Running back Alex Howard had 10 carries for 112 yards and four touchdowns in the first half and Williams Field was never challenged in a 49-22, Division III, Section I whipping Friday at Higley.

Williams Field (5-1) scored touchdowns on every first-half possession and its first seven of the game to build a 49-0 lead. It only started one of those drives on its side of midfield, thanks to the guys on the flip side of the ball.

“The defense came out and played fast, and that’s what we were looking for,” Williams Field coach Steve Campbell said.

Howard scored on runs of 1, 20 and 51 yards to help stake Williams Field to a 28-0 lead after one quarter. By the second half, Williams Field had the requisite 42-point lead to institute a running clock, and Campbell started substituting freely.

“We really have learned to look at ourselves, and that’s really it,” Campbell said. “Our kids just came out and executed the game plan.”

Higley (4-2) never mustered any offense, but any hopes it had crumbled when quarterback Eric Kump left the game late in the first quarter with a knee injury. Coach Eddy Zubey said the early prognosis is a torn anterior cruciate ligament, which would end Kump’s season and put Higley’s in jeopardy.

With Kump out, Williams Field put the finishing touches on a first half of domination by blocking a 45-yard Higley field goal at the buzzer.

Following the game, Campbell turned his thoughts to far more important matters. Campbell’s mother underwent emergency brain surgery to remove a malignant tumor on Monday at St. Joseph’s Hospital. She will now begin a difficult regimen of chemotherapy.

“It’s not good,” Campbell said. “It really doesn’t look good. But we’ll keep pushing ahead. We’ll do what we can and hope.”