Second Half Shutout Grants Dogs Ticket to Second Round

        The first few minutes of the game foreshadowed a classic offensive shootout between two dynamic teams. Both Nederland and C.E. King scored within the first few minutes of the game trying to outdo each other in the score to play ratio. Nederland offensive scouting proved tremendous in a season high 411 yards of total offense. Junior Micah Moseley seemed unstoppable on the ground, rounding up 181 yards on 20 carries.

          With the chance to advance to the second round of the 4A Division II playoffs still up for grabs at halftime, the 30-minute break was very crucial for both teams as Nederland lead 20-16 going into the locker room.  If there was any doubt going into the third quarter which team benefited the most from halftime, it was quickly put to rest as Nederland scored 14 unanswered points in the third quarter, including a 31 yard Butler run with a little under 7 minutes remaining in the third quarter. The last touchdown came from a 3-yard Chris Gutierrez run following an impressive 40-yard dash by Danny Nguyen with just over a minute remaining. The Dogs had the momentum from then on shutting out C.E. King and forcing a final score of 34-16 and advancing to the next round.

Nederland will play host to the powerhouse Kilgore Bulldogs, defending state champions. The game will take place on Saturday in Lufkin at 2 p.m. Nederland will have to be on the same page offensively in order to penetrate a Kilgore defense that has only allowed 90 points all season. Kilgore’s defensive line is stacked including two Division 1 recruits. Nederland will need to connect more on the passing game allowing Butler and Whitaker to penetrate a young Kilgore secondary. Offensively, Kilgore likes to run the ball more frequently then pass. Nederland will have to put up some huge offensive numbers and force Kilgore to pass in order to prevail.