Pregame Notes Below
Howe’s overall record is 376-337-24
Season: 73 Game: 738
The 54th Battle of the Silver Spike
Van Alstyne owns the series record, 34-17-2 and have won nine consecutive games dating back to 2000.
Bring your headphones to the game and tune in to 99.9 FM
(inside the stadium only)
| 10/24/1941 | 7 | at Van Alstyne | 31 |
| 11/5/1942 | 6 | at Van Alstyne | 7 |
| 9/29/1944 | 0 | at Van Alstyne | 25 |
| 9/21/1945 | 13 | Van Alstyne | 0 |
| 11/2/1946 | 26 | at Van Alstyne | 0 |
| 10/31/1947 | 0 | at Van Alstyne | 7 |
| 10/21/1948 | 0 | at Van Alstyne | 48 |
| 9/8/1961 | 0 | at Van Alstyne | 14 |
| 9/7/1962 | 12 | Van Alstyne | 30 |
| 9/6/1963 | 0 | at Van Alstyne | 36 |
| 10/9/1964 | 2 | Van Alstyne | 40 |
| 10/8/1965 | 6 | at Van Alstyne | 45 |
| 10/2/1970 | 33 | Van Alstyne | 20 |
| 10/1/1971 | 8 | at Van Alstyne | 7 |
| 10/20/1972 | 12 | Van Alstyne | 40 |
| 10/19/1973 | 0 | at Van Alstyne | 19 |
| 10/18/1974 | 0 | at Van Alstyne | 0 |
| 10/17/1975 | 6 | Van Alstyne | 22 |
| 10/22/1976 | 2 | Van Alstyne | 26 |
| 10/21/1977 | 22 | at Van Alstyne | 21 |
| 10/13/1978 | 28 | Van Alstyne | 12 |
| 10/12/1979 | 40 | at Van Alstyne | 0 |
| 10/31/1980 | 23 | at Van Alstyne | 7 |
| 10/30/1981 | 12 | Van Alstyne | 20 |
| 10/29/1982 | 21 | at Van Alstyne | 21 |
| 10/28/1983 | 21 | Van Alstyne | 27 |
| 11/9/1984 | 6 | Van Alstyne | 15 |
| 11/8/1985 | 35 | at Van Alstyne | 0 |
| 9/12/1986 | 19 | Van Alstyne | 22 |
| 9/11/1987 | 21 | at Van Alstyne | 6 |
| 10/28/1988 | 19 | Van Alstyne | 6 |
| 11/3/1989 | 35 | at Van Alstyne | 13 |
| 9/14/1990 | 6 | at Van Alstyne | 12 |
| 9/13/1991 | 3 | Van Alstyne | 13 |
| 11/15/1991 | 8 | Van Alstyne – Bi-District | 30 |
| 9/4/1992 | 20 | Van Alstyne | 71 |
| 9/3/1993 | 0 | at Van Alstyne | 23 |
| 11/4/1994 | 19 | at Van Alstyne | 13 |
| 11/10/1995 | 7 | Van Alstyne | 6 |
| 10/11/1996 | 0 | at Van Alstyne | 35 |
| 10/10/1997 | 14 | Van Alstyne | 26 |
| 10/9/1998 | 41 | Van Alstyne | 13 |
| 10/8/1999 | 27 | at Van Alstyne | 17 |
| 10/20/2000 | 14 | at Van Alstyne | 10 |
| 10/19/2001 | 0 | Van Alstyne | 33 |
| 9/13/2002 | 7 | at Van Alstyne | 28 |
| 9/12/2003 | 7 | Van Alstyne | 32 |
| 9/10/2004 | 2 | at Van Alstyne | 42 |
| 9/9/2005 | 20 | Van Alstyne | 21 |
| 9/12/2008 | 6 | at Van Alstyne | 48 |
| 9/11/2009 | 6 | Van Alstyne | 35 |
| 11/2/2012 | 15 | at Van Alstyne | 42 |
| 11/1/2013 | 7 | Van Alstyne | 31 |
| Battle of the Silver Spike Records (as of 6/27/2014) | |||
| Most points scored by Howe | 41 | 10/9/1998 | at Howe (41-13) |
| Most points scored by Van Alstyne | 71 | 9/4/1992 | at Howe (71-20) |
| Most combined points in a game | 91 | 9/4/1992 | 71-20 Van Alstyne |
| Howe Wins | 17 | ||
| Van Alstyne Wins | 34 | ||
| Total Ties | 2 | ||
| Total shutouts by Howe | 5 | ||
| Total shutouts by Van Alstyne | 10 | ||
| Last shutout by Howe | 11/8/1985 | at Van Alstyne (35-0) | |
| Last shutout by Van Alstyne | 10/19/2001 | at Howe (33-0) | |
| Most overall points scored by Howe | 664 | ||
| Most overall points scored by Van Alstyne | 1168 | ||
| Most wins by a Howe head coach | 4 | 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989 | Jim Fryar |
| Most losses by a head coach | 6 | 1964, 65, 72, 73, 74, 75 | Norman Dickey |
| Consecutive wins by Howe | 4 | 1977-1980 | |
| Consecutive wins by Van Alstyne | 9 | 1947-65; 2001-2013 | |
| Howe’s record at Bulldog Stadium | 6-17-0 | ||
| Howe’s record at Panther Stadium | 11-16-0 | ||
| Howe’s record at a Neutral site | 0-1 (Bi-District) | Clark Stadium, Plano, TX – 11/15/1991 |
Howe is 10-15-1 vs. Van Alstyne in October
Largest margin of victory for Howe = 40 in 1979 at Van Alstyne
Largest margin of victory for Van Alstyne = 51 in 1992 at Howe
Most rushing yards vs. Van Alstyne (missing 1979 game, which is possible):
360, 1985
359, 1986
324, 1989
303, 1998
Most rushing yards vs. Howe:
396, 2008
370, 1984
326, 2005
323, 1961
323, 1965
The first Silver Spike
1988 Adam Coffey makes a perfect tackle in the 31st Battle of the 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 9- 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.
This Day in Bulldogs History, 3-6-1
1938, Tied Whitesoro, 12-12 at Bulldog Stadium
1943, lost at Sherman B, 6-0
1948, beat Gunter, 25-0 at Bulldog Stadium
1966, lost at Leonard, 23-8
1977, lost to Pilot Point, 21-8 at Bulldog Stadium
1983, lost to Pottsboro, 7-6 at Bulldog Stadium
1988, won at Pottsboro, 21-14
1994, beat Leonard, 28-0 at Bulldog Stadium
2005, lost at Anna, 41-7
2011, lost at Boyd, 55-6