The effects of Howe (2-4; 1-1) being the fifth smallest 3A-Division I school reared its ugly head Friday night at Bulldog Stadium as Rains (3-3; 1-1), one of the largest schools with an enrollment advantage of 134 students (roughly 34 more junior and senior boys), romped their way to a 55-28 win over Howe who had eight players starting on both sides of the ball whereas the Wildcats had nine players getting refreshed each time the ball flipped sides.
Emory Rains quarterback Luke Sheppard was too much for the Bulldogs to handle Friday night as he accounted for five touchdowns which included four rushing and one passing. The junior signal-caller also rushed for 125 yards on 20 carries while throwing for 105 on 13 attempts. Their read-pass-option style of offense allowed for Sheppard to also hand the ball off to fellow back Mason Songer who rushed for 149 yards on 16 carries. Rains totaled 506 total yards on offense which ranks for eighth-most Howe’s allowed in recorded history and the fourth most ever at Bulldog Stadium. It’s the first time the Dogs have allowed over 500 yards in a game since Van Alstyne racked up 566 at Bulldog Stadium in 2017.
On the other side of the ball, Howe continued to rack up impressive offensive numbers with 201 yards on the ground and 215 through the air. Jalen Thornton has been the Bulldogs workhorse for the first six games and Friday night he carried the ball 24 times for 177 yards and a touchdown. Freshman quarterback Austin Haley also played well as he went 13-of-24 passing for 215 yards and one touchdown. The touchdown pass gives him 10 on the season and career. He ties Brian Freese for ninth all-time. Freese had 553 passing attempts compared to Haley’s 86.
Howe had a great chance of getting on the board first as Rains gambled on a fourth-and-short at their own 39 yard line and came up short thanks to a great defensive play by Matthew Bearden and Jackson Adkins who combined to turn away Sheppard on a run up the middle. But Howe’s offense also stalled on a fourth-and-four at the Rains 18 when Wildcat end Bobby Dell tipped Haley’s pass.
Rains was then able to put the game’s first points on the board on a 3-play, 81-yard drive that ended on a 62-yard Songer touchdown. Rains led 7-0 after the Andrew Balthrop PAT at the 7:04 mark in the first.
After a Howe punt, the Bulldogs got their 17th takeaway of the season when a bad snap to Sheppard caused him to scramble backward for it. Hunter Brussow knocked the ball away allowing Bearden to pick it up and run it to the Rains 36 yard line. From there, Howe capitalized when Haley threw a dart to Kolby Windon who hauled it in at the five and raced in. That tied the game at 7-7 with :46 left in the first quarter after Kevin Flores’ PAT.
Rains took no time to answer right back as they took four plays to travel 50 yards and scored on a 31-yard run by Sheppard. With 11:09 left in the second, Rains led 14-7.
The Bulldogs took the ball at their own 22 to start the next drive. A pump fake by Haley got Rains cornerback Colt Rivera to turn his hips allowing Windon to gain separation for a 56-yard gainer to the 4 yard line. From there Brandon Williams did the rest where he broke several tackles on his way for a 4-yard score to tie the game at 14-14 with 8:48 left in the second.
Rains again took no time to score, going 6 plays, 50 yards seeing Songer plunge over from the 3 yard line. Rains led 21-14 with 7:11 left before half.
Howe was unable to keep pace on the next possession and was forced to punt. It was the last time Howe was truly in the game. Rains extended their lead to 28-14 when Sheppard raced 62 yards to end a 4-play, 80-yard drive.
After another Howe punt, Sheppard caught Howe napping when he turned away from the heavy run load and short pass load to throw one deep to Antonio Villegas who hauled it in for a 51-yard touchdown. That gave Rains a 35-14 advantage with 1:43 left before the half.
The first play of the second half saw the snap go over Sheppard’s head where Arturo Lowder recovered it to give Howe the ball at the Rains 31. On the second play, Thornton knifed through the line for a 31-yard score to bring the Dogs within 14 at 35-21.
Both teams traded punts before Sheppard again used his running ability to score a 1-yard touchdown to end a 6-play, 59-yard drive and give Rains a 42-21 lead with 4:02 left in the third.
As the game began to stall, Sheppard would add another rushing touchdown from the 2 yard line to increase the Wildcat lead to 48-21 with 7:38 remaining in the game.
Howe had a punt blocked which led to an easy Wildcat score when Drake Hurley scored on a 12-yard jet sweep to make it 55-21.
Howe took home the final score of the game on a 36-yard run by Williams with 2:08 left. The Bulldogs nearly scored on the final play of the game as Haley threw a deep bomb to Windon that went through his fingertips in the endzone.
Howe will travel to Pottsboro (6-0; 2-0) next Friday where they currently have a 9-game losing streak dating back to a 20-13 win back in 2010. Howe hasn’t won at Pottsboro since 1988.
