The Mineola Yellowjackets steamrolled the Howe Bulldogs 70-7 Friday night up in Grayson County.

The game was unevenly matched. Mineola scored on each of its 10 possessions, churning out 534 yards of offense. 

The Mineola offensive line opened huge gaps in the Howe defense throughout the game, while Trevion Sneed, T.J. Moreland, Jaxon Holland and Thomas Hooton ran freely through the Bulldog defense. 

Sneed finished with 233 yards on 14 carries and Moreland tallied 181 yards on 11. Sneed scored five times, Moreland thrice, Holland and Hooton each once. 

Howe gave the home crowd a surge of adrenalin on the opening possession as they used a halfback pass to gain the Yellowjacket 5-yard line. They scored two plays later, taking a 7-0 lead.

Thereafter the Yellowjacket defense used the game as tackling practice, yielding only 76 yards for the rest of the night.  

The lopsidedness of the game aside, two elements of the Yellowjacket performance are meaningful for the season ahead. The offensive line worked as cohesively as they have all season. Their timing, energy and persistence were noteworthy. 

Additionally, Mineola may have settled on the correct kicking alignment, with Gustavo Sanchez handling kick-off duties, and Nathan Rojas kicking extra points. Rojas was 10 for 10 on PATs.  

Most importantly, being a huge favorite coming into a game can have negative psychological consequences. There was none of that to be seen among the Yellowjackets. They were focused, businesslike and disciplined – a credit to their maturity and preparation. 

Mineola will host an unpredictable Rains team Friday at Meredith Memorial Stadium and is scheduled to close out the regular season Nov. 6 at Commerce.