Hurricane Nederland strikes, 42-21
NEDERLAND -- Hurricane Nederland reached landfall here Friday night around 9:30 and thoroughly devastated its visitors with a vicious and destructive force.
Apparently Hurricane Isidore took too long to reach the Upper Texas Gulf Coast. By around 11 p.m., sixth-ranked West Orange-Stark escaped the environs and headed for shelter.
Riding one awesome 21-point third-quarter tidal wave, the Bulldogs made their first emphatic statement of the 2002 season, opening the 20-4A schedule with a 42-21 victory over previously unbeaten WO-S before 9,000 at Bulldog Stadium.
Larry Neumann always has preached to his Old Gold and Black choir that football has amounted to a game of momentum. And on this soggy turf, once the Dogs seized the mo, they refused to let go.
"I don't know if there's been a more satisfying win in my tenure here," said an elated Neumann after Nederland's inspired defense blanked the Mustangs' offense in the second half and easily scored enough to offset a 21-14 halftime deficit.
The Hurricane rained points on Dan Hooks in a way which caused the 64-year-old Mustangs' coaching legend to sound very exasperated afterwards. The 22nd-year WO-S boss has won two 4A state titles and has been to the finals two more times. But he's upset about his two consecutive losses to Nederland.
Thomas Jefferson and Beaumont French beat Hooks' Mustangs in back-to-back years in 1983 and 1984, but no district opponent has done the back-to-back trick on WO-S since then. The reality of that seemed to be eating at Hooks afterwards.
"It frustrates the hell out of me because I can't get it done," Hooks admitted. "Nederland is a hard team for me to beat. I don't know about the other people, but we have a hard time against them... They've got my number."
Actually, Hooks still owns a 6-4 edge over his former pupil but maybe his short-term memory forgets some of those earlier whippings. The younger Neumann certainly recalls them, though.
"He's beaten me more than I've beaten him," the Dogs coach said. "But I could tell that our focus in the dressing room was different this week, and our focus at halftime was different, and our body language and verbalization was different."
Nederland (2-1 and 1-0) also went to war with a different lineup. The Dogs moved senior Chase Gentile from strong linebacker to strong end and slided former strong end Chris Wright to nose tackle in order to get more speed on the field.
When WO-S (3-1 and 1-1) declared more of a second-half shotgun approach, it only told the Dogs' hungry pass rushers to apply more heat. That had an enormous bearing on this outcome.
"There were one or two plays early in the third quarter that changed the momentum of the game," Hooks said.
Maybe so, but Hurricane Nederland also arrived in the form of a superior kicking game and a pair of second-half touchdown passes by Kirk Dean.
WO-S' senior Joey Byerly had the sharper first half of the two quarterbacks, completing 9 of 10 for 93 yards. His final first-half completion, a 20-yarder to Jarman St. Julian, gave WO-S a 21-14 lead with 39 seconds left in the half.
But Byerly would connect on only 5 of 18 second-half passes for 58 more yards and the Nederland pass rush would harass him more.
Meanwhile, the second half went the opposite way for NHS passer Dean. Only 2 of 7 for 46 first-half yards, the Bulldogs junior hit two second-half scoring tosses, completing 3 of 4 after intermission for 101 yards.
Dean lobbed a 48-yard scoring pass to Jake Askew on Nederland's initial second-half series, tying the game at 21-all with 5:51 left in the third quarter. His next completion likely was the game's turning point.
After WO-S went three-and-out, Dean and Ross Matt gave WO-S a real Hurricane warning with a 37-yard finger-tip grab at the Mustangs' 1. Dean scored two plays later, giving NHS the lead for keeps at 28-21 with 2:01 left in the third quarter.
Dean faked the isolation play to his tailback and Mustangs' defender Vontearr Edwards stayed home while Matt slipped out in the clear as the Dogs' lone receiver.
"I dropped about half of those in practice all week, because my hand would get slippery," Matt said. "It was all or nothing.... We definitely knew that we had to contain their quarterback. He's dangerous."
The major breakdown in the Mustangs' kicking game followed shortly after Nederland captured its 28-21 edge. A snap sailed way over punter Byerly's head and into the end zone. Nederland's Josh Atterberry claimed the free ball in the end zone for a 35-21 lead with two seconds left in the quarter.
By then, the visitors needed to run for cover. Any thoughts of a Mustangs' comeback died quickly on the next series when NHS corner Evan Foxworth recovered a Byerly fumble from the shotgun. Nederland would not need to throw a pass the rest of the way after that.
Dean faked a handoff to tailback Ben Davis (17 for 92 and two touchdowns) and bootlegged for a five-yard scoring run with 1:30 to play. Davis and the Dogs' offensive line had roared through the Mustangs' defense enough by then.
Davis kept the Dogs in it early by dashing 38 yards on the counter play with 11:43 left in the half. That score made up for Ben's earlier fumble which WO-S linebacker Shelvy Jefferson covered in the end zone for a touchdown. Davis followed Tyler Nemeth on an eight-yard scoring run to tie the game at 14-all with 1:38 left in the half.
Nederland's Hurricane arrival likely never reached landfall in the first half because of two near interceptions that glanced off the Dogs' hands. One terribly underthrown Byerly pass deflected off Askew's hands and WO-S receiver Darien Hasley grabbed it for a 19-yard reception to the Dogs 4. That set up Quincy Pillette for a two-yard run.
The earlier near-interception -- by safety Julian Nunez -- was waved off because of a personal foul penalty on the Dogs.
But Hurricane Nederland would not be denied. It will attempt to regather steam again next week when it travels to Beaumont Ozen. WO-S will have an open date and will welcome the chance to put aside the Hurricane's effects.