NEDERLAND — Tavian Mayfield and Jalin Johnson walked into the Nederland Competition Gym on the tail end of a Larry Neumann interview, and the coach was bragging about the chemistry Mayfield and Johnson have along with their fellow defensive backs.
You know, the type of chemistry that goes beyond the football field and allows the players to hang out away from campus.
“You’ve gotta have good chemistry, right?” Mayfield said with a wide smile.
He and the Bulldogs (8-3) have every right to smile. They finished District 22-5A play first in team interceptions with 13, and they played big roles in giving New Caney quarterback Timmy Ware fits in the passing game without a pickoff to win in Saturday’s 5A Division I bi-district round game.
“During practice we always compete,” said Mayfield, who along with junior classmate Johnson were tied with five others for most picks in the district with three. “Last year, we never really got that many interceptions, but we all got one. So, in order to win, you’ve got to make turnovers. So, in our defense, our backs motivate each other and see who gets picks first. It’s all about chemistry.”
While it’s hard to name just one standout defender for the five-time reigning 22-5A champion Bulldogs, their entire secondary have proven to be the most consistent in the unit, even playing in different formations under coordinator Delbert Spell.
Senior Jalen Cunningham has four picks, which led the district at the end of the regular season. He returned one 51 yards for a touchdown.
“A lot of that has to do with him picking up our system and learning as fast as he did,” Neumann said. “He’s gotten a lot better since we’ve been playing games.”
All together, the secondary helped limit Ware — who threw for 261.5 yards per game — to 127 yards on 10-of-21 passing. Mayfield’s and Johnson’s performances that game earned them captain roles for this Friday’s area-round game against George Ranch (11-0).
“Having played the position myself, I think it’s risky business,” Neumann said. “You have to be astute to the kind of individual you’re trying to cover. We play a lot of zone and a lot of man, both, but the main thing is the ball is coming down. You may or may not be in position. How you make that move at the crisis of the moment when the ball is coming down, many times, determines whether it’s a catch or not. It could be PI (pass interference), an interception. All of those guys in our secondary have gotten better at winning the ball when it’s coming down, or it’s an out-route. They’ve gotten better at reacting to the ball when it comes to them.”
With a win over George Ranch this Friday, Nederland will play in its first regional semifinal since reaching the regional final in 2012, the deepest run Neumann has had in 23 seasons as a head coach. And there’s nothing that fazes Mayfield or Johnson about the Longhorns — not their unbeaten record, not that they beat 6A Port Arthur Memorial by 28 points, or that they were No. 3 in the final Associated Press 5A regular-season rankings.
This is a Nederland team that’s prepped with games against now-No. 2 Crosby and Dayton from 21-5A and gotten the upper hand over 22-5A co-champion Port Neches-Groves.
“We always play good football teams,” Johnson said. “It’s just you have to bring your best football game. You have to bring your best defense. We always win turnovers and get our teams off the field because our offense will do what they have to do to put points on the board just for us.”
That’s what chemistry does for the Bulldogs.
“It’s a lot of fun. This is like family,” Mayfield said.