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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.

In the early morning hours of Friday, September 27 the Grayson County Sheriff’s Office responded to a robbery of an individual located off of Lovers Leap Road in Van Alstyne, Texas. A female was followed home from work and robbed at gunpoint. This investigation has led to two people in custody. The Sheriff’s Office says there is no danger to the community. This is a very large spread out investigation involving multiple agencies and is still ongoing. The Sheriff’s Office cannot release any further information at this time due to the pending investigation.

If you have any questions please contact Sgt. Cheairs or Lt. Wester at 903-813-4200 ext 2235 or 903- 813-4200 ext 2216.

The Sheriff’s Office would like to remind everyone to be aware of your surroundings and call law enforcement if you see suspicious behavior.

Yesterday afternoon (Sept. 25, 2019), the Grayson County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit received a call from a Confidential Informant, who stated they were at a local motel in Sherman, Texas. There were people in the room who were in possession of methamphetamine and stolen weapons. Investigators began conducting surveillance of a Maroon Ford F150 the suspects were in, and when it left, they continued surveillance. A traffic stop was conducted soon after.

Four juveniles and one adult male were identified inside the vehicle. Multiple weapons were observed, and each individual was removed from the vehicle and searched. Sherman PD was on scene to assist. A search of the vehicle was conducted and seven guns were located: along with 4.8 g of methamphetamine.

All parties were transported to the courthouse for interviews. During the interviews, parties confessed to a burglary of a habitation in Tom Bean that had not been reported yet. During the interviews Investigators were given information where 4 more stolen weapons were located and those were also recovered by the Investigators, all of this property was returned to the owner. Three additional weapons remain missing but Investigators are conducting more interviews to get those recovered. The investigation is still ongoing at this time. The adult is currently in Grayson County Jail, but their name cannot be released at this time. The juveniles were released to their guardians. When the investigation is complete all information on this case will be submitted to the Grayson County District Attorney’s Office to determine the appropriate charges.

Sherman- Funeral services for Sherry Lee Cate will be held at 10:00 AM Thursday, September 19 at the First Baptist Church in Howe. Eric Bayer will officiate. Burial will follow at Hall Cemetery. Michael Hill, Rodney Cooper, Robert Cate, Collin Lankford, Tyler Hill, and Cameron Lankford will serve as pallbearers.  Caleb Lankford will be an honorary pallbearer.  Mrs. Cate, 61, passed away Thursday, September 12 in Sherman.

Sherry was born February 18, 1958 in Houston, Texas to the late Edward and Emma Lee (Peitsch) Niday.   On November 22, 1985 Sherry and Marvin Cate were married in Pasadena, Texas. Sherry worked for Farm Bureau for 17 years until her declining health forced her retirement in January 2019. She enjoyed cooking and grilling for family gatherings.  She loved her children and grandchildren and took great pride in spoiling her grandkids.  She also enjoyed camping, boating, and fishing.  She was of the Christian Faith.

Mrs. Cate is survived by three sons, Michael Hill and wife Michelle of Howe, Rodney Cooper and Maggie Yuen of Sherman, and Robert Cate and wife Binta of Sherman; six grandchildren, Collin Lankford and fiancé’ Courtney Hall, Caleb Lankford, Tyler Hill, Cameron Lankford, Makenna Cooper, and Naomi Cate; brother, Bobby Carnell of Pasadena; sister, Brenda Alfred of Pasadena; sister-in-law, Kathie Fenton and husband Joseph of Muenster; and numerous nieces and nephews.  She was preceded in death by her parents and her husband Marvin.

The family will receive friends from 6:00-8:00 PM Wednesday, September 18 at Waldo Funeral Home. The register book can be signed online at waldofuneralhome.com.