By Tom Halliburton - The News Sports Writer 

  PORT NECHES - When this entertaining Mid-County Madness chapter was decided, Nederland defender Andrew Ferguson simply looked Port Neches-Groves passer Jeremy Hemmings in the eye.

  Stationed at corner, or anywhere else defensive coordinator Delbert Spell needed him, Ferguson anticipated a Hemmings pass for receiver Ben WatsonŠ. by reading the PN-G quarterback's eyes, of course.

  Ferguson angled in front of Watson for a diving interception with 3:10 to play that heavily tilted the Bulldogs on the winning path toward their 19-13 victory over the Indians before a standing-room-only crowd of 13,000 at Indian Stadium.

  Once Ferguson picked off the night's only interception, Micah Mosley dashed seven yards for a touchdown and fattened a 13-7 cushion to 19-7 with 2:18 to play. The Indians looked brilliant moments later in the two-minute offense, but Nederlander Michael Young secured PN-G's onside kick with 29 seconds to play as the Bulldogs claimed at least a piece of the District 20-4A football championship.
 

  Nederland finished the regular season 7-3 and 5-1 in District 20-4A, handing 12tth  year head coach Larry Neumann his 100th career coaching victory. Nederland will have a bye next week before entering the 4A Division II bidistrict round.

  "I'm just very proud of our players," said Neumann who received congratulations from his players on his 100th career win. "We talked all week about PN-G being the champion until proven otherwise. I think our players were well-prepared to play tonight. But my hat's off to PN-G. They've had this championship now for nearly two years."

  PN-G, 6-3 and 4-1, also can clinch a share of the title with Nederland and Ozen, if the Indians defeat Beaumont Central next Friday at Zaharias Stadium. Eleventh-year head coach Matt Burnett's Indians also have clinched a 4A Division II bidistrict playoff berth.

  "I guess you could say that I read his eyes," Ferguson said. "I was playing corner and I had the flats. Watson ran a curl and I jumped it. I didn't know if it was anticipation but I saw him (Hemmings) look right at him (Watson)."

  It marked the final moment of many Nederland defensive heroics on a night when Spell's tacklers held PN-G to a season-low 82 rushing yards. Nose tackle Ron Mohica delivered a Player of the Week-type performance and inside linebacker Darin Smith paced a Nederland defense which bottled up the Indians' ground game.

It marked the only time any team had held PN-G under 115 rushing yards all year. The Dogs put the clamps on PN-G tailback Josh Cook, who rushed for a season-low 58 yards on 14 carries.

  "You've got to give Nederland's defense credit," PN-G mentor Burnett said. "And I would say their offense was on equal footing with La Marque as the best we've faced all season. It definitely was the most balanced.

  "But I was proud of our players, too. We fought back (from trailing 13-0) and showed our true heart. Our kids played like champions, too, and they've got a chance to get a share of that district championship next week."

  Great players play great in great games and 2003 Super Team defensive lineman Mohica put on a clinic against Indians center Frank Justice.

  "I would have to say that's probably the best game of my life," Mohica said. "My job was to keep their center (Justice) off Darin Smith. I know I did the absolute best I could. But I take my hat off to PN-G. They're a very good team."

  How well did Mohica keep PN-G's fine center off the Nederland linebacker? Let's ask Smith himself.

  "I didn't get touched once by their center because Mohica played that great of a football game," Smith said. "We had some really good keys that coach Spell and our other defensive coaches picked up on. We knew our guys as opposed to guessing what to do."

  Cook had rushed for 84 yards in the Ozen game. His credited Nederland's defenders for their superior preparation.

  "They knew what we were doing," Cook said. "They were really well-prepared. We waited too long to open it up. We didn't open it up until the fourth quarter and that hurt us."

  Ironically, the game marked the first time that PN-G passed for 200 yards in a game all season. Hemmings completed 15 of 24 passes for 209 yards, including a seven-yard scoring pass to Watson with 29 seconds to play. Those numbers are a bit misleading because Hemmings was only 6 of 14 for 63 yards after three quarters.

  The passer and the pass offense which deserved this night's plaudits belonged to Dustin Hood and his reliable group of offensive line blockers. Given sufficient time most of the night, Hood hit 11 of 21 for 197 yards. His accuracy was far better than that but his receiving corps was unable to catch the ball as well as it should have.

  Hood also devastated PN-G occasionally with his feet. That was a planned counter to PN-G's defensive ploys.

  "There was a ton of times when I started scrambling," Hood said. "They were sending people late (on blitzes) and we picked them up. My protection was great."

  After an 80-yard Cody Deitz punt greatly helped Nederland's second-quarter field position, the Dogs scored twice before the half with the aid of a 15-mph south wind. Micah Mosley (14 for 53) made it 7-0 with 3:47 left in the half. A 22-yard Hood to Tyler Thompson pass set up Zac Wallace for a 32-yard field goal with 1:11 left in the half. Wallace added another with 4:47 left in the third quarter for a 13-0 lead.

  PN-G's offense finally awakened at the start of the fourth quarter, covering 99 yards in nine snaps. A Hemmings-to-Trey Gaspard toss of 12 yards followed a 63-yard juggling act from Hemmings to Watson and trimmed Nederland's lead to 13-7 with seven minutes to play.

  A few minutes later, Nederland's Ferguson decided to look into Hemmings' eyes. That proved to be all the Bulldogs defender needed to see.