The Nederland Bulldogs used a solid mix of rushing and passing to the keep the Vidor Pirates offense off the field much of the game to claim a 41-21 victory on Friday night at Pirate Stadium.
It was a tale of two halves for sure as the Bulldogs defense kept the usually potent Pirates running game on the sideline for much of the first-half limiting Vidor to just 44 total yards on 18 offensive plays prior to halftime. Meanwhile, Nederland quarterback Blaysin Fernandez guided the Bulldogs to touchdowns in the second quarter to go up 14-0 at half over Vidor.
Fernandez, who finished the game with 170 passing yards on 11 completions in 20 attempts, connected on a 20 yard scoring strike to Armani Douglas early in the second quarter for a 7-0 lead. Fernandez then added a 2-yard run up the middle on the next Nederland drive for the 14-0 lead at intermission.
The Pirates offense kept getting in its own way in the first-half as players kept slipping on the slick grass field. The Nederland defense did a solid job of containing the Pirates running backs too as Vidor only got two first-downs prior to halftime.
It looked to be more of the same as the Bulldogs opened the third quarter with great field position at the 46-yard line. A few plays later it was Nederland running back Kade Scott blasting through the Pirates defense on a 18-yard scamper up the middle and a 21-0 Nederland lead.
Vidor finally found some momentum courtesy of running back Jackson Lapray who sparked the Pirates offense in the second-half. Lapray, who lead the Pirates rushing attack with 96 yards on 9 totes, put Vidor on the scoreboard with a 6 yard run around the side and narrowed the deficit to 21-7.
A Nederland fumble on the next drive looked to give the Pirates and the Vidor fans a spark, but two plays later Cree Simmons took the handoff and tossed an interception on a half-back pass just as his receiver slipped on the field.
Nederland would score on its next two possessions to secure the game. Scott would add a 7 yard scoring run and Fernandez hit receiver Carsen Arline in stride down the right sideline for a 33 yard touchdown pass, following a Vidor turnover on downs.
Vidor responded with its best drive of the game as the Pirates marched the ball downfield 74 yards in just 1:38 when Zach Dahlenburg zipped around the right end for a 14-yard touchdown.
Following another Nederland touchdown, the Pirates once again marched 67-yards in 2:01 for another touchdown which ended the scoring.
Nederland (8-0, 5-0) will host the Crosby Cougars (5-3, 2-3) next Friday, while Vidor (3-5, 0-5) travels to Baytown Lee (1-4, 3-5) next Friday night.
Nederland 41
Vidor 21
NEDERLAND – 0 14 7 20 41
VIDOR – 0 0 7 14 21
SCORING SUMMARY
N – Armani Douglas 20 yard pass from Blaysin Fernandez, Jordan Huckabay kick (9:23)
N – Fernandez 2 yard run, Huckabay kick (4:25)
N – Kade Scott 18 yard run, Huckabay kick (8:47)
V – Jackson Lapray 6 yard run, Lapray kick (4:38)
N – Scott 7 yard run, Huckabay kick (11:02)
N – Carsen Arline 33 yard pass from Fernandez, Huckabay kick (7:42)
V – Zach Dahlenburg 14 yard run, Lapray kick (6:04)
N – Brycen Grusecki 4 yard run, kick failed (3:22)
V – Lapray 26 yard run, Lapray kick (1:21)
Ned Vid
First downs 24 16
Rushes-yards 43-259 44-277
Passing 170 00
Total yards 429 277
Com-Att-Int 11-20-0 0-3-1
Fumbles-Lost 2-2 0-0
Penalties-yards 6-55 5-60
INDIVIDUAL STATS
Rushing- Ned: Kade Scott 26-204, Blaysin Fernandez 11-30, Armani Douglas 4-22, Brycen Grusecki 1-6, Josh Mazyck 1-(-3); Vidor: Jackson Lapray 9-96, Zach Dahlenburg 10-61, Kelby Odom 6-53, Brad Nunez 8-43, Zach Seigrist 2-9, Cree Simmons 2-8, Gage Galloway 7-7;
Passing- Ned: Blaysin Fernandez 11-20-0 170; Vidor, Gage Galloway 0-2-0 00; Cree Simmons 0-1-1 00;
Receiving- Ned: Armani Douglas 3-42, Brycen Grusecki 2-39, Carsen Arline 1-33, Kade Scott 2-31, Blayne Burnett 3-25; Vidor: (none)
Photo: Vidor’s Jackson Lapray follows his blockers on the way to a 26 yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter in Friday’s game against Nederland.
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