Seth Howard steps into limelight as Jeannette starting QB

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, August 15, 2018 | 6:27 PM

Seth Howard grew up in Jeannette.

Over time, he heard about the significant, almost radical role high school football plays in the small, once-thriving glass town.

He only dabbled in the sport as a youngster, then set it down like an old toy and forgot about it.

“I always thought I was too little to play,” Howard said. “My dad wanted me to play. Friends wanted me to play.”

Last year, he was persuaded to pick up the game again, albeit three weeks into the season, and remembered how much that old toy made him feel.

Now, “I never thought I’d like it this much,” said Howard, who this fall will be a senior and Jeannette’s starting quarterback.

A WPIAL and PIAA championship can have those effects on a player. Howard played a key role for the Jayhawks during a run to their ninth WPIAL title and second state crown. A slot back and receiver for much of the year, he played quarterback in spots during the regular season before moving under center more regularly in the playoffs, when standout Robert “Poogie” Kennedy slid over to receiver and became the perfect decoy.

Howard thrived, sans the attention Kennedy was getting and took full advantage of shared snaps. Howard completed 32 of 57 passes for 668 yards and seven touchdowns. He ran for another 383 yards and 11 scores.

Quite remarkably, the unsung Howard (6-foot-1, 170 pounds) is now a true blue football player, looks the part even, as he endures his first training camp. He has found his niche on the team, much like senior lineman Drake Petrillo. Both players joined the team in Week 3 last season and merged into traffic rather seamlessly.

They had helped Jeannette win a WPIAL baseball title months earlier.

“That was a credit to our coaches, Ryan Reitz and Charlie Cook, who got him ready to play,” Jeannette coach Roy Hall said of Howard. “He is already ahead of the game because he had that playing time. He is ready to step up and be a leader. He is a very intelligent kid. Both of those guys really helped us.”

Ready to lead the team from start to finish this time, Howard knows about the lineage at quarterback within the program and the names that preceded him. Terrelle Pryor. Demetrious Cox. Julian Batts. Gio Vonne Sanders. Kennedy — all game-changers who could run and throw.

“I just want to follow in their footsteps,” Howard said.

Kennedy was pleased to split snaps with Howard. The pair’s mutual respect shown through.

“I definitely see the dog in Seth Howard that I see in me,” Kennedy said after last year’s WPIAL Class A title game. “Ever since we were little kids, he always made big plays in the biggest games. This is natural for him.”

Howard, who also plays baseball and basketball, tries to blend speed and smarts on the field.

“He’s one of our top-five fastest kids,” Hall said.

Jeannette doesn’t have a heavy playbook and never has been a program to overcomplicate matters: Line up the best athletes and let them do their thing. Time and again, raw speed and skill often wins for the Jayhawks over X’s and O’s.

That and experience.

“It prepared me a lot,” Howard said of playing last year. “It made me ready to be able to play now. Coming back this year, I know the playbook, and I’m a lot more comfortable with what we’re doing.”

And to tie up some additional details, what about that hairdo? Howard pulls his hair up into a small pony tail. The topknot has a name, Howard said.

“It’s the samurai,” he said. “It’s getting pretty long. When I pull it up into a bun, it bumps my helmet.”

The likely preseason No. 1, Jeannette will bump helmets with some of the best in Class A with newfound rival Imani Christian lurking in the shadows.

“Everyone will be coming to knock us off,” Howard said. “We play some big games at home, which is great for us. We’ll be ready.”

Bill Beckner is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Bill at bbeckner@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BillBeckner.

Tags: Jeannette