After his team didn’t score a point in its first two gmes, Coach Matt Burnett was still confident in Port Neches-Groves chances at being a playoff team.

After four consecutive wins, including a 28-16 triumph over neighborhood district mate, and previously undefeated Nederland Friday night, folks in the Mid County area are going to have to become believers.

Jake Hemmings rushed for 139 yards and a pair of touchdowns and quarterback Harrison Tatum rushed for a touchdown and threw for another to lift Port Neches-Groves to a hard-earned 28-16 victory Friday night at Nederland.

“There’s nothing like it. I’m a senior and this was my last chance at them, so it’s awfully sweet,” said Hemmings, who scored on runs of five and 36 yards. “We had a one-point lead on them at the half and we came back out and started taking it to them.

“But there’s no time to rest. It’s time to put this one behind us and move on to the next one. “

Burnett, who scrapped the spread offense after shutout losses to LaMarque and Crosby to open the season, has now seen his team run off four consecutive victories, in addition to ending a three-game skid to the Bulldogs.

“Those three games (last three years) were very close and really could have gone either way,” a jubilant Burnett said following Friday’s game that leaves PNG in a tie with Lumberton atop the 22-4A standings. “But we’re mighty happy to have this one”

Burnett, whose team is now 3-0 in district and 4-2 overall, said all the credit for turning the season around went to the upper classmen on the team.

“The seniors have turned it around,” Burnett lamented. “They’ve learned how to win. I can’t tell you how proud I am of them. They’ve got a lot of heart; they play together and work through a lot of adversity. We’re certainly not the most talented team in the world, but they find a way to win.”

The loss was a difficult one for the Bulldogs, who had opened the season with five straight victories. Coach Larry Neumann gave all the credit to Coach Burnett and the Indians.

The Bulldogs first loss of the season came in spite of a terrific game by receiver Asa Cardenas, who caught 12 passes for 167 yards and two touchdowns.

“We were hit and miss offensively the whole game, “said Neumann. “But they had something to do with that. My hat’s off to Matt Burnett, his staff, and his football team. They came out and executed an excellent game plan, ran the ball effectively, and got us on our heels. We just never could really get back into control of what we wanted to do. That’s a credit to them.”

The Bulldogs opened the second half with a 38-yard pass to Cardenas to the PN-G 32 yard line. Seven plays later the drive stalled and Taylor Trahan kicked a 33-yard field goal to give the Bulldogs their final lead of the game, 16-14.

“We didn’t want them to get behind us in the second half,” Burnett said. “But the very first play, our guy slipped and Cardenas made a great play.”

The Indians were undaunted, marching 70 yard in five plays, with Hemming scoring on a 36-yard run that gave the Indians the lead for good, 21-16.

Nederland was unable to make a first down on their next possession and PN-G drove 50 yards in eight plays with Harrison Tatum connecting with Zeke Schnexneider on a 20-yard scoring strike with 4:06 left in the third that gave the Indians their final points.

The Bulldogs managed only three first downs in the final quarter, but Neumann said that sophomore quarterback Kirby Bellow wasn’t at his best.

“Kirby got a little hurt; got a quad bruise in the second half. It limited his mobility and affected the way he threw a little bit,” Neumann said. Hopefully, we’ll get him back in good shape for next week.”

The Bulldogs have a week to lick their wounds after surrendering the crown of Mid County to the Indians, before taking on Ozen next week. PN-G faces a showdown for the district leadership with Lumberton, a 35-14 victor over Central Friday.

Nederland had opened the scoring late in the first quarter on a 21-yard pass from Bellow to Cardenas. Trayhan added the PAT to give the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead.

PN-G moved into scoring position after an option run by Josh Wright to the Nederland one. On the next play Tatum scored on a sneak to tie the game, 7-7. Wright had a 34 yard run later in the second quarter and Hemmings raced 36 yards to the end zone with 3:50 left in the half to give PN-G a 14-7 lead.

Nederland answered with an 11-yard pass from Bellow to Cardenas, who made a one-handed grab with 37 seconds left in the half. The extra point attempt was unsuccessful, leaving PN-G on top, 14-13