Category: Bulldogs Sports

The Howe Lady Bulldogs (23-10) finish the season as only the second girls basketball team in school history to become area champions. Howe, who had an 11-point lead in the early parts of the fourth period could not stave off the elevated temperature of a desperate Mineola (27-8) team in the final minutes of the game. Howe’s lead collapsed with 30-seconds remaining in the game when The Lady Jackets’ All-State guard Sabria Dean made a ball-fake move that would have made LeBron James blush and hit a 9-footer from the middle of the lane to give her team the lead, 36-35 which seconds later became the final score.

After Dean’s would-be game-winning shot, Howe still had a chance with 21.94 seconds remaining as Lands called a full timeout to gather a plan to score. With the ball in Jenna Honore’s hands on the right wing dribbling to the right corner with pressure from Jessiah Riley, the ball went off of Honore and out of bounds. This led to three quick desperation fouls to send Mineola to the line. During the second foul, Honore, the district defensive MVP, seemed to be in position to draw the charge on Dean, but a blocking call was made instead which virtually eliminated a serious threat for a last-second comeback. Dean missed her free throw which was rebounded by Honore who found the District 10-3A MVP Ally Harvey at halfcourt for a last-second heave from her hip that missed going in by a foot to the right. Soon afterward, an eruption from the crowd in orange and their head coach Troy Riley who ran to the Lady Jacket crowd and underarm flexed his muscles which sent the crowd into a frenzy.

This year’s version of longtime Head Coach Derek Lands’ team was built heavily around defense with five starters with exceptional abilities to lock-down their opponent. The individual matchup of Honore versus Dean proved to be the girls 3A basketball version of Ali-Frazier. Neither player left the floor for the entire game and as expected, the game came down to that matchup in the most meaningful final moments. Dean made the great ball-fake move to get Honore off balance for the go-ahead score and Honore answered back with an outstanding defensive drawn charge. The only problem for Howe was – the charge wasn’t called.

Howe started the game strong with Molly Wilson scoring the game’s first points. The Lady Bulldogs did a nice job early of breaking the quick Mineola press, meanwhile, Honore held Dean scoreless in the first as Howe led 9-6 after the first eight minutes of the game. Mineola had to rely on a 3-pointer by Meghan Brewington for half of the Lady Jackets first points.

As the second period began, Howe’s usually sharp-shooting long ball specialist Cassidy Anderson, named the district’s offensive MVP, started cold by missing on her first five 3-point attempts in the half. As Howe went cold, Dean began to heat up after starting 0-for-7 from the field scoring six of the Lady Jackets’ eight second period points.

Midway through the second with Howe clinging to a 5-point lead, 11-5, Anderson was subbed for sophomore Sierra Copeland and Wilson for sophomore Katie Grogan. Seconds later Dean hit her first two buckets of the game in back-to-back fashion to cut the Howe lead to 11-10. With three minutes remaining before the half, Honore fouled Dean on a 3-pointer which she made 2-of-3 foul shots to give the Lady Jackets a 14-13 lead which became the halftime score.

The Lady Bulldogs came out of the break with an outstanding third period scoring 20 points while allowing Mineola nine points. Howe’s offensive firepower came from a resurgence of Anderson and her 3-pointer as her first one tied the game at 16. Moments later, she drained her second 3-bomb from the same spot in the right corner to give Howe a 19-16 lead. After a foul shot by Mineola, Anderson again drained a 3-pointer to up Howe’s lead to 22-17.

Howe’s lead was cut to 22-21 with 4:33 remaining in the third, and the hot-shooting Anderson had to exit the game due to picking up her fourth foul. But the right corner 3-point hot spot for Anderson remained that way when Wilson drained a bomb from there to give Howe a 29-23 lead which forced a timeout by Mineola and a bench jumping, stands fist-pumping moment for Howe with 3:04 left in the third. The Lady Bulldogs led by 10 at the end of the third and had clear momentum headed to the final frame as Honore held the all-state Mineola guard to only seven points through the first three quarters.

Anderson checked back in the game with four fouls as Honore extended Howe’s lead on a foul shot to 11 at 34-23 with 6:52 left in the game. The 11-point lead held until 5:27 left when Dean hit a runner to start the comeback. Mineola called a timeout and at that very moment, they became the dangerous desperate team that every coach fears. Coming out of the timeout, their defensive press was stepped up along with the intensity. Howe senior point guard Calley Vick was called for an unusual travel call and Wilson was called for the non-often called carry which was a questionable call. At that moment with 4:43 remaining, the game changed. Mineola’s Tahjae Black rebounded a Dean errant 3-pointer and put it back up to cut the Howe lead to seven. She was fouled on the put-back and her successful free throw made it 34-28.

Seconds later, Vick had the ball stolen and an easy layup made it a 4-point game. Vick then attempted a 3-pointer which was no good and rebounded by Mineola who made a long pass down the court for the easy layup by Black to make it a 2-point game with 3:53 left. Mineola had captured clear momentum in less than two minutes. A Howe timeout brought out the first bodybuilder flex from Mineola’s head coach Riley.

For the next few minutes, the temperature rose on both sides and Mineola’s Riley was called for a technical foul after getting called for a travel. Vick made the first foul shot, but the second shot rimmed in and out to leave Howe with a 35-32 lead. The score remained the same until 2:20 left in the game when Dean’s layup rolled over the front of the rim to cut the game to 35-34.

With 1:52 remaining in the game, Wilson threw the inbound pass to Vick which slipped through her hands resulting in Dean taking it up the court for Mineola. Several missed shots resulted in a loose ball with Harvey trying to tie it up, but was called for a foul which gave the ball back to Mineola.

With less than a minute left, it was Dean who was able to complete the ball-fake and go ahead shot to eventually win it.

Howe was led in points by Harvey with 12, followed by Anderson’s nine. Other scorers were Honore (6), Wilson (5), and Vick (3).

Harvey also pulled down an incredible 17 rebounds to lead Howe.

The Lady Bulldogs will lose two seniors in Calley Vick and Gianna Henry. Four starters will return as well as first team all-district members Sierra Copeland.

All-District honors were released and the district champion Howe Lady Bulldogs came out with the top recognition as Ally Harvey was named District MVP, Cassidy Anderson was awarded Offensive MVP, and Jenna Honore was named the district’s Defensive MVP. Howe’s Calley Vick was also named First Team All-District along with sophomore Sierra Copeland. Howe junior Molly Wilson garnered 2nd Team honors. Howe’s Marissa Agee and Katie Grogan were also listed as Honorable Mention.

Harvey, a junior, led Howe in points (341), points per game (11.4), blocks (54), rebounds (238), and steals (55). Honore was the defensive piston for Howe by shutting down opponents. Anderson’s sharp-shooting 3-pointers came in the most opportune moments for Howe as she shot an alarming 41 percent from behind the arc on her way to 8.7 points per game in scoring.

10-3A All-District Honors

MVP Ally Harvey JR Howe, Offensive MVP Cassidy Anderson JR Howe, Defensive MVP Jenna Honore JR Howe, Sixth Person Cierra Spurgin SR Blue Ridge, Newcomer of the Year Raven Fox SO Leonard, Coaching Staff of the Year Howe.

First Team All-District

Second Team All-District

Honorable Mention

Academic All-District

Jenna Honore, Honorable Mention
Cassidy Anderson, Honorable Mention
Molly Wilson, Honorable Mention

Academic All-district (every volleyball player)
Kasie Segleski
Jenna Honore
Kylie Hopper
Chloe Loftice
Ally Harvey
Kaylin Bouse
Maya Agee
Cassidy Anderson
Molly Wilson
Taylor Thurman
Gianna Henry
Rebecca Rhew
Ashlyn Ray

Honorable Mention – Arturo Lowder, Joseph Brennan, J.C. Helpenstell, Spencer Akins, Mason Riggs, Caiden Harmon

Academic All-District: Spencer Akins, Elijah Campbell, Carson Grogan, Mason Riggs, and Joseph Brennan

The game will be broadcast in the box below.

Howe’s overall record is 385-354-24.  Season 75, Game 764

District 5-3A Standings

Van Alstyne holds the advantage in the series, 36-17-2.  The series began in 1941 (click the dates for the game articles – mostly Sherman Democrat)

Howe is 5-5 vs. Van Alstyne in November and have outscored the Panthers, 164-157 in November matchups.  Howe is 4-2 in November games played in Van Alstyne.

Series largest margin of victory for Howe = 40 in 1979 at Van Alstyne
Series largest margin of victory for Van Alstyne = 51 in 1992 at Howe

Most rushing yards by Howe vs. Van Alstyne (missing 1979 game):
406, 2016
360, 1985
359, 1986
324, 1989
303, 1998

Most rushing yards by Van Alstyne vs. Howe:
396, 2008
370, 1984
326, 2005
323, 1961
323, 1965

The first Silver Spike 

1989 Full Game of the 32nd Silver Spike at Van Alstyne

1990 Full Game of the 33rd Silver SPike at Van Alsytne

1991 Full Game of 34th Silver Spike at Bulldog Stadium in Howe

1998 Full Game of 42nd Silver Spike at Bulldog Stadium

The Silver Spike trophy was the brainchild back in 2001 by sports writer Jeff Wood of the Van Alstyne Leader and Howe graduate Monte Walker. The winner of the Howe and Van Alstyne football rivalry receives a silver railroad spike, mounted on a three-foot trophy to keep in their trophy case for an entire year. Howe has yet to have it since its creation. The tall and heavy trophy features the silver spike which symbolizes the growth that the Houston and Texas Central railway brought to both towns in the early years of their existence. Not soon after the towns were formed, they started playing football against each other. But those early years prior to 1920 formation of the UIL do not formally count and Howe didn’t even field a UIL sanctioned team until 1935.

Howe first played Van Alstyne on October 24, 1941 which the Panthers won, 31-7. The Spike was created before the 2001 season and that was the year Van Alstyne started the current 11-game winning streak over Howe. It also happened to be the same time that Van Alstyne outgrew Howe in enrollment numbers due to the Georgetown edition in their community. Before the current winning streak, Van Alstyne led the series, 25-17-2 but now have double the amount of Howe’s wins thanks to the recent stretch. Howe’s longest winning streak versus the Panthers was four games from 1977-1980. When the trophy was originated in 2001, then Van Alstyne Head Coach Randy Matthews told the Van Alstyne Leader, “Because of the closeness of the two towns and what this rivalry means to so many people, I hope everybody will be up for this game and prepared to play. When you have a game like this with so much emotion, there’s always big plays involved.”

The Spike was is akin to Sherman and Denison’s Battle of the Axe which Walker was a radio broadcaster for those games from 1994- 2003 and television broadcaster in 2008. “The community involvement and the electricity that comes with that Sherman Denison Battle of the Axe is so impressive and Howe and Van Alstyne had the same rivalry, but on a smaller scale. We were able to work with those in Van Alstyne back in 2001 to share cost of the trophy and make this something special. However, it won’t be truly special until it comes to Howe’s trophy case.” said Walker.

Live broadcast will be played in the box below.  Radio feed will be available inside the stadium on 99.9 FM.

Game number 763 for the Howe Bulldogs.  Howe has a record of 385-353-24 since the first game on Sept. 20, 1935.

Howe vs. Commerce

Howe is 0-2 overall versus Commerce.  The first game was played six years ago today as Commerce beat Howe, 46-0 at Bulldog Stadium.  The following year, Commerce won a tight game, 12-7.

Commerce has outscored Howe, 58-7 overall.

Howe stats

The Bulldogs have rushed for 1,778 yards through 8 games in 2018.  Last week against Lone Oak, Howe surpassed the rushing total from a year ago which was 1,574.  However, Howe had 833 yards passing in 2017 and only 144 so far in 2018.  Howe averaged 240.70 yards per game a year ago and are currently averaging 240.25.

Howe Rushing:
Cameron Blesi, 91-559
Austin Lee, 74-367
Caiden Harmon, 36-206
Mason Riggs, 33-204
Spencer Akins, 28-156
Arturo Lowder, 24-139
Joseph Brennan, 30-120

Howe Passing:
Layton Elvington, 8-22, 66 yards
Mason Riggs, 1-1, 46 yards
Bryce Krantz, 1-9, 32 yards

Howe Receiving:
Elijah Campbell, 2-78
Devin Porter, 2-20
Caiden Harmon, 2-12
Cameron Blesi, 1-12
Spencer Akins, 1-10
Mason Riggs, 1-7
Joseph Brennan, 1-5

On this day in Bulldog History (-)

1945, Beat Collinsville, 48-0
1962, Lost at Leonard, 37-0
1968, Lost at Anna, 40-14
1973, Beat Bells, 38-6
1979, Lost at Leonard, 24-23
1984, Beat Pottsboro, 10-3
1990, Beat Callisburg, 27-10
2001, Lost at Gunter, 12-6
2007, Lost to Callisburg, 63-6
2012, Lost to Commerce, 46-0

Live broadcast will be played in the box below.  Radio feed will be available inside the stadium on 88.1 FM.

Game number 762 for the Howe Bulldogs.  Howe has a record of 385-352-24 since the first game on Sept. 20, 1935.

Howe vs. Lone Oak

Lone Oak leads the series, 3-2 having won the last meeting with the two schools back on Sept. 9, 1999 by a score of 35-7 at Buffalo Stadium.  Howe’s first win in the series was a big one as Howe defeated the Buffaloes 21-12 on Nov. 27, 1970 for the bi-district championship at McKinney’s Ron Poe Stadium.  Howe’s other win against Lone Oak came at Bulldog Stadium on Sept. 4, 1998 with a 41-7 score.

1970 Howe vs. Lone Oak game film

1998 Howe vs. Lone Oak game film

Howe stats

The Bulldogs have rushed for 1,518 yards through 7 games in 2018.  The Bulldogs need 57 rushing yards to surpass the total from a year ago.  However, Howe had 833 yards passing in 2017 and only 137 so far in 2018.  Howe averaged 240.70 yards per game a year ago and are currently averaging 236.43.  Howe was way ahead of last year’s pace until recently when the Dogs were held to 69 rushing yards (120 total) against Rains and 59 rushing yards (59 total) against Pottsboro.  The last time Howe had under 100 total yards in a game was Sept. 18, 2009 against Valley View (68).  The last time Howe had fewer than 59 total yards was back on Oct. 3, 2008 when Gunter held Howe to  36 (27 yards rushing and 9 yards passing).

Howe Rushing:
Cameron Blesi, 84-544
Austin Lee, 73-366
Caiden Harmon, 26-142
Spencer Akins, 25-132
Arturo Lowder, 22-130
Joseph Brennan, 24-98
Mason Riggs, 17-96

Howe Passing:
Layton Elvington, 7-18, 59 yards
Mason Riggs, 1-1, 32 yards
Bryce Krantz, 1-6, 32 yards

Howe Receiving:
Elijah Campbell, 2-78
Devin Porter, 2-20
Cameron Blesi, 1-12
Spencer Akins, 1-10
Mason Riggs, 1-7
Joseph Brennan, 1-5
Caiden Harmon, 1-5

On this day in Bulldog History (5-4)

1945, Beat Bells, 39-0
1962, lost to Celeste, 8-6
1973, lost to Van Alstyne, 19-0
1979, beat Honey Grove, 22-0
1984, beat Tom Bean, 68-0
1990, beat Whitewright, 75-0
2001, lost to Van Alstyne, 33-0
2007, lost to Tom Bean, 27-0
2012, lost to Caddo Mills, 34-15

Live broadcast will be played in the box below.  Radio feed will be available inside the stadium on 101.7 FM.

Game number 760 for the Howe Bulldogs.  Howe has a record of 385-350-24 since the first game on Sept. 20, 1935.

This is the first matchup ever between Howe and Emory Rains.

Howe stats

Howe is the fifth smallest school in Class 3A, Division I, but are fairing well statistically with the large disadvantage.  Howe has scored 125 points and given up 135 in the first five games of the season.  Howe’s 3-2 record is largely due to the impactful running game that has accumulated 1390 yards (278 per game).  With 185 rushing yards tonight, Howe will surpass the entire season of 2017 (1,574).  The Bulldogs also threw their first touchdown pass of the season last week, a 32-yarder (Bryce Krantz to Elijah Campbell).

The Bulldogs have accumulated a total of 1476 yards of offense through five games (295.2 average) and allowed a total of 1607 (321.4 per game).  A year ago, Howe averaged 240.7 yards of offense per game and allowed 340.60 per game.  The run game is the difference so far on each side of the ball where Howe is rushing for 121 more yards per game than a year ago.  The Dog defense is also allowing 18 fewer yards rushing per game by the opponent.  The ball control on offense eliminates drives by opponents that add up to more yardage (and points).

New players on the roster

Howe has brought up Jackson Adkins and Jordan Jones from the junior varsity.

On this day in Bulldog History (0-0)

1944, lost to Denison B, 12-0
1962, lost to Celina, 34-8
1973, lost to Wolfe City, 13-7
1979, beat Cooper, 6-0
1984, lost to Springtown, 17-13
1990, beat S&S, 27-0
2001, beat Anna, 14-0
2007, beat Bells, 42-16