Brady's physique can be very deceptive. Ryan is slender but he licks opponents as well as any Bulldog.

"He's lean but defensively he packs a punch," Nederland head football coach Larry Neumann said. "He's very instrumental in run support at safety and he has great timing on his tackles.

"Ryan has breakaway speed when he catches it. And he's built like a wide receiver that can catch the ball."

Does Neumann have a major criticism of Brady's game? Not really. He gladly would take six or seven more Ryan Bradys. But there is a downside to having talent -- sometimes a guy can try to overachieve. That's what the NHS coach says Ryan has to curtail.

"He will have a tendency to try to do too much and improvise. That's when he gets into trouble on both sides of the ball."

That's how Brady got hurt, and that's part of the game. But bring on the electricity and toss in the dramatics, Ryan Brady is quite well worth having and becoming a big hero for the Nederland Bulldogs.

Bulldog Playoff Bites: Tickets for the 4A Division I area-round playoff game remain on sale today at Nederland High School from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Friday from 8 a.m. to noon.... A few more tidbits from last week: that 100-yard kickoff return by Wareall Grogan was the first time all season that Wareall had been positioned in a deep receiving spot. Guess what? He will be there again on Saturday, however Bulldogs' coaches have noticed Magnolia seldom has kicked the ball that deep on kickoffs.... Here's Larry Neumann's take late Wednesday on the progress of injured offensive weapons, Kirby Bellow and Ryan Brady: "I feel a lot better about it today compared to yesterday, especially on Kirby," Neumann said.... Junior running back Nick Woods (5-11, 160) has been added to the varsity roster this week. Woods will wear No. 23