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Howe ISD Superintendent Kevin Wilson gave a report to the school board Monday which began with enrollment numbers of 1,245 students which was an increase of six from August.

Wilson hired a nurse who will base at the high school but will also spend time at the intermediate campus. An aide was also hired at Summit Hill Elementary School.

He gave academic reports on ACT and SAT scores. The ISD saw a slight decrease in the ACT test in which Wilson said COVID most likely played a factor.

“When we hired our second high school counselor (this year), we placed emphasis on our college entrance testing,” said Wilson. “They’re working on that and hopefully we’ll see the result of that next year.” The SAT test in September was above the state average at 1026, but the second test in the spring was slightly below the state average. Wilson said he didn’t think one snapshot indicated a trend.

“The vast majority of our kids have been taking the ACT in the past,” said Wilson who said the SAT results could be because it’s new to the Howe students. “I think it’s good for the kids to take both because they are different, and some kids’ skills match different tests.”

The state reimburses the school for one test; therefore, a student can take one test at no-cost, but if a student chooses both tests, they would be responsible for the cost of the second.

Wilson said their contracted service company has collected $52,013 in delinquent taxes for the ISD over the past 12 months. Of that, over $15,000 was in penalty and interest fees. There is another $48,000 in pending lawsuits outstanding. The tax collection percentage a year ago was 99 percent which was slightly down from 2018-2019, but the district feared much worse with the COVID situation.

In 2020, Howe ISD turned over 210 accounts for collection for a total of just over $120,000. In 2019, 235 accounts were turned over for $130,000.

Wilson said that the ISD is in good shape in regard to COVID currently with only one active case on Monday whereas there were 17 on the third Monday in September. He gave county cases for COVID which were significantly down also. He says the district can continue their same protocols for COVID positive cases for siblings regarding quarantine, which is not mandatory, but optional.

“Hopefully, this trend continues, and we don’t have another variant come up and have to start all over again,” said Wilson.

Howe ISD Superintendent Kevin Wilson

Summit Hill Elementary Students of the Month

Giselle Martinez, Travis Martin, Avery Tazelaar, Noah Pio, Ivory Moreno, Grayson Gould, Greta Tibbits, and Austin Grooms.

Mineola’s Dawson Pendergrass (22) raced 99 yards for the Yellowjacket’s second score in the first quarter. Photo by Michelle Carney. Howe vs. Mineola

If things weren’t already stacked against the Howe Bulldogs (0-8, 0 -5), the loss of multiple starters to injury including the town’s alltime leading passer made it virtually impossible to compete against an East Texas powerhouse like Mineola (4-4, 3-2). Howe, rotating two different quarterbacks in senior Kaleb McNutt and sophomore Cooper Jones were trying to condense the playbook, burn clock, and limit exposure to Mineola’s junior running back Dawson Pendergrass—one of the most talented backs in all of Texas 3A.

Howe played without starting quarterback (injured left shoulder) and free safety Austin Haley, starting running back and linebacker Carson Daniels (mild concussion), starting receiver Ethan Lopez (sprained ankle), and starting linebacker Bryce Crosby (sprained ankle). They also had their right-handed sophomore center Mahlon Walker snapping left-handed due to a torn tendon on his right ring finger. With all of that, the uphill battle would have been tough against any team much less the daunting atmosphere of Mineola with the handpainted backdrop that oozes Texas high school football.

Howe was unable to muster anything offensively for most of the evening and on their first drive punted to the Yellowjackets. It

Broadcast of the game

took only four plays for Mineola to score as Pendergrass put Meredith Memorial Stadium on his back and brought them to their feet with a 21-yard touchdown. The drive went 75 yards and took 1:11 off the clock and gave the Yellowjackets a 6-0 with 8:28 left in the first.

The Dogs next possession lasted nine plays and took nearly five minutes off the clock before a punt by Jones pinned the Jackets back at their own six yard line. Moments later, Luis Gonzalez came on a blitz to tackle Pendergrass for a five yard loss back to the one yard line. But on the next play, Pendergrass got the handoff and outran Howe for the Mineola school record 99-yard touchdown. Christian Martinez’ remaining PATs were good, and the Jackets led 13-0 with 3:20 left in the first quarter.

Howe punted after three plays which set up Mineola’s first pass of the evening which resulted in a 56-yard touchdown from quarterback T.J. Moreland to J.J. Gandy. Mineola’s lead moved to 20-0 with 1:24 left in the first.

Another Howe punt led to another quick score for the Jackets as Moreland’s second pass of the evening was caught by Brady Shrum (Continued on page 5)

Howe sophomore center Mahlon Walker (78) snapped left-handed

as he has a torn tendon on his right ring finger. Photo by Michelle Carney. The Howe High School Varsity Cheerleaders. Photo by Michelle Carney.

(Continued from page 4)

for a 46-yard scoring strike that capped off a 2-play drive and gave them a 27-0 lead with 10:54 left in the second quarter. Howe punted on their next possession and forced a turnover on downs. The Dogs’ final possession was desperation heaves trying to get on the board.

Howe moved the ball eight plays on their next possession, but McNutt was picked off by Adam Blalock who raced 80 yards for the pick-six touchdown to give the Jackets a 34-0 lead with 6:25 left in the second quarter.

The Bulldogs then drove 49 yards on the next possession to the Mineola 20 yard line, but Jones was intercepted in the endzone just before the half ended.

Mineola ran just 10 plays on offense during the first half, scoring on four of them. They opened the second half with the ball and drove six plays, 52 yards and scored on an 18-yard touchdown by Pendergrass with 9:56 left in the third which gave Mineola a 40 -0 lead.

Howe punted after three plays which put the ball into hands of Mineola at their own 45 yard line. Six plays and 55 yards later, Cason Davis scored from the 11 yard line to bump up the Jacket advantage to 47-0 with 5:17 left in the third.

Howe’s next possession resulted in a turnover on downs where Mineola took over at their own 44 yard line. The Jackets showed great sportsmanship throughout the second half realizing the enormous mismatch and began to burn the clock. They burned the remaining time of the third quarter and ended the drive with a 30yard field goal by Martinez to bring the final score of 50-0. Howe came into the game averaging 339 yards per game which ranked fourth all-time. But without Haley, the Dogs couldn’t garner a passing game and finished with a total of 239 yards of which 114 were on the ground and 125 through the air.

McNutt was the leading passer for Howe completing 5-of-14 for 76 yards and an interception. Jones was 3-of-7 with 49 yards and an interception.

Antwone Rattler led Howe in rushing with 59 yards on 14 carries. Jones led Howe in receiving yards with 59 yards on three receptions.

Howe will host Bonham (3-5, 23) Friday night for what amounts to perhaps their final chance of breaking what now is a 20-game losing streak. The Warriors lost to Pottsboro, 58-37 Friday night in Bonham.

Howe’s Kaleb McNutt airs it out. Photo by Michelle Carney. Howe captains Friday were Clay White (60), Caleb Wahrmund (7), Luis Gonzalez (44), and Ryan Hough (15). Photo by Michelle Carney.