Football is a game of inches and that was never more evident than to Nederland Friday night.

Senior Micah Mosley was stopped virtually inches from the goal line on the game’s final play to preserve Vidor’s 28-24 come-from-behind win over the Bulldogs at Ivan Croak Field at Pirate Stadium.

“It was a super game, one of those games that it’s a shame someone has to lose,” said Vidor coach Jeff Matthews. “Nederland is a tremendous club. They are the best coached team in the area. Coach (Larry) Neumann and his guys do a great job. I can’t say enough about the way their kids played and I’m really proud of my kids.”

Trailing 24-14, Vidor scored two touchdowns in the final 1:32 for a near miraculous comeback win. The aerial combination of Roman Franklin to Blake Walker was too much for the Bulldogs’ defense.

Walker slipped behind the Nederland secondary for a 51-yard touchdown pass with 1:32 remaining in the game that brought the Pirates within three at 24-21.

Ryan Foxworth recovered an on-sides kick to give the Pirates the ball at the Nederland 49. An intentional grounding penalty against Franklin cost the Pirates 11 yards, but the 5-8, 145-pound signal caller was able to find Walker for 19 yards on third-and-21. He connected with Bret Harris for nine yards on the following play to give the Pirates a new set of downs.

After a pair of incompletions, Brad Croak raced 12 yards to the Bulldogs 20. Franklin hit Walker for a 20-yard scoring strike down the right sideline, which was almost an exact carbon copy of the previous scoring play to put Vidor up 28-24 with 18 seconds remaining in the game.

Vidor (2-2, 1-0 in District 22-4A) had to kick off from its own 25 after a 15-yard celebration penalty, which gave the Bulldogs good field position at the Pirate 42 with 14 seconds left. Quarterback Alex Moshier connected with Logan Theriot for a 40-yard completion on a corner route that put the ball at the 2 with four seconds left.

After a Nederland time out, Mosley, who had 25 carries for 171 yards and a touchdown, took the handoff and tried to jump over the left side of the line but was stopped just inches from the goal line as time expired.

“I’ll put the ball in No. 20’s (Mosley) hand for a win any time against anybody anywhere,” said Nederland Coach Larry Neumann. “He made a great effort, but the execution was on defense. Vidor made a great play.

“All the credit should go to coach Matthews, his staff and his team. With out a doubt in my mind, he outcoached me tonight and his team played with a sense of urgency that you have to have in a district contest. I think we played hard, but we didn’t have that sense of urgency that Vidor had tonight.

“They (Vidor) played well in every aspect of the game. This game wasn’t totally decided on that last play. It was a four quarter ball game and my hats off to Vidor and how well they prepared for this game.”