Wingstop Player of the Week: Ever loyal to Rancho, Howard sees perseverance pay off

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Friday, Sept. 18, 2015 | 2 a.m.

Most 1,000-yard rushers who are part of a high school football program that hadn’t won a game in three seasons would have transferred to another school.

Most athletes whose talents remain largely concealed, partially because nobody noticed anything at Rancho High the past few seasons except for its multiseason losing streak, would have packed their bags and headed elsewhere.

But Robert Howard, Rancho’s senior running back, never entertained thoughts of leaving. School shopping for a better situation is a trend in Las Vegas — and nationally — with athletes jockeying for more playing time in hopes of landing a college scholarship.

The best situation for Howard, though, has always been at Rancho.

“He’s here for academics first; athletics second,” said Tom Pletsch, Rancho’s first-year coach. “As frustrating as it seemed at times for him, he’s always had his eyes on the ultimate prize. That’s a college education.”

Howard is part of Rancho’s magnet school where he studies aviation engineering in a program considered one of the best in Las Vegas. Howard, too, is proving he’s one of Las Vegas’ best football players.

He’s our Wingstop Player of the Week, finally getting his due for helping the Rams get theirs. Rancho broke their losing streak two weeks ago against Valley, using Howard’s 176 rushing yards and two touchdowns in a 33-14 win. Last week, Howard was again dominant in rushing for 190 yards and two touchdowns to beat Boulder City.

“It was one of the most overwhelming and proud things I have experienced in high school, finally winning a game,” Howard said.

Rancho was outscored 1,451-187 the past three seasons in losing 29 straight games. It got so bad that school officials successfully petitioned the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association to play an independent schedule, claiming athletes were getting injured competing in the large-school Division I. Because they are independent, Rancho isn’t eligible for the postseason — yet another reason to commend Howard for his loyalty.

Last year, they almost broke the streak before losing by one point to Sunrise Mountain. And in the final week of the season, the 6-foot, 185-pound Howard rushed for 302 yards against Del Sol. Rancho still lost by five touchdowns.

In the offseason, his strong individual performance wasn’t what he was most proud of. Rather, it was the fact he helped his team get better. The loss, even if it was against another struggling program in Sunrise Mountain, was tough to recover from.

“Coming that close was a huge disappointment for me. I was upset,” he said.

When they snapped the skid two weeks ago, with Howard leading the way thanks to touchdown runs of 14 and 27 yards, the Rams’ players didn’t know how to react. They lined up after the game to shake hands with the other team, then headed back to the sideline with an unfamiliar feeling. They were winners, finally.

Some of the kids shed tears of joy; others flashed a smile from ear to ear.

“They didn’t know how to react when we won the first game. They were in shock,” Pletsch said.

Howard had three touchdowns last week against Boulder City, scoring on runs of 64, 34 and 7 yards. Also a standout in track, his speed is too much for the opposing defense to contain. He’s so fast, Pletsch also plays him at defensive end.

“He’s got some explosiveness to him that a lot of other backs don’t have,” Pletsch said. “When he hits the hole, if he’s not wrapped up, he’s gone.”

Howard hopes to continue playing football or running track in college. More important, he plans on continuing to study engineering and putting his experiences the past four years in the classroom at Rancho to good use.

“For me, I feel like I belong to Rancho,” Howard said. “It is my home. I wouldn’t leave my school for anything.”

Wingstop provides the player of the week a $50 gift card, shirt and medal.

Ray Brewer can be reached at 702-990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21