NEDERLAND — Coach Larry Neumann usually believes someone or some team will always prevail in competition.

His intrasquad scrimmage on Saturday, however, was a little different.

“After one scrimmage, it’s pretty much a tie,” he initially described it.

“I’m guarded on [whether I feel] we were too good or too bad on the field. I do think it was not lopsided. We had big plays on both sides. We had a touchdown pass and we had a pick-six. We had good running plays. We defended runs for losses.”

It doesn’t make up for competing against another team, though, in the mind of someone who’s led the Bulldogs since 1993.

“Until you play somebody different, you put an asterisk by their evaluation,” he said. “Having said all that, it was pretty equal in performance.”

The coach will enjoy the next 13 weeks then.

Nederland will scrimmage Sheldon C.E. King at 7 p.m. Friday at Bulldog Stadium and then visit Crosby for another tune-up the following weekend. Defending 4A Division II state champion West Orange-Stark will host the Bulldogs Aug. 26.

The scrimmage against King, of which the format has not yet been determined, could help Neumann determine who will start at quarterback. That’s still No. 1 on his to-do list.

So far, junior Marshall Lange and sophomore Blaysin Fernandez are still in the running. But neither helped the offense gain a significant edge in Saturday’s 1-hour scrimmage.

“One of the first things we talked about, the quarterback would limit negative plays,” Neumann said. “All that stuff is pretty even after one pretty quick intrasquad scrimmage. Really looking forward to doing work this week and having a scrimmage against C.E. King on Friday. I believe that will define the difference between [the quarterbacks] at this stage.”

No. 2 on Neumann’s list is to solidify an offensive line that has some experience returning in Rice commit Corbin Smith and fellow senior Burke Badon.

Through a week of two-a-day practices, Neumann said the Bulldogs are moving in the direction of being in game-ready condition, although they aren’t there just yet.

“We haven’t lost anybody to cramps or heat or exhaustion,” he said. “A few of them got weak, but our stamina is coming along.”

Stamina will be key for a schedule that’s heavy on talent. Following West Orange-Stark, Dayton will open Nederland’s home slate with Livingston promptly opening the District 22-5A portion of schedule afterward.

While the Bulldogs might have been equal in their own scrimmage, Neumann said they’re a long way from “being on the same field” with West Orange-Stark. But he has no regrets about legitimate state champions and contenders from the onset.

“We have 2½ weeks left, and it may be difficult to get to that point,” Neumann said. “It’s a great challenge and an honor to play those guys, and we’ll try to be as good as we can be.”

I.C. Murrell: 721-2435. Twitter: @ICMurrellPANews