'Dog take care of business in grinding down LC-M, 17-0
LITTLE CYPRESS -- Despite not having its full compliment of players, Nederland went back to the basics, which in included a ball control offense and a stifling defense in shutting out Little Cypress-Mauriceville 17-0 Friday night at Battlin' Bear Stadium.
After last weeks home loss to Central, the Bulldogs needed to rebound quickly and get back to doing the things that made them successful earlier in the season.
"Obviously, it's (the win) a positive thing and we'll take some things from this game offensively and build on," said Nederland coach Larry Neumann after the game. "I don't think anybody, coaches or players, is satisfied with our offensive production. I think we need to get more solid in running the ball and we need to do a better job of protecting the quarterback.
"On a positive note, we were able to run the ball on that last drive when they knew we were going to run. We'll build on that. We did throw the ball well at times. It's not completely fouled. It's a matter of getting determined to work out the kinks that are really keeping us from being as productive as we need to be."
With Ben Davis standing in street clothes on the sideline, the Bulldogs turned to senior, and do-it-all back, Daniel Tompkins. And, once again, Tompkins was up to the task.
Tompkins, who plays much bigger than his 5-8, 150-pound listing in the program, led all rushers with 95 yards on 21 carries and scored two touchdowns. He caught two passes for 42 yards. He also switched back to his familiar fullback spot in the fourth quarter and blocked for freshman Micah Mosley, who rushed for 24 yards on six carries in his varsity debut.
"He's an all-purpose back. He can carry the ball, catch the ball and can block," Neumann said of his versatile back. "He's diminutive in size, but his heart is very, very large. That's the way he's always been.
Nobody outworks Daniel and it was a pleasure to see him have a big night tonight."
In addition to Tompkins filling in as the feature back, junior Dustin Hood started again at quarterback for the injured Kirk Dean. Hood put together another solid game, completing eight-of-18 passes for 112 yards.
"He's a pretty cool looking customer," Neumann said wryly about his backup signal caller. "He's played a lot and really has been more of our quarterback this year than Kirk (Dean) for obvious reasons. He's so collected mentally. He's not blessed with the foot speed or arm strength of Kirk, but he throws a good ball, does a good job of reading the secondary and doesn't get rattled."
Not to go unnoticed was the Bulldog defense that posted their first shutout since blanking Houston Sterling in 2000 season opener. It was also Nederland's first district shutout since the 1999 season. Neumann attributed the defensive success to the guys up the middle -- nose tackle Ron Mohika and middle linebacker Darin Smith.
He also singled out Ashton Cummings, who filled in for the injured Chase Gentile in addition to playing fullback, and Trey Thibodeuax. The Bulldogs hope to get Gentile back for next week's game with Port Neches-Groves.
"It's been very similar to other games we've had," said Neumann, whose defense limited LCM to 192 total yards. "We get the same thing every week. It was a tremendous defensive effort the whole game with the exception of two plays last week. Tonight we were able to keep the big play from
happening and consequently we get a shutout. Our defense is playing with a lot of confidence."
Nederland (5-2, 4-1), which led 7-0 at halftime, added to its lead with a scoring drive on its first possession of the second half. Hood hit Trent Hanley for a 19-yard gain on third-and-eight to keep the drive going.
After a 10-yard holding penalty made it first-and-20, Hood hit Tompkins on a screen pass that went for 30 yards to put the ball at the Bears 27. The drive stalled at the 22 and Josh Waite booted a 39-yard field goal to put the Bulldogs up 10-0.
Desperate to make something happen, LCM opened its bag of tricks. On their ensuing drive, the Bears used a pass off of a double reverse with Jerrod Dugas hitting Steve Mazzola for a 20-yard completion.
However, the drive was thwarted when Cummings recovered a fumble at the LCM 41 off a high snap to quarterback Raul Gomez, who was lined up in the shotgun.
The Bulldogs drove down to the 23, but Waite was wide left on a 40-yard field goal attempt.
The Bears (4-3, 2-3) converted three straight fourth downs on their next possession. Punter Ryan Evans hit Shon Landry for a 10-yard gain on fourth-and-eight from their own 27. Gomez connected with Evans on fourth-and-four from the 43 with a 4-yard completion.
Elester Williams, who rushed for 72 yards on 17 carries, ran for 19 yards on third-and-eight to put the ball at the Nederland 21. That's when the Bulldogs defense stiffened and the Bears luck finally ran out. Evans' pass to kicker Jonathan Davis fell incomplete on a fake field goal attempt on fourth down.
The Bulldogs took over with 3:51 remaining in the game and proceeded to ram the ball down LCM's throat. Tompkins finished off the drive with a 10-yard scoring run on fourth-and-five with :04 left in the game.
Nederland put together the first half's only scoring drive on its second set of downs. After a three-and-out on their first possession, the Bulldogs used a power running game to drive the ball down the field 50 yards in 11 plays.
Tompkins was the workhorse on the drive, running seven times for 27 yards. Hood completed a pair of passes that went for first down yardage. Hood connected with Michael Brady for 11 yards and Josh Waite for 10 yards, which gave the Bulldogs a first down at the LCM 22.
Tompkins carried the ball four straight times to put the ball at the 3. Following a 1-yard carry by Ashton Cummings, Tompkins finished off the drive with a 2-yard run to give Nederland a 7-0 lead.
The Bears looked to have an answer on the ensuing possession, holding the ball for over five minutes on 12 plays. However, the drive bogged down at the Bulldog 32 when Blaine Caillier dropped a pair of screen passes on third and fourth down to turn the ball over the Nederland Bulldogs.