LITTLE CYPRESS - With a 10-year consecutive playoff streak on the line, the Nederland Bulldogs did their part by wrapping up 372 yards of offense and scored six touchdowns as the Bulldogs defeated Little Cypress-Mauriceville 42-10 in District 20-4A action Friday at Battlin' Bear Stadium.

Even with the 32-point win, Nederland (5-3, 3-1) had to wait until early Saturday morning before learning of its playoff fate, due to a three-way tie for second place between the Bulldogs, Ozen (who lost to Central 28-12) and Port Neches-Groves, a 21-17 winner over Vidor.

The three teams had had a coin flip in Beaumont late Saturday night. Nederland and Ozen prevailed in the coin tosses and secured 4A playoff berths. Nederland's first round playoff foe will be C. E. King on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. at Pasadena's Memorial Stadium.

LC-M finishes its Hurricane Rita-shortened season at 2-6 overall and 0-4 in district.

Twelve Battlin' Bear seniors donned the green and gold for the final time in an attempt to go out with a bang but failed to prevail on the scoreboard at the end.

Tight end Seth Harley capped off a lustrous high school career by hauling in a game-high four passes for 61 yards while booting a 35-yard field goal in the second quarter.

Nederland junior tailback Micah Mosley picked up 72 yards on 13 totes, and junior Jarvis Benton exceeded Mosley's total with 75 yards on two carries.

Bulldog junior Alex Moshier completed 6-of-10 passes for 121 yards, and Ryan Butler's two completions on a razzle-dazzle play and fake punt added 51 yards to Nederland's aerial attack.

Clint Whitaker caught three passes for 87 yards and two touchdowns while also handling extra point chores and converting 6-of-6 tries.

LC-M was proficient through the air as well. Senior quarterback Jerrod Dugas completed nine of his 14 passes for 119 yards with one interception thrown.

Taylor Frillou closed out his sophomore season with 90 yards on 23 carries.

Nederland took over after returning the opening kickoff to the 44. On 3rd-and-9 from the Bulldog 25, Moshier kept the drive alive by finding tight end Phillip Biehle on a 19-yard slant down to the LC-M 36.

Mosley then took the next three handoffs for 11, 14 and 3 yards and then took a third-down pitch from the right for four yards and a Bulldog score with 8:30 left in the first.

The stiff Bulldog defense, paced by burly defensive tackle Ron Mohica's two quarterback sacks, held LC-M to three plays and out on their first possession and took back over at the Bear 19 after a 47-yard punt return by Ryan Butler along the right sideline.

Sophomore fullback Chris Gutierrez gained nine on first down, and a six-yard Mosley sprint combined with a 10-yard holding penalty against the Dogs backed up to the 14. On 3rd-and-4 from the 13, Moshier connected with Whitaker on pass to the left corner of the end zone for paydirt. The extra

point kick by Whitaker gave Nederland a 14-0 edge with 5:20 left in the opening quarter.

LC-M put points on the board after taking over at its own 18.

Frillou grabbed seven carries on the drive for 43 yards, and a 35-yard field goal by Harley sailed through the uprights five seconds into the second quarter.

Nederland took over at its 32 and was stopped by the Bear defense. However, a punt by Ryan Butler ran to left for nine yards down to the 6, and a personal foul against the Bears gave the Bulldogs a 1st-and-goal from the 3.

Mosley took the very next play to the left for the final yardage, and a Whitaker extra point with 9:55 to play in the first half gave Nederland a 21-3 advantage.

The Bears showed the ability to drive on Nederland on the next drive and got down to the Bulldog 29, but Dugas was picked off at the 14 by Chris Laird, who returned it 50 yards to the LC-M 36.

Nederland struck early in the drive as Moshier handed off to Mosley, who then gave the ball to Ryan Butler and the senior aired out a 36-yard pass to Whitaker waiting uncovered in the end zone. The extra point kick was good and Nederland upped its lead to 28-3 with 6:03 to play in the second quarter.

LC-M squeezed out a little momentum before intermission by driving the field 80 yards on 11 plays and chewing up 5-1/2 minutes of clock.

On 2nd-and-3 from the Nederland 30, Dugas threw a pass to the left and Phillip Richard caught the deflection at the five.

Dugas cut the Dogs lead on the next play, a five-yard bootleg to the left.

Nederland fell short with seconds winding down in the first half when a 46-yard field goal attempt by Whitaker sailed wide right.The Bears took the second-half kickoff and were forced to punt after picking up 23 yards on eight plays. Nederland responded after the punt and took over at its own 32.

On 2nd-and-8 from the 34, Moshier fired a pass to the left flats and Whitaker took it 38 yards down to the Bear 28.

After a first-down incompletion, Moshier hit fullback Danny Nguyen on a screen pass to the left for 10 yards. A personal foul against the Bears was marked off giving Nederland 1st-and-goal from the 9.

Three plays later, Nguyen touched off the drive with a one-yard twist up the middle, and with 4:38 remaining in the third, Nederland held on to a 35-10 lead.

LC-M punted the ball back to the Dogs on its ensuing possession and Nederland failed to convert a 4th-and-17 from the LC-M 32 as the fourth quarter began.

The Bears picked up 24 yards on the next drive but were forced to punt back to Nederland.

On 3rd-and-10 from the Nederland 25, Benton went around the left side and sprinted past Bear defenders for a 75-yard touchdown with 2:21 left in the game.