LM's speed rips Dogs, 30-7
NEDERLAND -- If the Bulldogs had any chance on this opening night, Nederland's lawmen needed to have sprinkled police cars all over Bulldog Stadium's playing field.
Clearly, Nederland's police force failed to blanket this affair sufficiently enough because they neglected to issue enough speeding tickets to a group of intruders down Galveston way.
La Marque introduced the Golden Triangle to a painful sampling of fast-break football as Larry Kerlegan unloaded 323 passing yards and two touchdown in Nederland's direction. It amounted to more than enough to snap a 20-game Bulldog Stadium home field winning streak, 30-7, Friday night.
Coach Bryan Erwin's fiesty Cougars needed less than 16 minutes to post a 17-0 edge with their no-huddle, pass-crazy schemes. Then Brazoria County's visitors became a bit sloppy during the middle quarters, but left with a win which looked a bit similar to last year's 28-7 Cougar victory at La Marque.
The Cougars arguably were a much more organized contingent, though, than the 2002 version which made it to the 4A Division II semifinals before losing to Brenham. Kerlegan says he intends to guide LM to higher heights this time and he just might.
"Our main goal is to win state," the Cougars senior quarterback said. "I think it's within our reach if we continue to work hard every day."
Very few of this crowd's 8,500 fans would argue with Kerlegan, either. They watched as La Marque team scored on three of its first four possessions to apparently tranquilize the pre-game jitters of their young second-year head coach.
"There's always nerves going into the first game because you never know how your kids are going to respond," Erwin said. "But Kerlegan is so mature. He's confident and he sees the field. He makes plays when there is no play to be made."
Kerlegan made enough plays to lead all runners in this game, too. He ran 12 times for 62 yards, totaling 385 of La Marque's 481 total yards.
"Really, I'm a lot more comfortable in this offense now than I was when Nederland came to our place a year ago.," Kerlegan said. "We have faster players. I just try to get them the ball and score as fast as we can."
With tenacious linebackers Rashad Bobino, James Francis and Ryan Washington possessing such excellent closing speed, the Bulldogs managed only one play all night which gained more than 16 yards. Nederland did an admirable job to finish with 198 total yards, but senior quarterback Kirk Dean had to work awfully hard on numerous occasions to turn a play into a three- or four-yard gain.
Dean played a smart game. To his credit, the Bulldogs actually led in a pair of critical stats. NHS won the turnover exchange, 5-2, and led in possession time, 24:36 to 23:24. Dean's head coach seemed to convey an upbeat spirit afterwards, too.
"I'm proud of the way we played," Dogs' mentor Larry Neumann said. "I think the future is bright. I don't think any of our kids are broken by this... We may have gotten beat, but we were not broken."
Neumann and his staff simply could not simulate La Marque's defensive speed and quickness in practice and his quarterback would admit as much after the game.
"I don't think you can (simulate LM's defensive speed in practice)," Dean said. "We played pretty good. We never quit. We played our hearts out. You have to take your hat off to La Marque. It's probably the best team we will play all year."
It may have seemed beneficial for Nederland to start the game with both the ball and the wind but La Marque's defense quickly snuffed out those momentary edges, forcing Dogs senior Wade Beagle to punt six times in the first half.
Kerlegan operated swiftly and successfully, leading LM to a 45-yard, six-play scoring drive on the Cougars' first possession. Kerlegan kept the ball for the final yard after three completions to cover 47 yards. A 24-yard out route to Trey Payne (5 catches for 106 yards) moved the ball to Nederland's 2 before Kerlegan's touchdown keeper with 8:20 left in the first quarter.
La Marque showed it could travel a longer distance on its next drive, surging to the Dogs 19 from its own 30. Following three straight incomplete passes, left-footed kicker Taylor Wilkins tacked on a 36-yard field goal with 5:17 left in round one.
Andrew Ferguson leaped for the first of three Nederland interceptions. Josh Atterberry and Weslee Weaver added the others, but Ferguson grabbed that first pickoff against LM's backup passer Marcus Radin. When Beagle punted beautifully to La Marque's 3, that just forced Kerlegan to return to the game and kill Big Ned's brief momentum.
If Kerlegan did not kill it, his receiver Dickerson certainly did. The La Marque wide receiver busted free from a feeble NHS tackle attempt near midfield and completed an 83-yard knockout punch with 8:46 left in the half.
"To Nederland's credit, they tried to turn the tide in the second half just like they did last year," the La Marque coach reflected.
The Bulldogs got a little help, though. Payne fumbled a punt return and Big Ned's Ashton Cummings claimed the ball at LM's 17. Dogs' top rusher Daniel Tompkins (4 for 32) ripped off a 13-yard dash on a misdirection touchdown run with 6:02 left in the third quarter. That just meant Kerlegan had to go back to work. He and Dickerson teamed on a 24-yard scoring pass two minutes later. The Cougars added another insurance score in the game's final five minutes.
Not enough speeding tickets were issued by Nederland's police force at all, but La Marque may lay down the law against quite a few folks.