honors first responders

Middle School Students

The Howe Middle School Student Council opened the ceremony with pledges to both the American and

Texas flags followed by a moment of silence HMS students Brett Burnett and Laine Watson presided over the opening ceremony

Moments later, Clay White and Trinity Williams read student essays they had written regarding police and fire protection

A video was then shown to continued on page 3 continued from page 1 senior boys But having 112 or so more boys to choose from certainly didn't matter to the Bulldogs and their coaching staff

Quinlan Ford won the coin toss and chose to receive the ball to start the game At first, it appeared that the advantage in enrollment would play a factor in this game as Quinlan Ford quarterback Linus BeierSchmitt hit slot back Blaine Burch for a quick strike 39-yard touchdown to open the game and give the Panthers an early 6-0 lead after a missed PAT

With 10:24 on the clock, Howe took over for the first time on the night and answered back by taking 2:40 off the clock and ending a 73yard drive with a 4-yard touchdown by Tyler Grisham, his fifth of the year With the Brice Honaker PAT, Howe led 7-6 with 7:44 remaining in the first

The Bulldogs forced Quinlan to punt deep in their own territory on their next possession which gave Howe the ball in great shape at the Panther 29 yard line On the first play of the drive, quarterback Brandon Wall shocked everyone in attendance by throwing the ball He hit 6'5 Ty Harvey for a 29-yard scoring strike to up the Howe advantage 13-6 Howe tried a halfback pass for a 2-point conversion, but was unsuccessful

Harvey continued to have a great first quarter by intercepting a Beierschmitt pass at the Howe 30 yard line on the next possession However, the 'Dogs were unable to capitalize and punted away to Quinlan

After an exchange of several punts, Howe would end the first quarter with a 13-6 lead Midway through the second quarter, Bulldog safety Seth Seibold intercepted a Beierschmitt pass at the Howe 43 yard line which once again set up a one-play drive This time Mason Riggs got a toss to the left and went untouched for 57 yards for the score The extra point gave Howe the 20-6 lead with 5:46 left in the second quarter continued on page 4 middle school student body followed by an emotional speech by HMS teacher Jackie Dawsey, whose husband Bruce is a Sherman Police Officer Dawsey talked about the long nights she would await for him to come home and understanding that the day could come that he may not return home

Dawsey said that once the speech got going, he had trouble holding back emotions "I couldn't look at her I hadn't head it It was very emotional to hear someone that you love and care about speak those kind words and talk about your life " said Dawsey who is also a Howe ISD Board of Trustees member "You think you know how your job impacts them, how it impacts your family, but until you hear them say that to a large group, you really don't know"

HMS Assistant Principal Wes Rhoten talked about his father's life of being a police officer and the impact it made on his life "My dad had to work two or three jobs to support his family He had to miss our games to serve and protect others That was the kind of man he was That was his duty"

Rhoten before leaving the podium thanked all of the first responders for their daily selfless sacrifice read by Mariana Cano and Haley Richardson read an essay on law enforcement

Howe Police Chief Carl Hudman decided not to talk about the heroic job they do on a daily basis, but rather focused on the community of Howe "I've been here since 2013 and this is the best community I've ever been in There's no place quite like Howe, Texas " said Hudman

Hudman's disarmingly calm stoic presence was well received by the students of Howe Middle School He informed the students that any self-serving person who is in law enforcement will not last long He made it a clear point that each and everyone wearing a badge of some sort signed up to be in that position because they truly have a sense of compassion for people and to protect them

Perhaps the most emotional aspect of the honoring was a speech given by April Key, the wife of the late Chad Key

"My husband was a Grayson County Deputy Sheriff who was killed who was killed on April 20, 2013 while he was serving and protecting. He was doing something he absolutely loved "

said Key

Key said that she knows first-hand that the sacrifices that the first responders make and their families make

"I know that the passion that each and everyone of you have for your jobs turns to compassion for the people in the community that you protect and serve " said Key "There's just not enough words adequate enough for me to express my appreciation for each of you From the bottom of my heart, thank you all for being selfless and running towards danger when everyone else runs away from it "

Key, as she left the podium, was given a standing ovation from the entire auditorium

Eighth graders Brooke Robinson and Erin Catching then called for a moment of silence for those who had given their lives as first responders The moment of silence was immediately followed by letters of appreciation given to each first responder in attendance

"This was amazing, absolutely amazing for all the kids in Howe to come out like this and show their support and appreciation We really appreciate it " said Grayson County Sheriff Tom Watt

"The kids were all respectful and you could tell that they were listening to what was going on " said Officer Dawsey "The outpouring and the community support that we have in this community - if the rest of the nation could be like this, we'd live in a perfect world."

"For them to recognize all of us and call each one of us out and let the kids write essays about what they think - it's awesome and there's continued on page 8

Bulldogs

continued from page 2

Mason Riggs had a breakout night on varsity on Friday with a 57yard touchdown Photo by Tammy Griffin

Quinlan's next possession started at their own 31 yard line Facing a 4th and 8, Beierschmitt dropped back in punt formation, but decided to try and run for the first down on their side of the field Harvey pushed him out of bounds at the Quinlan 35 yard line and Howe took over after the big Panther gamble One play later, Cooper Akins scored from 35 yards out as he zig zagged from right, left, to the middle of the field He got a bone crushing block from his quarterback at the five yard line With the score, Howe led 27-6 after the Honaker PAT with 3:32 left before half.

Quinlan would start at their own 24 yard line and drive down the field, but the Panther drive stalled out after a great defensive play by Dylan Moreau who stopped a middle screen on fourth down Howe took possession with 5 7 remaining in the half and took a knee leading 27-6

Howe started with the football in the second half and quickly put together a 49-yard drive that took 2:16 off the clock Grisham raced 30 yards for the score and the PAT gave Howe 34-6 lead with 9:35 left in the third

With a good Panther kick return, they answered right back with a 49-yard drive of their own capped off by a 22-yard scoring run by Beierschmitt up the middle of the field The drive took 3:42 off of the clock which left 5:46 in the third and Howe led 34-13

On Howe's next possession, Howe would put together a patented 78yard clock-killing drive that was finally ended on Wall's first rushing touchdown of the year which was a 29-yarder around the right end That gave Howe a 41-13 lead with 1:28 left in the third quarter

Quinlan was forced to punt on their next possession and Howe took the ball at their own 32 yard line at the 10:29 mark in the fourth quarter Howe put together a drive that took an unbelievable 7:33 off of the clock and finished with a 32-yard field goal by Honaker, his longest of the year That would finish the scoring on the night with Howe leading 44-13 with only 2:57 left in the game

Quinlan made one last effort, but to score, but was unable thanks to a stingy "Black Plague" defense led by Tanner Hartsfield and Andrew Griffin Other notables on defense were nose guard Zack Daniels and defensive end Cameron Blesi

Howe will travel to meet Class 4A Caddo Mills next week The Foxes are 1-2 on the year having been beaten by Farmersville on Friday night, 28-18 Their win came at Lone Oak

Howe moved to 3-1 on the season and have fared well in the tough schedule to date

Stats

Passing: Brandon Wall 2-3-0-55

Rushing: Mason Riggs 6-84, Tyler

Grisham 11-84, Cooper Akins 981, Brandon Wall 5-46, Jaden Matthews 9-35, Cade Courtney 411, Dylan Moreau 2-8

Receiving: Ty Harvey 2-55