TEXAS CITY -- Nine minutes into this season, Nederland's coaches looked around and observed a most interesting behavioral pattern within their young students: Nobody had panicked.

  Nederland was slower, smaller and less experienced than Texas City. Besides those deficiencies, a few of the Bulldogs may have noticed they already trailed by 11 points, too.

  During Stingaree Stadium's remaining 39 game minutes, Nederland's young upstarts basically kicked Texas City around its own lot, 35-0, and walked off the field with a memorable 38-14 surprise package Friday night.

  Perhaps the soothsayers need to take a first-tee mulligan and pick the District 20-4A champion. Port Neches-Groves, Beaumont Ozen and everyone else will have a hard time deserving to claim the favorites' tag after this debut.

  This arguably amounted to the most shocking turn of events ever produced by a Golden Triangle-based high school football team during this decade. It appeared to some 5,000 extremely hot spectators that

Texas City looked on the verge of running off and hiding by late in the first quarter.... yet the Bulldogs never rattled a "dog-gone" bit.

  "It didn't look good early," a happy NHS boss Larry Neumann said after his 10th opening-game win in 13 campaigns. "When you have a team with the kind of makeup that we have, you're not sure how you're going to react when you get in tough circumstances... but none of our kids had a panic look on their faces.

  "I think we grew up a lot tonight but it's just the first game. We have to build off that. I think we will."

  There will be no opportunity for Nederland's emotional level to zoom out of control, because the memory of last year's 32-30 loss at West Orange-Stark should remain fresh in their minds next week. The Dogs and Mustangs meet Friday night in the Bulldog Stadium home opener which should attract a fair amount of early-season interest. WO-S also won on the road, 28-22, at Jasper.

  Neumann had numerous names to appreciate after this night. Junior quarterback Alex Moshier started the list, followed closely by junior tailback Darren Washington, sophomore fullback Chris Gutierrez, all the

members of Nederland's offensive line, reliable seniors Ron Mohica, Clint Whitaker and Ryan Butler, major question-mark seniors Joe Jordan and James Law.... and on and on and on.

  If Larry gave out game balls, he would need to head to Wal-Mart and seek a discount, bulk price rate.

  While speed, size, experience and home field seemed to work in Texas City's favor, it appeared as if Nederland owned the better of the separate running game, passing game and kicking game competitions. And the Bulldogs may have won the kicking game even after they lost the opening kickoff big-time.

  Julius Walker dashed to his left with Whitaker's opening boot and scooted 96 yards to score just 14 seconds into the game. Stings leading rusher Jarvis Carraway (15 for 109) broke a simple up-the-middle handoff 48 yards with 3:29 left in the first quarter.... and that was it for the home folks.

  "That 14 points, that's all they were going to have," said junior linebacker Jarvis Benton. "We were down about it and weren't ready. But we came back mentally and physically in the second half and we shut them down. I think all the hard work made the difference."

  Kicking game woes gradually caused Texas City to collapse, starting midway in the second quarter. Ryan Butler returned a Stings' punt 40 yards, setting up a 35-yard, nine-play touchdown drive. Nederland pecked away until soph Gutierrez pounded home the final yard, cutting the deficit to 14-10 with 1:21 left in the half. Like hungry Dogs on a scent, the Nederlanders were beginning to taste it by then.

  "We were motivated," senior offensive tackle Zach Bass said. "They were more out of shape than we were and we just took it to them. We pushed them over the brink. We felt we had to take charge and we did."

  Moshier completed 8 of 18 for 149 yards and his first high school scoring pass. It gave NHS the permanent lead on a 54-yard post route to Butler. From the shotgun, the alert Dogs passer found his senior receiver a couple of steps behind Stings defender Courtney Johnson for a 17-14 lead with 2:40 left in the third quarter.

  "We had run the play once before and Ryan was wide open over the top, but I had looked for the flat guy first and wasn't looking for him like I should have been," Moshier critiqued his own performance.

  Given their first lead, Nederland's fans really got into by then. Another subsequent Texas City kicking game mistake really tilted the verdict in Nederland's direction. A low snap to Stings punter Brandon

Robinson helped the Dogs to take over at TC's 37 with 47 seconds left in the third quarter. By then, it was about time for the Darren Washington Show.

  More than effectively filling the shoes of injured fellow junior Micah Mosley (jaw fracture), Washington finished as the game's leading rusher with 21 carries for 137 yards and two touchdowns. Darren only had 25 yards on nine carries by halftime.

  A great Moshier lob to Whitaker covered 30 yards to the TC 8 before Washington rambled the final eight for a 24-14 lead with 11:48 to go. Washington started running Nederland's patented counter gap quite nicely. He angled home a 15-yard gallop for a 31-14 cushion with 5:37 to play. Danny Nguyen slanted another three for a score with 1:41 to play.

  The young line had more than impressed against Texas City's defense. Did they exceed line coach Phil Pate's expectations.

  "Probably," Pate said. "They have been coming along and making good\ progress from week-to-week, but it's still a whole different thing to do it tonight under the lights. It sure makes the ride home a lot better."

  That goes for all of Nederland's players, coaches, and large contingent of smiling supporters.