but the biggest thing is what Hanson was doing. They were really coming up on the run. They had a lot of guys in the box. So we had to throw it.”

Hanson (0-1) struggled to find its footing in the opener. But a Jayce Slaba interception in the third quarter set up the Beavers at Howard’s 32-yard line. Howard’s defense, however, forced a turnover on defense as Luke Koepsell batted away a Slaba pass on fourth down.  

“We could have taken control of that game a couple different times and we hurt ourselves on offense,” Ruml said. “So defense kind of bailed us out.”

After a scoreless third quarter, Hoyer tossed a 14-yard touchdown reception to Koepsell for a 20-0 lead. Miller’s fourth-quarter touchdown run with 58 seconds left reached the final margin. 

Hoyer, a three-year starter, was on the same page with his new receivers Weston and Jackson Remmers in the opener. The brothers transferred to Howard from McCook Central/Montrose and will help complement Howard’s rushing attack. 

“I thought they did a great job,” Ruml said. “We have Luke Koepsell on the other side. We have a lot of guys we can throw to. We are not typically a passing offense, but if you are going to stack it like they did. You have to throw it. We will get the running game going and then we will have the dual threat going the rest of the season.”

Howard hosts Canistota on Aug. 25. Hanson hosts Irene-Wakonda on Aug. 25.