Lady Bulldogs basketball

Sophomore guard Kendall Griffin moves quickly down the court in Tuesday’s home win against Lindsay. Photo by Michelle Carney.

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The Howe Lady Bulldogs improved to 2-1 on Tuesday with a 50-36 win over Lindsay at home. Trinity Williams led Howe with 19 points including three 3pointers. Landery Sanders added nine points while Emery Snapp netted eight points and Kendall Griffin put down seven. Other scorers were Teagan Stubblefield (3), Matalee Stewart (2), and Reese Smith (2).

The girls entered the Bells Tournament over the weekend and beat Sulphur Springs 37-33 to capture their third win on the season and win number 454 in Head Coach Derek Lands’ career. Williams again led Howe in points with 15 and in rebounds. She was followed by Sanders (7), Griffin (6), Stewart (5), Emery Snapp (2), and Riley Burris (1).

Their second loss of the season was at the hands of North Lamar by 57-28 score. Williams was Howe’s leading scorer with nine points with Stubblefield contributing five. Other scorers were Griffin (4), Avery Snapp (4), Sanders (3), Stewart (2), and Burris (1).

The girls stand with a 3-3 record after their first six games with a 38-26 loss to Aubrey in the tournament. Stubblefield, Griffin, and Emory Snapp led Howe scorers with six points each. The Lady Bulldogs found themselves trailing 5-2 in a defensive battle after the first period. But Aubrey flexed their muscles in the second and outscored Howe 16-9 to enter the locker room with a 10-point lead.

Aubrey kept the pedal down in the third period with a 15-6 run which eliminated Howe’s chance of a comeback. The final stanza was on by Howe, 6-5.

Other scorers for the Lady Bulldogs were Sanders (2), Presley Shockey (2), Stewart (2), Williams (1), and Smith (1).

Howe will travel to Whitesboro Tuesday.

Coach Bill Jehling addressing the team after his final game at Mount Vernon. Photo by Michelle Carney.

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whose son Hunter was persuaded to try out for football by Jehling and had an amazing story of making all-district his senior year after not playing football previously. “Coach J had such a positive impact on my child and brought out the best in him,” Jared Brussow, younger brother of Hunter and a player on this year’s team, spoke up in favor of Jehling also and stated that he thinks he has proven to be a leader on and off the field.

“He has tried everything in the book that he can, and the outcome may not show it, but it shows in practice, and it shows in his heart for the game of football. He put in things that may or may not work, but we got together and figured out what to do,” said Brussow.

Coach Steve Simmons gave a talk in favor of Jehling, but first mentioned that he put his trust in the seven members of the school board and the 20-plus year veteran of Howe ISD, Superintendent Kevin Wilson.

“The last four years, we’ve had a schedule in football that’s been like New Mexico State playing Alabama. Facing this competition year after year after year, I think there’s very few men that would have stuck with this program for four years in the face of overwhelming competition like Coach Jehling has done,” said Simmons.

Jodi Hough read her remarks to the board which stated that she felt as if the morale, consistency, and discipline has reached a low for the team.

Her husband Rodney Hough also spoke and admitted the schedule was not favorable but stated that Howe should be more competitive.

Not everything is or should be measured in the win column. But it is a factual statement, whether it’s right or not, the image of a city and school in Texas is largely based on the success of its Friday nights in the fall. For bewildered fans, Jehling is not the only direction to point the finger. The Bulldogs have not had a winning record in any decade since the 1990s. As of now, they are 0-20 in this decade. Of the last 10 Howe head coaches since Jim Fryar left after 1989, only three have had winning records (Davey DuBose, Cory Crane, and Zack Hudson). Howe’s next coach will look to reverse all of those trends. If the Dogs go down to Division II, the school shouldn’t need to interview G.A. Moore, Nick Sabin, or Bill Parcells to get them through the schedule. It’s all of a sudden a great job with perks of turf. Howe ISD has a few months to hire the most capable candidate to right the ship quickly with a 2year window that can make noise past week 10.