Rocking the Hockomock, Howard could go far
His King Philip team facing a crucial fourth-and-7 call, clinging to a 1 point lead with 3 minutes remaining at North Attleborough, Brandon Howard calmly took a deep breath.
After a chat with his head coach, Brian Lee, the senior quarterback received the go-ahead to call his own play. The plan: wideout Connor Richards rolls right and blocks as if setting up a screen, then chips off and heads down the right sideline on a fade route.
Howard then connected with Richards perfectly for a 10-yard strike and first down. Two plays later, from the 1, Howard called his own number, a sneak over 350-pound right guard Tariq Taylor for a 28-20 lead, and a crucial Hockomock League win.
“That was all him,’’ Howard said later, referring to Richards’s precise route.
“If you crack under pressure, nothing good will come out of it,’’ he added with a smile.
A year ago, Howard wowed the Hockomock League with 17 touchdown passes in the Warriors’ surprise 8-3 run and earned league MVP honors - rare for a junior, let alone a KP player. This season, his accurate arm and big-play ability have opened up the playbook for a variety of options - and plenty of scoring. The Warriors (6-1), averaging 32.4 points per game, share the lead in Hock with Franklin, both with 4-0 marks.
The Warriors have a stable of four backs who can burn foes: the explosive first contact from juniors Chris Cacciola and Dan Dusseault, the straightline speed of sophomore Dartaye Ruffin, and the agility of senior Mike Cochrane. And a fundamentally sound KP defense is adept at creating turnovers.
But in the matchup against North Attleborough, Howard had a hand in all four scores.
His second touchdown throw should have been just an 8-yard dart over the middle to Cacciola - but it turned into a 57-yard scamper. His third score and arguably worst throw of the night, with two blitzing linebackers in his face, was a high wobbler deep to Jake Cox for a 59-yard completion.
The 6-foot-4 Howard is no longer relying solely on his athletic ability.
“He’s always had a good arm,’’ Lee said. “But he’s turning into a whole quarterback, as far as leadership on the field.’’
This past spring, Howard took it upon himself to slim down his 240-pound frame, and he checked in at 225 at the start of the season. He also compared notes with Todd Collins, a 15-year veteran of the National Football League.
Collins, who played with Lee at Walpole High and is currently backing up Jason Campbell with the Washington Redskins, visited with Howard and sophomore Jake Layman once a week last spring. Among other things, Howard picked up a few tips on mobility.
Last season, Howard, a converted tight end, was more of a traditional dropback passer. Now, he has a little bit of a shake and bake.
“Physically, the kid’s probably bigger than I am,’’ Collins said in a phone conversation from Washington earlier this week.
“He’s a good athlete with a natural ability to throw the ball, with good ball speed. He’s got the tools to be a successful quarterback, and an uncommon size for someone his age, in my mind.’’
Once again, the Warriors are in uncharted territory as they run through the rest of their league schedule. And with firm footing, their signal-caller remains even-keeled.
Now the Rockets are one step closer to their first postseason berth since 2003, thanks to a new defensive scheme, more balanced offense, and an overall deeper roster. When Kerry Hecker went down with a concussion in practice before their visit to Brookline two weeks ago, senior Kevin Cray stepped forward. The wideout broke through with a three-score performance in last Friday’s huge 18-8 Bay State Conference win over Weymouth, with two touchdown catches and a 70-yard punt return.
“They just understand in the game what to do,’’ said Duffy of his players. “You change the play in the huddle, and they know exactly what to do. They’re all pretty good students. Their parents did a good job raising them . . . it’s really the parents, they do a good job.’’
The Rockets host Natick, also at 7-0, tomorrow night.
Six weeks ago, quarterback Kevin Cangiano set a school single-game passing record in a 42-40 shootout loss to Belmont. The senior threw just one completion (to Barnes) on five attempts in the win over the Wildcats - four of them coming on the final drive of the first half.
That kind of balance figures to benefit coach Jack Belcher’s troops the rest of the way.
“Right now things are going pretty good - it’s not just offense, or defense, or special teams,’’ Belcher said. “We’ve gotten a little better every week. It’s good to know that Kevin is at [990] yards right now, but that we didn’t need to [air it out] the other night.’’
Brendan Hall can be reached at bhall59@hotmail.com. 
