Coming out of the Novi game Howell knew that they had to do something different if they were going to beat rival Hartland for homecoming this year. In the Novi contest the Highlanders rushed for a negative 13 yards and relied on a strong passing game by Matt Hornyak but with the windy conditions at John Dukes Field, that wasn’t going to be an option.

Instead the Highlanders came out running the ball and didn’t stop all night long. Nathan Eades, Shane Sovik, and Jonah Schrock combined for 406 yards rushing while the Howell defense forced four turnovers as Howell came out on top 42-14.