By Chris Moore
Special to The News

Coming off of a 28-21 district in against Vidor in Pirates Stadium on Saturday, the Nederland Bulldogs set their sights on Beaumont Central.

The Bulldogs (4-1, 3-1 in 22-5A) stand in third place in the district, behind Port Neches-Groves and Port Arthur Memorial, who play each other on Friday.

Nederland head coach Monte Barrow said that coming off of a big win against Vidor, he is emphasizing that his team be mentally and physically prepared for a hungry Jaguars team.

“As physical as (Vidor was), we wanted to make sure that we are physically ready Friday,” he said. “At the same time coming off of that condensed schedule, making sure that our minds are in the right place, understanding how district works.”

The schools in District 22-5A are back to a regular schedule of playing once every seven days, after a condensed schedule forced some teams like Nederland in the district to play four games in 18 days.

“We’ve talked about it, and you can’t control injuries,” Barrow said. “It’s always good when you can say, for where we are in the season, the health of our team has been a real blessing.”

Another blessing for the Bulldogs has been the play of their defense. Down seven points, with just over a minute left against Vidor before halftime, the Bulldogs’ Landon Hiltz picked off the ball in Pirates territory. Two plays later the Bulldogs scored to tie the game.

Barrow said that he knew that his team would have to rely on the defense and is pleased with the way they have responded.

“We knew that coming into this year, the most players we had coming back on one side of the ball was defense,” he said. “We kind of put a little more pressure on them to carry us, especially early as our offense grew. We had four new offensive linemen. It takes a while for them to jell. Our defense has stepped up in that aspect and really given us an opportunity to not be pressured to score every time we touch the ball.”

The Bulldogs’ offense got off to a slow start last week, as they went down 14-0 in the first quarter. Nederland’s persistence paid off as they eventually rattled off four scores of 30 yards or greater.

“We’re a team that is going to run the ball,” Barrow said. “Even if it’s not working early, we’re going to keep running. We’ve had a good streak here of making adjustments at halftime. Even our young offensive line coming out and making adjustments in the second half and getting us points when it’s really crucial.”

Barrow said that his team is not taking the Jaguars (1-2, 1-2 in 22-5A district) lightly. The Jaguars are coming off of a 49-14 win against Ozen on Saturday.

“Central is a desperate team to make the playoffs. They are a playoff team year in and year out. They are at a point right now where they want to keep their destiny in their own hands. Losing that third game could hurt them, so we expect nothing but the best from Central.”

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at the Thomas Center on Friday.