Howe Lady Bulldogs’ post Riley Harvey has been named as a nominee for the McDonald’s All-American Games. The first boys game was held back in 1978 with Magic Johnson on the squad. Others to play in the annual game are Isiah Thomas, John Paxson, Michael Jordan, Alonzo Mourning, Shaquille O’Neal, Kevin Garnett, Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James and others. The girls game will be the 14th annual classic.
The event schedule for the McDonald’s All-American Games:
March 28 – Player arrival in Chicago; orientation; welcome event
March 29 – Ronald McDonald House visit
March 30 – 28th Powerade Jamfest 6:30pm CT University of Chicago/ESPN2
March 31 – Media Day 11:30am CT United Center
March 31 – Player Awards Banquet 6:00pm CT Union Station
This Saturday at the Howe Elementary/Middle School cafeteria, the Howe Youth Baseball organization will hold board member elections. Positions that open for election or re-elected are commissioner, secretary, concessions and uniforms. The elections will be held at 6pm on Saturday, January 9.
If you are interested in becoming active in the Howe Youth Baseball organization, please contact Scott Thurman at thurman99@gmail.com.
The Lady Bulldogs are getting some respect from two state polls. The Texas Association of Basketball Coaches have Howe ranked #15 in state while the Texas Girls Coaches Association has them ranked #7. Full polls:
It’s been quite the week for the Howe Lady Bulldogs (6-0). All they’ve done is swoop into Whitewright and take down the Lady Tigers, 52-39 and travel to Bells to come away with the tournament championship. On Tuesday Howe, by way of a dominating defensive second quarter, put the hammer down. Howe’s 13-2 win of the that period gave the girls breathing room while Holly Hawkins started to take over the game. Hawkins scored 15 points and pulled down 5 rebounds, added two assists and one steal in route to Derek Lands’ 329th career win. Three-time District MVP Riley Harvey added 11 points and 7 rebounds. Other scorers were Peyton Streetman (8), Kayla Anderson (5), Alissa Smith (5 and 9 rebounds), Darci Foster (4), Payton Griffin (2), and Landry Rhoten (2). Rhoten made her first appearance in Whitewright after transferring from there.
On Friday in Bells, Howe would open the tournament with Honey Grove and would jump all over the Lady Warriors, 12-1 after the first period. Harvey had her first double-double of the season with 21 points and 13 rebounds on the way to a 51-43 win. Other scorers were Streetman (8), Hawkins (6), Smith (6), Foster (3), Rhoten (3), Griffin (3), and Kamryn Fulenchek (2).
Game two would see a rematch with Whitewright. The game started extremely slow offensively ending with a 5-3 Howe lead after the first period. It wasn’t the second period this time that Howe shut down the Lady Tigers, it was the third. Howe outscored Whitewright 14-4 on their way to a 44-32 tournament opening win.
Harvey busted out with 20 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Lady Bulldogs. Peyton Streetman also added 9 points and 4 boards. Other scorers were Hawkins (5), Smith (4), Foster (3), Anderson (2) and Rhoten (1). Hawkins also ripped down 7 rebounds.
In the semifinal round, Howe took on Decatur, who has 876 listed as their UIL high school enrollment compared to 302 for Howe. To break that down, that’s 574 more students – that’s roughly 287 more juniors and seniors – that’s roughly 143.5 more junior and senior girls to choose from. They couldn’t find anyone of that massive population advantage that could match the Harvey-Streetman combo that combined for 24 points and 7 steals and leading the girls to a 43-26 dominating win that saw Decatur not reach double digits in points in any of the four periods. Streetman led the team with 13 points and was followed by closely by Harvey with 11. Both were 2 of 2 from 3-point range.
Other scorers were Smith (7), Hawkins (5), Anderson (3), Foster (3), and Rhoten (1).
That would set up showdown with Bells for the championship in their home gymnasium. Howe actually trailed after the first period, 11-10 but again, the defense completely shut things down in the second by only allowing two points to Bells. Howe took a commanding 24-13 lead into the halftime dressing room.
Bells outscored the Lady Bulldogs in the second half, 20-16, but the damage was done in the second quarter and Howe hung on to a 7- point win, 40-33 and celebrated afterwards with the championship trophy in-hand.
Harvey led the Lady Bulldogs with 13 points, Smith had her best scoring night of the young season with 12. Streetman added 9 and Foster sunk a three and a bucket to total 5. Anderson rounded out the scoring with one free throw.
The girls are now 6-0 and will take time off for Thanksgiving and will not play until Dec. 1 vs. Muenster.
Peyton Streetman and Riley Harvey were named to the All-Tournament Team.
The approachment of downtown coming up Haning Street put a certain “Dandy” Don song in the heads of those over-40 Bulldogs fans. The Victory Light may be turned off for the next nine months, but the darkness of the downtown corner doesn’t drown out the ability to reflect on one of the greatest seasons in Howe Bulldogs history. All this 2015 team did was reiterate to Howe and surrounding communities that the ‘Dogs are in a new era under the direction of proven leadership and are enjoying the fruits that come with rallying a school, a city and yes, people all over the country. A certain swagger and pride once again drips from the lips of those who call Howe home. For those fairly new to the Howe community, this is something new. For those who remember “Dandy” Don’s famous late Monday night downer opera, it’s been a long time.
While a good football team shouldn’t reflect the reputation of a school and city, in Small Town, Texas, it does. A great marketing plan is essential for a city’s economic development program, but a good football team may in fact be more important.
Howe (10-2) won the coin-toss and Coach Zack Hudson chose to receive the ball for the first time all season. Facing a high-powered West Rusk (11-1) offense that had scored 388 points coming into the game, Hudson wanted to get an early lead by taking most of the first quarter clock with him. However, things didn’t go as planned as the kickoff was booted by Brent Masters and he had to go back and pick it up inside the endzone which led to Howe starting from their own 1 yard line. The Bulldogs overcame the deep start and drove down inside Raider territory to the 40 yard line, but facing a 4th and 6, the ‘Dogs weren’t able to convert. West Rusk and their high-powered offense quickly drove the length of the field and scored on a 1-yard touchdown by Nick Ballard. West Rusk led 7-0 early in the first quarter.
Howe’s next possession start at their own 30 yard line and once again, the offense moved to ball down the field but came up three inches short on a 4th down run by Tyler Grisham. All season long, Howe has been able to convert 4th downs to keep drives alive but the inability to pick up the two crucial 1st downs played a major role in the outcome in this football game.
West Rusk took the ball at their own 30 yard line and drove deep in Howe territory but the ‘Dogs defense made a stand and held the Raiders to a 25-yard line drive field goal by Jose Cerda. West Rusk extended their lead to 10-0 with 7:23 left in the second quarter.
The Howe offense, which moved the ball well early on got a big burst when quarterback Brandon Wall bounced out and ran 47 yards to the 20. Four plays later, Grisham would push it in from the 6 yard line. The drive went 67 yards and took 2:36 off of the clock and cut the Raider lead to 10-7 with 4:47 before half.
West Rusk answered back quickly with their ferocious speed. Quarterback Dee Starlin and the bowling ball back of Ballard ran their way to paydirt with 2:06 left before half. Ballard ran it in from the one and the Raiders took a 17-7 lead.
Howe had a chance to make it a three point lead before the half with the ball starting at their own 34 yard line, however a quick exit gave the Raiders the ball :55 left before half after a great punt by Nick Wilson. Howe’s defense held the Raiders and the teams went to the locker rooms with West Rusk leading 17-7.
Due to the coin-toss, the Raiders started the second half with the ball and immediately created extra anxiety for the Bulldogs by scoring on a 51-yard drive. Howe gave the Raiders a short field all night by attempting onside kicks. This short field resulted in a Starlin to Breyon Thurman touchdown pass of 17 yards. Howe trailed 24-7 with 9:24 left in the third.
What we learned about this particular Bulldog team is that they have a little bit of “never quit” in them and answered right back with a 68 yard drive that took 7 plays and ended on a 1-yard touchdown by Howe’s leading rusher, Jaden Matthews. Howe cut the lead to 24-14 with 5:47 left in the third quarter.
Things got even more interesting on West Rusk’s next possession when Howe forced yet another field goal attempt by Cerda. This one, a 39-yard attempt, never made it more than 10 feet off of the ground and Howe took over at their own 22 yard line. However, the ‘Dogs had to punt and give it back to West Rusk at their own 43 yard line. Howe’s defense once again stopped the Raiders and forced them to turn the ball over on downs. Howe had one final offensive possession from their own 27 yard line with 10:31 left on the clock but again came up empty.
A late touchdown made the game seem more out of hand than it was. Ballard took it over from the 1 yard line with 1:11 left in the game to give West Rusk the area championship with a final score of 31-14.
Howe finished the season averaging 34.17 points per game, which is the most in school history. The defense gave up 14.42 per game which improved by over 12 points per game from 2014. The defense was the best since 2000 and has improved by nearly 24 points per game since Hudson’s arrival. The Bulldogs finished with a season margin of victory of 19.75 points which, by that standard, would equate the 2015 Howe Bullogs as the 7th best team in the 72 seasons of the football program.
Most people were surprised to see Howe ranked so high at the beginning of the season. Howe had just lost the school’s all-time leading rusher to graduation. But the system remains and the resurgence of Howe remains. “We believe that we will win” was the anthem of the 2015 Bulldogs – and that they did.
Tyler Grisham was named the 2015 District 5-3A MVP. Third year Howe Head Coach Zack Hudson was named District 5-3A Coach of the Year. Matt Griffin was named Offensive Lineman of the Year and Triston “Stump” Matthews was named Defensive Lineman of the Year.
Matt GriffinTriston “Stump” MatthewsZack Hudson
Others Bulldog honors:
Jaden Matthews, First Team Running Back
Clay Marshall, First Team Center
Tanner Hartsfield, First Team Guard
Mike Helpenstell, First Team Defensive Tackle
Ty Portman, First Team Defensive End
Tanner Hartsfield, First Team Inside Linebacker
Nick Wilson, First Team Cornerback
Winston Mosse, First Team Strong Safety
Stratton Carroll, Second Team Running Back
Joel Menjivar, Second Team Defensive Tackle
Andrew Griffin, Second Team Inside Linebacker
Zach Blevins, Second Team Cornerback
Levi Mrozinski, Second Team Free Safety
Brice Honaker, Second Team Kicker
Honorable Mention:
Cooper Akins, RB
Brandon Wall, QB
Brent Masters, RB
Hunter Morrow, OL
Jacob Taylor, LB
Austin Bearden, OL
Howe is 15-3 in their last 18 games going back to 10/17/2014 vs. Tom Bean. Howe’s best ever 18-game stretch was 17-1 from 11/3/1944-11/2/1946. Howe also had a 16-2 run from 10/21/1938-12/8/1939 and a 15-3 run from 10/17/1969-9/10/1971 . It’s the best 18-game stretch since 10/17/1997 – 9/16/1999 when the ‘Dogs went 13-5. Howe also had a 13-5 stretch from 9/9/1988-10/27/1989.
With the win over Edgewood, Howe moves to 10-1 on the season. Here’s a look at the Bulldogs’ most wins in Howe history:
10-1, 2015 District, Bi-District Champions 10-2, 1998 District, Bi-District Champions 10-2, 1970 District, Bi-District Champions, Regional Champions 9-0-1, 1946 District Champions 9-0-2, 1938 District Champions 9-1, 1940 District Champions 9-2, 2010 District Champions 9-2, 1939 District Champions 9-3-1, 1985 District, Bi-District, Area Champions 9-4, 1989 District, Bi-District, Area Champions
Howe’s 43 points on Edgewood is the second most points scored in a playoff game for Howe.
50, 11/21/2014 vs. Hughes Springs 43, 11/12/2015 vs. Edgewood 30, 11/14/2014 vs. Cooper 28, 11/17/1989 vs. Royse City 28, 11/13/1998 vs. Pilot Point
The 33 points given up by Howe is the 6th most in the playoffs and the most allowed and still won.
71, 11/28/2014 vs. Waskom (L) 46, 11/28/1940 vs, Lewisville (L) 38, 12/1/1989 vs. McGregor (L) 35, 11/19/2010 vs. New Boston (L) 34, 11/11/1988 vs. Farmersville (L) 33, 11/12/2015 vs. Edgeood (W)
The 43 points vs. Edgewood moves Howe’s points per game average to 36.00 which is better than any Howe team finished.
36.00, 2015 – District Champions, Bi-District Champions 33.83, 1998 – District, Bi-District Champions 33.70, 1940 – District Champions 30.82, 2010 – District Champions 29.82, 1999 – playoffs 28.69, 2014 – Bi-District, Area Champions 28.46, 1989 – District, Bi-District, Area Champions 28.10, 1987 27.80, 1960 27.09, 1991 – District Champions
Howe is now 12-16-3 in the playoffs. Howe has never played area opponent West Rusk nor played at Forney’s City Bank Stadium.
Date
Howe
Opponent
12/2/1938
6
Anna Bi-District Champs*
7
12/8/1939
6
Lewisville – Bi-District (home)
32
11/28/1940
6
Lewisville – Bi-District
46
11/27/1942
12
Sanger – Bi-District
12
12/4/1945
0
Frisco – Bi District
19
11/27/1970
21
Lone Oak – Bi-District Champs
12
12/5/1970
22
Windthorst – Regional Champs
0
11/16/1984
0
Farmersville – Bi-District
17
11/15/1985
10
Farmersville – Bi-District Champs
7
11/22/1985
18
Grand Saline – Area Champs
0
11/29/1985
14
Groveton – Regional
16
11/14/1986
7
Pilot Point – Bi District
28
11/11/1988
0
Farmersville – Bi-District
34
11/17/1989
28
Royse City – Bi-District Champs
14
11/24/1989
17
Electra – Area Champs
9
12/1/1989
14
McGregor – Regional
38
11/17/1990
14
Celina – Bi-District Champs
14
11/23/1990
10
Olney – Area Champs
10
11/30/1990
0
Mart – Regional
28
11/15/1991
8
Van Alstyne – Bi-District
30
11/13/1998
28
Pilot Point – Bi District Champs
14
11/19/1998
13
Boyd – Area
28
11/18/1999
14
Pilot Point – Bi District
30
11/18/2000
17
Farmersville – Bi-District
20
11/15/2003
21
Grand Saline – Bi-District
14
11/22/2003
14
Maypearl – Area
21
11/19/2010
0
New Boston – Area
35
11/14/2014
30
Cooper – Bi-District
20
11/21/2014
50
Hughes Springs – Bi-District
32
11/28/2014
21
Waskom – Regional
71
11/6/2015
43
Edgewood – Bi-District
33
This decade now has 9 playoff games. That ties the 1980’s for the most playoff games played in a decade. Obviously, districts take twice as many teams to the playoffs now more than then, but it is a great accomplishment. The list:
2010’s – 9 (tonight) 1980’s – 9 1990’s – 7
Howe has five shutouts so far in 2015. The last time Howe had that many in a season was 1985. The list of most shutouts in one season:
This season, Howe had back-to-back-back shutouts for the first time since 1991 vs. Whitewright, Callisburg, and Tom Bean. The list of consecutive shutouts by a Howe team:
Howe’s average margin of victory in 2015 is 23.09 which is second only to the 1940 District Champions who won by a margin of 27.20. The list of the top 10 teams by margin of victory:
27.20, 1940 – District Champions 23.09, 2015 – District Champions, Bi-District Champions 21.30, 1946 – District Champions 20.90, 1987 20.75, 1998 – District, Bi-District Champions 20.20, 1942 – District Champions 20.18, 1991 – District Champions 17.44, 1945 – District Champions 17.00, 1938 – District, Bi-District Champions 16.45, 1939 District Champions
Zack Hudson now has 20 wins at Howe which is good for 5th all-time. The list:
51, Norman Dickey, 1964-1975 41, Jim Fryar, 1985-1989 34, Davey DuBose, 1996-2000 29, John “Buck” Smith, 1980-1984 20, Zack Hudson, 2013-
