Howe’s Two Early TDs Lead the Panthers Past Westlake

Any doubt that Pleasantville’s Jack Howe has fully recovered from the broken collarbone he suffered in last spring’s lacrosse playoffs was erased in the first quarter of Saturday’s midseason showdown against rival Westlake.

The Panthers’ junior quarterback ran for a pair of long touchdowns in the opening period, paving the way to a 28-12 victory over the host Wildcats in a highly anticipated clash between the two unbeaten teams.

“We’ve been reluctant to run the ball with Jack up to this point,” said Panthers head coach Tony Becerra following his team’s biggest win of the season so far. “I told him we’re gonna have to start doing that a little bit more. And he was up to the task. He didn’t shy away from it. That’s the Jack Howe we all remember from last year.”

Howe’s early touchdown runs of 34 and 38 yards, along with his ensuing PAT kicks, gave Pleasantville an early 14-0 lead that left the Wildcats playing from behind the rest of the way. When Westlake star Rob DiNota bolted 60 yards for a touchdown on the second play from scrimmage in the third quarter to bring the Wildcats within two points, the Panthers responded by blanking them over the game’s final 23 minutes.

“Yeah, it’s definitely big momentum for us winning a game during the regular season, but I know the next time we see ‘em we’re gonna get the best from them,” said Howe, who also connected with Cullen Dell on a game-clinching seven-yard touchdown pass with two and a half minutes to go. “Honestly, I hope we see them. It’s always a fun time seeing them during the season, especially at the end of the season and the postseason.”

Under a cloudless blue sky, it was Howe who put an emphatic end to the initial drive of the afternoon by scampering 34 yards to get the Panthers on the scoreboard just a couple of minutes after the opening kickoff. The Wildcats, also 3-0 entering the game, quickly went three-and-out and, soon after, found themselves facing a 14-0 deficit.

That’s because Howe got loose again on a third-and-long play and scampered 38 yards to the end zone to cap an 89-yard drive. With just over two minutes remaining in the first quarter, the Panthers had built a 14-0 cushion. But early in the second period, Westlake’s Stephen Simone picked off a Howe pass, setting the Wildcats up at the Panther 34-yard line.

Seven plays later, DiNota rolled to his left and tossed a four-yard touchdown pass to Daniel Grossman. The extra-point try by DiNota was blocked, but the Wildcats were still suddenly within 14-6. Late in the half, Westlake moved the ball 65 yards before a costly holding penalty on fourth down ended the drive down by the goal line.

Still, the Wildcats gave Becerra and the Wildcats plenty to worry about when the second half began with DiNota, on second and 10, getting to the edge and then scampering 60 yards down the left sideline to cut the Pleasantville lead to 14-12. But that’s as close as Westlake would get. For the second time, the Panthers blocked DiNota’s PAT attempt.

Afterwards, Wildcats coach John Castellano had no misgivings that he hadn’t instead tried for two points after DiNota’s electrifying run.

“Listen, when we scored to start the second half to make it 14-12, you don’t chase two points that early,” he said. “You know, end of the third quarter, end of the fourth quarter, then you try to tie it up. But there was plenty of football left. I’m not gonna chase two there. We’ve got to do a better job of blocking on the extra point. We were 6 for 6 there last week. So I’ve got to look at the film. I don’t know where the breakdown was, but we didn’t do a very good job.”

Even without the extra points, the Wildcats were poised to grab the lead when they soon forced Pleasantville into a three-and-out series and took possession of the ball. But Westlake couldn’t move it either and was also forced to punt. With 6:50 left in the third quarter, P’ville had the ball at its own 29-yard line.

After a first-down penalty, the Panthers would wind up using over seven minutes of the clock while driving 80 yards on 14 plays. Charlie McPhee, who rushed for 121 yards on 22 carries, wound up running four yards for the touchdown, but it was Howe’s 15-yard jaunt on third and 12 early in the drive that doomed the Wildcats.

“The problem was we couldn’t get off the field on third down,” said a disappointed Castellano. “They must’ve had eight or nine third-down conversions of double digits or more. Hey, when you’re third and 18 and you can’t get off the field or you’re third and 12 and you can’t get off the field, that just extends the drive. They should be punting the ball to us. We did a terrible job in third-down defense.”

So 30 seconds into the final quarter, McPhee’s touchdown stretched the Pleasantville lead to 21-12. DiNota soon paid a painful price on third and 14 when he tried to soar over the Panthers’ Nick Salzarulo along the left sideline and wound up slamming to the ground like an out-of-control helicopter.

A 55-yard TD run by McPhee on a double reverse was called back due to a holding penalty with seven minutes remaining, keeping the Westlake comeback hopes alive. With Becerra imploring his players, ‘Don’t let them off the hook,” the Panthers quickly stopped the desperate Wildcats on fourth down and took possession of the ball with just over five minutes to go.

It took them seven plays to go 30 yards for the clinching touchdown, Howe’s seven-yard pass to Dell on fourth and goal with 2:38 on the clock. The final indignity for the Wildcats came when a DiNota pass to the end zone in the final minute was picked off by James Daniele.

“There was a big crowd here, a lot of pressure,” said the Panthers’ Howe. “We like to perform under pressure. It was a lot of fun.”

For the Wildcats’ Castellano, there was the one pivotal series that might have put an end to his team’s hopes of an undefeated regular season.

“We scored and we got ‘em on third and 12 on the next drive,” he said. “And Howe escapes and gets the first down and extends that drive. At 14-12, if we stop ‘em on third and 12 and they’re punting back to us, to me, that was the turning point of the game.”

Becerra knows that Saturday’s clash between the last two Section One, Class B champions created a lot of excitement, but he tried to maintain a sense of normalcy for his players.

“We try not to get too caught up in that,” he said. “I know it’s a big game in everyone’s eyes stemming from last year. But we’re a team trying to improve and that’s what we were looking to do this week. That really was the main focus for us — just improving ourselves regardless of who the opponent would be for Week Four.”

“They’re a very good football team, well-coached,” said Castellano about the Panthers. “Tony does a great job with them, they’re very disciplined. They deserve to be where they’re at. They’re good. I haven’t beaten ‘em yet. I’ve got six losses at Westlake and I think four of them are to Tony.”