Corley's Game Notes

Defenseless Dogs' Have Rough Night in Dayton

      Dayton proved once again that it deserves the crown in District 22-4A after defeating Nederland 35-7 Friday night. Nederland entered week 9 after a huge win over LC-M that all but solidified a playoff spot for the Bulldogs. On a very chilly night in Dayton, the Broncos rolled through Nederland's defense all night with little attention to Michael Dugat. Dayton's coaching staff exposed a noticeable weakness in the Nederland defense that would be evident in every game film since the Vidor game, the secondary. Nederland's inability to defend against the pass enabled Dugat to rack up some yards. No we aren't talking about Michael Dugat, we are talking about A.J. Dugat, the wide receiver and brother of the more notably talked about running back for the Broncos. If you looked at just the rushing stats for Dayton going into the half, you would suspect that Nederland was fairing quite well, 20 yards is all Dayton racked up on the ground. It was the passing game, however, that accumulated 149 yards through the air in just the first two quarters amounting to a 21-7 lead at the half.

      The second half was more pain for the Bulldogs defense, as Dayton continued to march right down the field against the will of the Bulldog faithful who packed the small visitors side at Bronco stadium. Nederland's inability to defend the pass reflects mostly upon how young the secondary is. Another noticeable downfall seems to be the techniques being used while defending against a passing game. Most of the time, the defensive backs are not looking at the ball or the quarterback, they are focused on the receiver as they watch the receiver fly by them. For Nederland to have success against Lumberton next week and potentially in the playoffs, they will have to look to the mastermind of defenses, Coach Delbert Spell, to formulate a new scheme entering next week against a struggling, but pass-happy Lumberton team.

Brandon Corley