MADISON TOWNSHIP, Ohio — Juwan Howard’s body of work spoke for itself.
A senior at Madison, Howard was selected to play in the Ohio High School Football Coaches Association North South All-Star Classic at Dayton’s Welcome Stadium on April 25.
The small-school (Divisions IV through VII) game will be played at 2 p.m., followed by the big-school (Divisions I through III) game at 6 p.m.
Two of Howard’s coaches on the 36-man big-school North roster, Wooster’s Doug Haas and Clyde’s Ryan Carter, got a good look at the 6-foot-1, 175-pound running back during the 2014 season. Howard rushed for 103 yards and a touchdown in a 21-14 loss to Wooster in Week 5 and torched Clyde for 185 yards and two TDs in Madison’s first-round playoff loss.
“They were impressed by what Juwan had done against them during the season,” former Madison football coach Sean Conway said. “He had a great game against Clyde and I think those coaches respect his abilities.”
Howard rushed for 1,590 yards and 16 touchdowns on 235 carries last fall, becoming the first player in school history to rush for 100 or more yards in 10 games. He is the first Madison player selected to the state all-star game since Mike Godsil in 2005.
“That is in honor in and of itself,” Howard said. “I was pretty excited when I heard I had been selected. It’s a stage I want to play on.”
Madison started the season 2-3 but won its final five games and earned a spot in the Division III, Region 8 quarterfinals with a 21-14 win over crosstown rival Mansfield Senior in the regular season finale. The Rams fell to Clyde 41-33 in the opening round in a game Madison led 33-7 in the third quarter.
“I think Juwan would have gotten a lot more notoriety if we had been able to finish that game out,” Conway said. “He had a great season and to be selected to the state all-star game is a great accomplishment. He deserves the recognition. He was tremendous for us all season.
“There have been some great players come through Madison in the past 10 years and Juwan is the first guy to be selected to this game in that time.”
The Ohio Cardinal Conference will be well represented in the state game. Wooster’s Marquise Blair and Tyson Jackson and Ashland’s Drew Dickinson and Trey Smith will join Howard on the North roster, while West Holmes’ Logan Gallion will play for the South. The North team will hold its practices at the Cleveland Browns training facility in Berea.
“That will be pretty cool,” said Howard, who is still weighing his college options. “This is a great opportunity. I’m looking forward to it.”
