BEAUMONT -- Larry Neumann might be surprised just how much Beaumont Ozen's Ishan Rison has looked up to the veteran Nederland head football coach.

Those football minds in the Panthers' Den have enormous respect for Neumann and his accomplishments over the past 15 seasons. That respect goes out the window for a few hours tonight in Alex Durley Stadium at 7:30 p.m.

Ozen (0-2) wants to capture its season's first victory. Nederland (0-1) does too, especially in the throes of a three-game losing streak. There's nothing like a 20-4A district opener for the right time to do it.

Hurricane Ike prevented this game from unfolding last Friday night. Hurricane Ike also prevented The Port Arthur News from conducting its usual coaches poll prior to the start of the race.

But Ozen's second-year head coach participated in early voting on the day before his Panthers faced Port Arthur Memorial. Without revealing the remainder of Rison's ballot, the Ozen mentor certainly would not mind letting his players know which team he picked to win the district.

"I have great respect for Nederland," Rison said in that interview. "We're young and we're getting our program together and we're trying to do a lot of things the way they do things. They have a great coaching staff over there at Nederland and they always do a great job."

Neumann gladly will accept Rison's bouquets, but will recall a few recent scoreboards. WO-S 33, Ned 13... Lumberton 33, Ned 7.... Dayton 63, Ned 0. It adds up to a three-game losing skid, dating back to the end of the 2007 season. The 56-year-old Neumann never has lost four straight games in his 16 NHS campaigns.

To stem that tide, Nederland has toughened its practice regimen considerably after the Dogs' coaching staff reviewed the WO-S game video. The Bulldogs brain trust saw a need to tackle better, run-block better, and take better advantage of opportunities. To be sure, though, the heat definitely has been turned up at Nederland's Prather Field practice area since the season opener.

"The tempo, the demeanor, the structure in our practices has continued with that physical emphasis since the West Orange game," Neumann said.

While their combined records include no wins, Neumann and Rison would agree on another matter. Each has played good quality opponents. Nederland lost by 20 to WO-S. Ozen lost handily to West Brook and barely to Port Arthur Memorial.

"I thought we didn't play smart against West Brook," Rison recalled. "We played terrible in terms of turnovers (seven) but we were not that bad at all in terms of play after play. But you have to string that together and be consistent. We would go along with three or four good plays and then we would have a misalignment or something.

"Nederland is a great program to try to resemble because they keep their mistakes to a minimum. They have a terrific quarterback and wide receiving combination."

Even in the losing cause, senior split end Asa Cardenas grabbed five receptions for 141 yards and a touchdown from southpaw passer Kirby Bellow on a mushy field against a top-drawer WO-S secondary. Rison has remembered that Nederland has established a history of power running. That's the type of style the Ozen coach preferred to install.

"They look well-drilled, well-coached and they're a quality team that can win the district championship," the NHS coach said. "(Junior running back James) White has good speed and is hard to bring down. (Senior linebacker Justin) Isadore is a marquee name and is living up to his billing at linebacker."