PREGAME NOTES
Howe’s overall record 363-333-24. This is game number 721 in season number 72.
Howe is 5-1 in games played on September 4:
1992: Lost to Van Alstyne, 71-20
2010: Beat Chico, 49-0
Howe vs. Muenster Sacred Heart
Howe rushed for 446 yards vs. Bonham last week which ranks 3rd since Dale West brought his Slot-T formation here last season.
2. 472 vs. Hughes Springs, 2014
The 41 points scored vs. Bonham is tied for 2nd all-time in points on opening night.
1. 49 points vs. Blue Ridge, 2008
2. 41 points vs. Lone Oak, 1998
The last time Howe played in Cooke County was in 2013 when they defeated Lindsay, 9-5. Prior to that was a 43-40 win at Callisburg in 2010. The last loss in Cooke County for the Bulldogs came at Valley View in 2008, a 32-29 loss in the Stony Coffman era.
2014 Recap
In 2014, Howe’s offense ranked 5th of 71 Bulldog teams with 28.7 points per game. The previous year was ranked 54 with 11.8 points per game. That was an improvement by 16.9 points per game which was the biggest turnaround in school history from one year to the next. The previous high was 13.7 from 2009 to 2010.
The 2014 Howe Bulldogs were the 14th team in school history to make the playoffs. They set a record for the most points scored in a single playoff run with 101 and a record for the most points scored in a playoff game (50 vs. Hughes Springs).
The 2014 Howe Bulldogs also gave up a school record tying 71 points to eventual state champion Waskom in the regional championship and gave up 123 points in the playoff run, which also was the most by any team.
While the offense was in the top five in school history, the defense, with four freshman starters ranked 64th of 71 by giving up 26.8 points per game. Those numbers were heavily skewed in the final game vs. Waskom. Coach Zack Hudson’s defense was actually statistically a little better in his first year of 2013 by allowing 24.2 points per game. Hudson arrived in Howe and inherited the worst ranked defense in school history that gave up an astonishing 38.1 points per game in 2012. The 13.9 point improvement from ’12 to ’13 was the biggest turnaround in school history from one year to the next.
When the defense improves by nearly two touchdowns and the offense improves by nearly 17 points, wins start to total up and a 2-8 team in 2012 became a quick three-round playoff team in 2014.
