Howard head football coach Larry Scott and his staff prepared for every viable scenario leading into Saturday’s Orange Blossom Classic against Florida A&M.
The one with the most on the line turned out to be the most successful as sophomore place kicker Matt Conord booted a 43-yard field goal as time expired to give the Bison a thrilling 10-9 win over the Rattlers.
“Putting them in that scenario helps. We had kicker sprints, if he didn’t make a kick, guys would have to run,” Scott explained at Monday’s MEAC Coaches’ Conference “Chanting, throwing water on him; we tried to induce every sense of stress on a kicker in a practice setting but when you walk into an NFL stadium, the ESPN cameras are on, you say “what are we going to get?”
Nothing bothered the unflappable Conord, who transferred to Howard from Division II Chowan University.
“When you have that type of kicker in your program, they’re built different,” Scott says. “They have that ice water in their veins. When you have one of those guys, you have something special.”
Leading into Conord’s winning kick was another young newcomer, sophomore quarterback Tyriq Starks from Florida Atlantic. Starks took the Bison from their own 25 to the FAMU 26 with big plays, such as a 21-yard completion to K.D. Mosley on 3rd and 19 early in the drive and a critical first down scramble that got the Bison close enough for Conord’s winning attempt.
“To the naked eye, a lot of people will look at the stats and say ‘ehhh,’ but when you turn on his tape and watch some of the throws he made with people breathing down his neck, it’s pretty impressive,” Scott said.
To a man, team faith served Howard well Saturday and they’ll need it again this weekend when they travel to South Philly to face FBS program Temple.
“The guys played hard on that drive because they believe that we have a kicker that once we get into a certain area, we can win the game,” Scott said. “It’s always good to win as much as you can, try to put your team in situations like that so there’s a level of faith, a level of confidence, and a level of trust.”
