Harvard-Westlake's star quarterback John Howe had a lazy method of moving his offense down the field Friday night.

He simply watched the Pioneer Valley offense do it for him.

The Panthers fumbled the hot potato twice near their goaline in the second half, giving the Wolverines pristine field position and all the momentum in a frustrating 31-22 loss in the CIF Northwest playoff quarterfinals.

The Panthers finished the season 8-4 overall and 5-2 in the Los Padres league, good for a third-place finish.

“I don't want to remember our success and failures summed up by the second half of one game,” coach Greg Dickinson said.

Instead, Pioneer Valley will remember sending its first senior class through a challenging Los Padres league and past South Torrance in the first round of the playoffs.

“Our first senior class made a playoff run,” Dickinson said. “It's been incredible to see how they've progressed since being freshmen.”

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In the second round, the Panthers stuck to the gameplan and played nearly flawless football.

Except for the turnovers.

The gameplan primarily focused on containing Howe, a quarterback with an arsenal of talented wide receivers and an ability to make spectacular moves with his feet.

In the first half, the Panthers put the clamps on, and their two fumbles merely ruined their own scoring opportunities. Pioneer Valley opened its first drive moving 21 yards before turning the ball over at midfield.

But the Pioneer Valley defense - anchored by middle linebacker Josh Vogt - sent the Wolverines offense back to the sideline in three plays.

Once again, Pioneer Valley began an impressive drive before fumbling the ball. A number of Panthers pounced on this one. Two plays later, the third Panthers fumble came with no such luck.

The defense got little rest in the opening minutes, but did its job again.

And the offense was about to right its wrongs.

“We either scored or fumbled tonight,” Panthers quarterback Bryan Beyers said with a sad chuckle.

This time, they scored. The drive stretched into the second quarter before Frank Tovar's 1-yard run.

Tovar was one of a multitude of Pioneer Valley running backs that got touches on Friday. The Panthers have focused their offense on the run this year, and the offensive philosophy paid off in the first half when the Wolverines were only afforded four offensive possessions.

During that time, Pioneer Valley running backs Victor Bryson, Buddy Garcia, Josiah Morales, Tovar, Shane Vogt and Andrew Gonzales were slowly moving the markers.

The leading rushing statistics were shared as follows: Bryson finished with 73 yards, Garcia with 51, Morales with 46, Tovar with 45, Shane Vogt with 29 and Gonzales with six and a touchdown .

“We controlled the clock and the key was that our fumbles didn't hurt us,” Dickinson said.

Westlake stared at a third and 24 before Gonzales sacked Howe for an 8-yard loss.

On the Wolverines final offensive possession, Vogt and Justin Buchan had key tackles to complete a first half completely controlled by the Panthers.

“We knew all week that this would be the best team all year we would face,” Beyers said. “We also knew their offense would come around. In the first half, we kept them off the field.”

And off the scoreboard, 9-0.

It was the work of defensive backs Shane Vogt, Steve Rucobo, Zev Olvera and Steven Cox that held Howe to just 20 passing yards in the first half. Howe also only had four rushing yards on five carries.

In the third quarter, the fumbling woes resurfaced like a reoccurring bad dream - and this time, with the goaline closer in sight, they got Howe's motor running.

“We probably had more fumbles tonight than we had our whole season,” Dickinson said.

Westlake moved methodically down the field to open the half and scored on a 15-yard toss sent skyward toward 6-foot, 4-inch wide receiver Jon Sebastian.

The Wolverines had instant momentum, and an immediate fumble on the first Panthers offensive play of the second half gave them more. Terry O'Neal recovered the fumble and returned it to the Panthers 9-yard line.

“If you give the ball up on the 10-yard line, it's something you can't overcome usually,” Dickinson said.

Two plays later, Howe connected with Ryan Calvert for an 3-yard touchdown and the Wolverine's first lead, 14-9.

Pioneer Valley responded with an impressive drive to toss some water on the fire. Frank Tovar's 3-yard touchdown run made the score 15-14 before Zack Mirman's 46-yard field goal returned the Wolverines lead entering the fourth quarter.

The night's costliest error came at the 7:13 mark. The Panther defense had done its job again, led by Nick Leyden's sack, and a loss of 16 yards for the scrambling Howe.

But Howe would get the last laugh when another Panther fumble two plays later gave him an early Christmas present at the Panthers' 3-yard line.

After a holding penalty, he would run his favorite play - the option to the sideline - into the endzone from 13 yards out - 24-15, Wolverines.

Pioneer Valley would respond with a precise 85-yard drive in less than four minutes, capped by Gonzales' 3-yard run, to bring the score to 24-22.

With only 3:13 remaining, Dickinson had a big decision to make.

The decision was to kick the onside.

“We decided to kick the onside because we're not the type of offense to go the length of the field in 1 minute,” he said. “We're a running team.”

Westlake recovered the onside and picked up 15 more yards on a personal foul. Howe once again ran his favorite play to the Wolverines sideline and into the endzone from 11 yards out.

But Dickinson's message after the game was positive. The juniors will take the pride of a 9-0 first-half shutout with them into next season, he said.

Beyers summed up his feelings for the seniors.

“My hat's off to everyone,” he said. “This year is an experience I will remember for the rest of my life.”

Nov. 25, 2006