NEDERLAND - On this night when Nederlanders walked away a bit discouraged, they should be consoled by at least three realities.

First, the Bulldogs may not face a better defense all season than Friday night. Second, they may not encounter a finer all-around performer on any field all season than West Orange-Stark senior Kenneth Deon Beasley. And third, there aren't many better opposing coaching staffs than Dan Hooks, Cornel Thompson and the Mustangs coaches, either.

Those combined realities provided considerable explanation for why Nederland scored no second-half points, managed three second-half first downs and 55 second-half total yards.

Defensive coordinator Thompson and new free safety Beasley enjoyed the proceedings immensely as second-ranked WO-S handed Nederland its first home loss in two years, 20-10, before 8,000 on Friday night at a wet Bulldog Stadium.

Nederland (1-1) truly seemed in complete charge during much of the first half but only walked off at intermission with a 10-7 advantage. Then the inventor of the famous "Chain-Gang" defense went to work, made his adjustments and the NHS offense got nothing else.

"I'll tell you something about Cornel Thompson," WO-S head coach Dan Hooks said of his first lieutenant. "You may get him in the first half, but in the second half, you're not going to get him at all."

The veteran assistant modestly deflected the praise and pointed to Beasley and his players from applying the muzzle on the Bulldogs. Yet it was Thompson who decided to station WO-S starting quarterback Beasley to free safety during the second half and place a double-team coverage on Nederland receiver Ryan Butler.

Once Butler was doubled, the Bulldogs found their troubles mounted.

"We decided to go with a little double-team action against Butler," the 25th-year head coach Hooks admitted. "You've got to. If you don't, he will beat you."

Butler caught three second-half passes for a mere 25 yards after blistering the Mustangs early for a 35-yard scoring reception on the game's first series. The Dogs' major weapon wound up with seven catches for 83 yards, four punt returns for 52 yards and six punts for 41.2 yards, but would need more offensive help.

Nederland kept finding blue and silver linebackers Jerramy Lynch and Dustin Locks everywhere they ventured. That's why the Bulldogs managed a lowly 76 rushing yards on 28 carries.

Mustangs end Jecoby Arline was not about to permit Nederland's young offensive line to rule the way it did at Texas City. The Dogs crossed midfield only once in the second half on a meaningless possession in the game's final two minutes.

"We had some missed opportunities and lost momentum in the first half," a disappointed Nederland coach Larry Neumann said. "They made a nice drive in the third quarter and Kenneth Beasley showed his athleticism. He was as good as we expected him to be. He's an excellent athlete."

Indeed, Nederland had some missed opportunities early that came back to haunt. After they took a 7-0 lead, the Bulldogs appeared headed to the end zone again, but came up empty when Chris Gutierrez had the ball knocked out of his hands and the Mustangs recovered on the five.

On its next possession, after a short Mustangs punt, Nederland moved to a first down at the WO-S 10. Following a motion penalty on 3rd and 8, the Bulldogs settled for a 34-yard field goal from Clint Whitaker and a 10-0 lead.

The Bulldogs last missed opportunity came when an apparent 30-yard touchdown run by Gutierrez late in the second quarter was called back by a holding penalty. Nederland would never again threaten against the stiffening Mustangs defense.

Beasley, a University of Texas early pledge, ran or threw for 215 of WO-S' 289 total yards, running nine yards for one touchdown and throwing to Jarrod Lewis for the two others. The 5-10, 170 Beasley's ability to improvise made the difference all night from deep in the shotgun formation.

That's not exactly a ball-control alignment, yet the Mustangs (2-0) even won the time of possession struggle, 25:57 to 22:03. What surprised the WO-S hero was that his offensive line even succeeded at taking it to Nederland's defensive front.

WO-S rushed 43 times for 156 yards with Beasley rushing 20 times for 82 yards and junior tailback Earl Thomas adding 15 for 78.

"I didn't expect our offensive line to do this," the Stangs quarterback said. "Our O-line really came out and stepped it up. They fooled me. This defensive line of Nederland's is probably the best we will ever meet."

Nederland's defensive front offered very FEW answers when Beasley and company moved 50 yards in seven plays to take WO-S' first lead (13-10) with 4:03 left in the third quarter. A 24-yard third-down sideline throw to Jarrod Lewis (5 for 66) placed WO-S in scoring position at the Dogs 12. Beasley faked a handoff to Thomas on second down at the 9 and galloped around the left side for the score.

WO-S quickly regained possession and produced a 65-yard, 16-play series that produced no points but consumed nearly seven minutes (6:45) midway during the second half. The drive ended when Beasley fumbled away a pitch for Thomas and Dogs linebacker Danny Nguyen claimed the free ball at the 4. Nevertheless, the series certainly made a favorable impression upon the Mustangs' legendary head coach.

"I thought that drive was the difference in the game." Hooks said.

Beasley added importance insurance with 3:01 to play when he rolled away from Nguyen and flipped a 13-yard scoring pass to Lewis, capping a 61-yard, seven-play series.

It will not get any easier for either squad next week. Nederland visitS Beaumont West Brook (2-0) on Friday night while WO-S will play a Saturday night game in Pearland against powerful Bay City.