9-4, District Champions, Bi-District Champions, Area Champions
The 1989 Bulldogs were a team full of expectations. There were a ton of returning starters and most of them would be three year lettermen. Howe started the schedule facing No. 8 Cooper which was led by future NFL running back Byron “Bam” Morris. Howe had a chance to win in the final minute, but fumbled at the goal line and Cooper escaped. The Bulldogs, which featured the best receiver in school history Steven Hawthorne, soon ditched the wishbone for the run and shoot offense. That proved to be just what the doctor ordered. It became common ground to hear “Skipworth to Hawthorne.” The ‘Dogs, after a 1-3 start, found their rhythm and reeled off eight straight wins.
One of the crucial victories came in Celina in a district game in which Howe won 28-12. It wasn’t as much the Skipworth-Hawthorne show as it was the Clint Bray show. Bray ran for 178 yards on 22 carries. After defeating Celina, all attention came upon Van Alstyne in what was a must win situation for the Bulldogs. The community once again rallied around the team and led backed the Dogs in a police escort down Hwy 5 and filled the stands 15 minutes before game time. The wide-open offense of Howe allowed fullback Clint Bray to run wild as they beat the Panthers 35-13.
Howe hosted Royse City in the Bi-District playoffs after winning the coin toss. Royse City wanted to play in Garland and Howe planned on a neutral site. After unsuccessful attempts to be fair, Howe flipped for home ground…and won. Howe played Bi-District at Howe. Royce City had a great running back by the name of Stick Robinson. He had a good game with 169 yards, but Howe’s Clint Bray finished with 272 yards on 20 carries to lead the run-and-shoot offense to a 28-14 win.
The Area championship game was to be held in the windy city of Wichita Falls against a tough Electra team. The Dogs came out on top of the hard fought game, winning 17-9. Howe went on to try to match the 1970 team by winning the Regional Championship and winning its 10th game of the season. Howe was leading McGregor 14-12 at halftime, but failed to keep the lead as McGregor quarterback Xavier Young picked apart Howe in winning 38-14. Howe finished the season 9-4. Skipworth, after all said and done would (literally) pass Rick Hanning in career TD’s with 39 and Steven Hawthorne would pass Ned Estes with 24 receiving TD’s. David Cannaday would also pass Estes by one with 16 TDs’ receiving.
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