HUNTSVILLE - Down to their last deal of the cards, the Nederland Bulldogs tried to call Jacksonville's bluff. But the arm of Dustin Hood was not enough to trump the two feet of Trevelyan Canady.

Hood, who passed for 176 yards, led the Bulldogs to the brink of an incredible, fourth-quarter comeback. But his heroics were not enough to overcome the impressive performance of Canady.

The 5-foot-8 senior darted and dodged his way to 215 yards and one touchdown. His quick feet on the slippery artificial turf also set up the Indians' other two scores, as they raked the Region III-4A area round playoff pot, 20-14, on a fog-shrouded Saturday evening at Bowers Stadium.

Jacksonville, the runner-up of District 17-4A, advances to the regional quarterfinals against LaMarque. Nederland ends its season at 8-3.

"The quarterback (Canady) was the difference in this ballgame," declared Nederland head coach Larry Neumann. "Anyone here knew that.

"Give credit to our kids for making a great comeback. They gave a great effort. But he (Canady) was someone we never really found an answer to."

Though the Indians started the game with Canady in a five-receiver, no-back set, the formation was merely a ruse, an illusion. Playing off the aggressive surge of the Nederland defense, Canady sprinted around through the Bulldogs for 123 yards by half-time.

Only an interception by the Bulldogs in the closing seconds kept the score knotted at seven.

But the Jacksonville QB started the second half with gains of 30 and 17 yards that led to Allen Christopher's one-yard touchdown at 9:08 of the third quarter.

With the Nederland offense limited to six plays and two total yards the entire third quarter, Jacksonville (10-2) built a 20-7 lead on Eric Johnson's 21-yard cut back run with 11:45 to play.

The Bulldogs reached the Jacksonville 23 on the ensuing possession, but the drive ended with Hood's lone interception.

Fending off the Indians' determined rush - as he had most of the night - Hood spun free of a defenders' grasp and fired a pass to tight end Cody Dietz. But linebacker Delmond McCuin stepped in front of Dietz at the Indians' 18 to record the steal with 9:44 remaining.

Jacksonville pounded the ball right at the Bulldogs for the next 10 plays. On the 10th play, fullback Cammeron Hackney fumbled and linebacker Darin Smith pounced on the pigskin at the Nederland 37 with 4:49 to play.

Hood, who completed 11 of 29 attempts, whipped the Bulldogs on a 10-play march that consumed only 1:36. He completed passes of 16, 14 and nine yards, and ran gains of seven and one.

Jacksonville was flagged for a late hit at the end of Hood's former carry, while his latter jaunt put the Bulldogs on the scoreboard with 3:13 to play.

The scenario got even better for the Bulldogs (8-3). Although the Indians recovered Nederland's attempt at an onside kick, they were flagged for holding. The defense, which was ragged from chasing Canady, got a measure of revenge when nose tackle Ron Mohica dragged him down for a one-yard game at the Nederland 48 on third down.

The Indians downed their punt at the Nederland three. But they were fooled by an excellent call by the Bulldogs.

On first down from his own end zone, Hood rolled to his right, then hit tailback Micah Mosley back to the left on a screen pass that resulted in a 39 yard gain to the Bulldog 42.

That's where the music died, however. Following a holding penalty, Hood couldn't connect with his receiving corps. On fourth down, his attempt was just past the reach of a diving Tyler Thompson at the Jacksonville 36.

The Indians then ran out the final one minute, 36 seconds.

Despite a 10-4 edge in first downs and an incredible 15:53 in time of possession, the Bulldogs were fortunate to escape with a 7-7 deadlock at half-time.

Jacksonville was knocking at the door in the closing seconds when senior defensive back Joel Guidry slammed the door shut with an interception.

With third-and-five at the Nederland 10, Canady tried to lob the football to Aaron Whitaker, a 6-3 junior receiver. But Whitaker slipped on the wet artificial turf, and Guidry made the leaping theft in the back corner of the end zone.

Jacksonville's futile drive came immediately after Mosley's three-yard touchdown run evened the score. The Bulldogs took advantage of Cliff Perdue's shanked punt that set them up at the Indians' 45 yard-line.

After trying to dent the Indians' defense with Hood's arm, Nederland stayed on the ground for all but one of its 11 plays.

That one catch - Clint Whitaker's 15-yard reception in the right flat - enabled the Bulldogs to overcome a holding penalty.

Meanwhile, Mosley converted all three of the Bulldogs' third downs, the latter coming on a burst through right tackle. On third-and-one, the sophomore had little trouble reaching paydirt behind the blocks by DeLord, Aaron Edgerly and Trevor Huber.

The sophomore closed the season with a total of 1,346 yards and 17 touchdowns.

Zac Wallace kicked the point-after with 2:41 remaining in the second quarter.

Canady gave Nederland trouble for the very start. He capped the Indians' opening drive of the night with his 48-yard sprint around left end on third-and-five.

He also ran for 10, 22 and six yards in that 83-yard possession.

"He really hurt us with that draw play in the first half," Neumman said. "We did a little better in the second half, but he still hurt us on the outside."

Hood finished his season with 2,307 passing yards, while wide receiver Ryan Butler (seven catches for 82 yards) closed his junior campaign with 44 receptions for 841 yards.