Bulldogs Baseball

Junior Parker Pecina struck out 14 Blue Ridge Tigers on Friday. Photo by Carla Burnett. Sophomore Matt Hayes struck out 11 Blue Ridge Tigers on Tuesday. Photo by Michelle Carney.

Every baseball guru will tell you that the game is completely controlled by pitching. The Howe Bulldogs (7-13) dominated in that area this week as their pitching staff combined for 28 strikeouts in 14.2 innings against Blue Ridge. On Tuesday, the Bulldog offense helped out with 10 runs on 10 hits to win 10-5 and Friday saw the pitchers’ duel go into extra innings as Howe pulled out a 2 -1 win in the eighth inning. The two district wins were the first for Howe and the first since the final district game in 2019 thanks to last season’s district schedule seeing only one game due to COVID.

On Tuesday, Sophomore Matt Hayes struck out 11 hitters in six innings, allowing no earned runs on two hits and four walks. He exited the game with the Bulldogs leading, 10-1 after throwing 104 pitches. Fellow sophomore Ryan Hough drove in two runs on two doubles. Luke Lopez also drove in two runs and Austin Haley, Dylan Hughs, and Kaleb McNutt each had two hits.

Howe’s first run came in the second inning when McNutt singled home Hughs. Moments later, sophomore Carson Daniels scored on an error.

In the third inning, Hughs doubled home Haley and Ethan Lopez reached on an error that scored Hughs.

Howe put a 5-spot on the board in the sixth inning to put the game seemingly out of reach, but Hughs came in to relieve Hayes in the seventh and the Tigers scored four earned runs on three hits and two walks.

On Friday, Parker Pecina took to the hill and dazzled Howe fans by allowing only three hits in 7.1 innings, striking out 14 and walking none. He allowed no earned runs. With 117 pitches into the game and leading, 2-1, he handed the ball to Daniels to finish the win and he was able to strike out Tiger leadoff hitter Darland for the game’s final out.

Howe was also held to three hits on the evening which two of them came from Hughs. The other came from Ethan Lopez. Pecina drew Howe’s only walk in the game.

Howe took a 1-0 lead when Ethan Lopez doubled home Hughs in the top of the fourth. Blue Ridge tied in the bottom half of the inning. The eventual game-winning run came in the top of the eighth when Hughs doubled home Hough who reached on an error.

Howe will travel to Bells on Tuesday and finish the 2-game series with the Panthers at home on Friday.

Howe vs. Blue Ridge

Howe at Blue Ridge

Jesse Farrer was a warrior in all things he did in life. Courtesy photos.

Throughout life, we are inundated with people that pass through our journey. Friends from childhood become strangers in adulthood. The vast majority, maybe even 99 percent of people that you come in contact with during your journey on this planet are just passersby. Then there are the 0.99 percent that you remain in close contact with. The remaining is a 0.01 percent. Those people are the ones in your circle that make such an impression on you that it makes you want to be around them and hug them and talk for hours on end. Jesse Farrer, to herds of people in Southern Grayson county was in their 0.01 percent.

Farrer was born to Jesse P. and Paula Farrer in 1970 and attended Howe schools. Approaching high school, Farrer was not the biggest, fastest, or strongest as was the motto of Howe Bulldogs Head Coach Jim Fryar at the time. Howe had many really good athletes, although Farrer was not among the purest. But Farrer had one other component that Fryar put above all the other features - Jesse Farrer had the heart of the fiercest lion in the jungle, a championship mentality, and the desire to do everything he could to make his team better. The determination, dedication, and self-sacrifice created a special bond between Farrer and Fryar. While working ferociously to get bigger, faster, and stronger, he suffered numerous knee injuries on the field which would most likely end the football careers of 99.99 percent of players in today’s era. But Farrer was that 0.01 percent that never quit, never loafed, never stopped until the final whistle had sounded. Jesse Farrer playing on one leg was better than anyone else that dared try to move ahead of him in the depth chart. The Howe Bulldogs during his three years of varsity were 23-9 with two playoff appearances. At a football banquet, Fryar gave an award to Farrer and told the audience about the obstacles that the ofteninjured player went through and his overwhelming desire to be on the field and be there for his teammates. That night Fryar told the audience, “I love Jesse Farrer!” After his speech, there was not a dry eye in the room because all had seen the special bond between a coach and his 0.01 percent player.

On Wednesday, current Howe Bulldogs Head Coach Bill Jehling announced that he would not issue Farrer’s jersey number 75 for the 2021 season. Matthew Bearden, who had worn 75 for the past two seasons, will switch to number 60 which was worn by his Bulldog grandfather Jimmie Wormsbaker. Ironically, Wormsbaker’s number 60 was not issued in the 2009 season and is the only other number to have that honor.

Farrer married Brandi Miller in (Continued on page 6)

Inside the home on Haning Street. Courtesy photo.

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“Ladder 21 crew did a fantastic work containing the fire. The occupants were able to escape the structure and had no injuries,” stated from the Howe Fire Department Facebook page.

Also on the scene were the Van Alstyne Fire Department and Tom Bean Fire Department for mutual aid. Grayson County Fire Marshall John Weda said the fire was caused by a discarded cigarette butt and a strong south wind that blew it into an exposed wood floor joist.

1994 and proceeded to change his allegiance from Bulldog-land to Tom Cat-land as his daughters began school at Tom Bean ISD. He even served as president of the school board and coached his daughters Abby and Chloe’s youth league sports.

But the constant for Farrer’s life has been his undeniable faith in Jesus Christ. While in Tom Bean, working with the youth of the community, he led many to Christ and served as a mentor to a generation of young people. Finding that his calling in life, after a long career working for Grayson County, Farrer took a leap of faith and retired at a young age and began his ministry full-time at Community Bible Fellowship as the associate pastor. It was there that his mission began play to out.

Just as the worst year of all-time began, on January 8, 2020, Farrer went to Parkland Hospital in Dallas to begin treatments for cancer that was found during a PET scan that day. They also found a spot on his lungs and his bones. But just as the Jesse Farrer that Coach Fryar knew and loved, the fighter came out in him and he told his church members not to worry that God was in control and that “It’s Gonna Be OK” which became the battle cry for Jesse’s fight through cancer. Soon after, t-shirts were made by Community Bible Fellowship church members that were sold to raise money. A fundraiser was held in Tom Bean that reminded one of the movie It’ s a Wonderful Life where a $5 BBQ and auction raised over $40,000.

No doctor, no nurse, no disease ever met a fighter like Jesse Farrer. But after a year of battling the disease and making great strides, he received bad news on March 3 of this year. The cancer had been seen on his spleen and (Continued on page 7)