La Marque ends Dogs bid, 31-8
HOUSTON -- By the end of these chilly 48 minutes, quite a few Nederlanders joined La Marque in hoping the Cougars win the 4A Division 2 state football championship.
That's how classy this regional round game ended with La Marque convincingly winning 31-8 and ending a Nederland season that contained its share of amazement, too, on a slightly smaller scale.
Around 10,000 braved Rice Stadium's north winds to see La Marque (13-0) advance into the quarterfinals against Campo, a 28-21 winner over Waller. The Nederlanders finished 9-4 but departed their 2003 finale with plenty of which to be proud.
La Marque moved on with plenty of improvements to make, according to the eyes of second-year head coach Bryan Erwin.
"I don't want to take any credit away from Nederland but I didn't think we were as sharp as we could have been," he said. "Our turnovers were obvious and our special teams weren't as sharp as we could have been. That's what happens when you're not as sharp."
As for his coaching counterpart, Bulldogs' boss Larry Neumann really hoped La Marque captured the 4A Division 2 state title after the game.
"I hope they do win it," Neumann said. "We had to be close to perfect and we weren't. There's a lot of what-ifs where we could have been generating momentum but that's all water under the bridge... We had some first-half opportunities and we didn't capitalize.
"I wish them well. They deserve their athletes at La Marque but they also do a great job of coaching and sometimes that coaching gets lost in the shuffle. I'm proud of our football team for the way we played, too. But I hope they do win the state championship."
Another person who did more than hope it happened was La Marque senior quarterback Larry Kerlegan. Completing 10 of 15 for 141 yards and rushing 14 times for 51 yards, the La Marque field general repeated the goal of his team.
"Winning the state championship, that's our No. 1 goal," Kerlegan said. "We had a few turnovers in the first half but we just had to shake it off and step up."
If there ever was any doubt about this outcome, it clearly was erased when Russell Ball zipped 94 yards with a Kerlegan pitchout on a speed option. That play fattened La Marque's lead to 24-0 with 8:27 left in the third quarter.
Kerlegan timed his pitch just right and Nederland safety Clint Whitaker looked to be the one and only one Bulldogs defender to have a shot at Ball around the LM 25-yard line. Once he sprinted into the clear, the game's leading rusher (10 carries for 141 yards) was not going to be caught.
The balance in La Marque's passing game surfaced in the final stats. Kerlegan completed passes to seven different receivers. None of them hauled in more than two receptions.
Jamaiel Dickerson snagged one for 38 yards down the middle of the field to Nederland's 16 midway in the third quarter. Then Trey Payne ran an out toward La Marque's sideline for a 16-yard touchdown reception and a 31-0 lead with 5:19 left in the third quarter.
Capping off a fine NHS career, Dogs running back Daniel Tompkins slammed home a four-yard scoring run out of the power-I for the lone Nederland touchdown with 2:20 left in the game. Tompkins also caught Dustin Hood's two-point conversion pass.
"We got over a lot of adversity," Tompkins said afterwards, before he reflected on the work of his fellow seniors. "We left this program better than we found it."
Seven turnovers dominated the first half -- four by La Marque and three by Nederland -- as the Cougars stepped into the visitors' locker room with a 17-0 halftime cushion.
Although those exchanges occurred fast and frequently, only one of them factored into the first-half scoring. La Marque defensive back Clarence Ward recovered a Dustin Hood fumble on the final play of the opening quarter. The recovery permitted La Marque to set up for a 25-yard Taylor Wilkins field goal without making a first down.
La Marque showcased one of its notorious Nederland thorns on the Cougars' first possession. Wide receiver Keith Dickerson took a lob over Dogs cornerback Joel Guidry for a 15-yard pass from Larry Kerlegan from a no-back formation.
A 29-yard rush by Russell Ball on the previous snap set up the game's first score, capping a 69-yard, five-play series.
Ball took a lateral from Kerlegan and ran to the northwest end zone corner on a five-yard scoring play with 4:12 left in the first half. The sideways flip capped a 31-yard, nine-play drive which followed a 24-yard punt.
Nederland owned one mysterious first-half advantage, leading in possession time, 15:04-8:56. Guidry collected all three first-half turnovers with two interceptions and a fumble recovery. The Nederland corner added a third pickoff in the second half.
"I can't explain that," Guidry said. "You have to give La Marque a lot of credit. They're a hard-hitting team. I think they've gotten a lot better than at the start of the season. But I hope they go all the way. If I'm going to lose to anybody, I figure we might as well lose to the state champions."
Not one, but two teams, were pulling for La Marque by the end of the night.... and both had plenty of right to be proud.